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Camden, New Jersey
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The City of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States. It is located just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 79,904. It has been regularly ranked one of the most dangerous cities in the United States by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Camden was originally incorporated as a city on February 13, 1828, from portions of the now-defunct Newton Township, while the area was still part of Gloucester County.
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The City of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey, in the United States. It is located just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 79,904. It has been regularly ranked one of the most dangerous cities in the United States by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Camden was originally incorporated as a city on February 13, 1828, from portions of the now-defunct Newton Township, while the area was still part of Gloucester County. On March 13, 1844, Camden became part of the newly formed Camden County.
History
Early history
Fort Nassau (located within the present boundaries of nearby Gloucester City, New Jersey), was built by the Dutch West India Company in 1626, and was the first European attempt to settle the area now occupied by Camden. Initial European activity in the vicinity of present day Camden occurred along the banks of the Delaware River where the Dutch and the Swedish vied for control of the local fur trade. Europeans continued to settle in and improve the area during the seventeenth century. Much of the growth directly resulted from the success of another Quaker colony across the Delaware River known as Philadelphia, which was founded in 1682 and soon had enough population to attract a brisk trade from West Jersey and Camden. To accommodate the trade across the river, a string of ferries began operation.
1800s onward
For over 150 years, Camden served as a secondary economic and transportation hub for the Philadelphia area. But that status began to change in the early 1800s. One of the United States' first railroads, the Camden and Amboy Railroad, was chartered in Camden in 1830. The Camden and Amboy Railroad allowed travelers to travel between New York City and Philadelphia via ferry terminals in South Amboy, New Jersey and Camden. The railroad terminated on the Camden waterfront, and passengers were ferried across the Delaware River to their final Philadelphia destination. The Camden and Amboy Railroad opened in 1834 and helped to spur an increase in population and commerce in Camden.
Originally a suburban town with ferry service to Philadelphia, Camden evolved into its own city, as industry and neighborhoods grew. Camden prospered during strong periods of manufacturing demand and faced distress during periods of economic dislocation.
Like most American cities, Camden suffered from decline in the 20th Century as the manufacturing base and many residents moved out to other locations. Currently, government, education, and health care are the three biggest employers in Camden; however, most employees commute to Camden and live in nearby suburbs such as Cherry Hill. Revitalization has occurred along the Camden Waterfront and in certain neighborhoods with access to Philadelphia.
Industrial history
From 1901 through 1929, Camden was headquarters of the Victor Talking Machine Company, and thereafter to its successor RCA Victor, the world's largest manufacturer of phonographs and phonograph records for the first two-thirds of the 20th century. RCA Victor contained one of the first commercial recording studios in the United States, where Enrico Caruso, among others, recorded. The General Electric Company reacquired RCA in 1986.
In 1992, the State of New Jersey under the Florio Administration made an agreement with GE to ensure that GE would not close the Camden site. The state of New Jersey would build a new high tech facility on the site of the old Campbell Soup factory and trade these new buildings to GE for the existing old RCA-Victor Buildings. Later, the new high tech buildings would be sold to Martin Marietta. In 1994, Martin Marietta merged with Lockheed to become Lockheed Martin. In 1997, Lockheed Martin divested the Camden Plant as part of the birth of L-3 Communications.
The famous "Nipper Building" depicting RCA's famous "His Master's Voice" trademark in its tower windows has since been renovated into a luxury apartment building called "The Victor." Building 8 is set to be rehabilitated into luxury condominiums called "Radio Lofts." Both projects are the work of Dranoff Properties, a well known Philadelphia development corporation that has specialized in these types of constructions. Another older building, Victor Building No. 2, is used to this day to house the Camden City Board of Education.
From 1899 to 1967, Camden was the home of New York Shipbuilding Corporation, which at its World War II peak was the largest and most productive shipyard in the world. Notable naval vessels built at New York Ship include the ill-fated cruiser USS Indianapolis and the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk. In 1962, the first commercial nuclear-powered ship, the NS Savannah, was launched in Camden. The Fairview Village section of Camden (initially Yorkship Village) was a planned European-style garden village built by the Federal government during World War I to house New York Shipbuilding Corporation workers.
At Camden's peak, 10,000 workers were employed at RCA, while another 40,000 worked at New York Shipbuilding. RCA had 23 out of 25 of its factories inside Camden. Campbell Soup was also a major employer. By 1969, Camden had been losing jobs and residents for a quarter century due in large part to urban decay, highway construction, and racial tensions.
In Jefferson Cowie's "Capital Moves", Cowie refers to Camden City in the 1920s as the "Citadel of Republicanism". The decline of the Republican Party in Camden City overlapped the decline of Manufacturing.
Situated on the Delaware River, with access to the Atlantic Ocean, the Port of Camden handles breakbulk and bulk cargo. The port consists of two terminals: the Beckett Street Terminal and the Broadway Terminal (commonly known as the Port of Camden). The port receives hundreds of ships moving international and domestic cargo annually.
In 2005, the Port of Camden was subject to an unresolved criminal investigation and a state audit.
In December 2006, Governor Jon S. Corzine speculated on moving port operations further south to allow the community greater access to the waterfront.
Crime
Based on statistics reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Camden was the third-most dangerous city in the United States during 2002, and has been ranked the nation's most dangerous city in 2004 and 2005. "Most dangerous city" is based on crime statistics in six categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and auto theft.
City Councilman Ali Sloan-El, responding to 2004 news about the 2003 statistics, cites Camden's poverty as an important contributing factor to its high crime rate. The demographic data from the Census indicates about a third of the city's residents live below the poverty line.
However, in 2005, homicides in Camden dropped sharply, to 34 — fifteen fewer murders than were reported in 2004. Though Camden's murder rate is still much higher than the national average, the reduction in 2005 was a drop of over thirty percent. Then in 2006, the numbers of murders climbed to 40. Murder rates are generally not static and change from year to year especially in smaller cities. The fact remains Camden is one of the most dangerous cities in the country.
Morgan Quitno Corporation has ranked Camden in the top ten most dangerous cities in America since 1998, when they first included cities with populations below 100,000. It was ranked the most dangerous overall in 2004 and 2005. It dropped down to the fifth spot for the 2006 and 2007 rankings but rose to number two in 2008.
Riverfront State Prison
Riverfront State Prison, which opened in August 1985, is located in downtown Camden on the north side of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. It held 1,009 inmates in 2006.
Government
Camden has historically been a stronghold of the Democratic Party. Voter turnout is very low; approximately 19% of Camden's voting age population participated in the 2005 gubernatorial election.
Local government
Since July 1, 1961, the City has operated under a Mayor-Council form of government. Under this form of government, the City Council consisted of seven Council members originally all elected at-large. In 1994, the City opted to modify the form of government to better address the changing needs of the citizenry. To that end, the City of Camden was divided into four councilman districts, instead of electing the entire Council at-large. One Council member was elected from each of the four districts. In 1995, the election was changed from a partisan election to a non-partisan Municipal Election.
Former mayor Milton Milan was infamous for his connections to organized crime. On June 15, 2001, Milan was sentenced to serve seven years in prison on 14 counts of corruption, including accepting mob payoffs and concealing a $65,000 loan from a drug kingpin.
Gwendolyn Faison is the Mayor of Camden. She is a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, a bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Members of the City Council include:
- Angel Fuentes - City Council President and Ward 4
- Dana Redd - Vice President and Council Member At Large
- Curtis Jenkins - Council Member At Large
- Michael McGuire - Ward 1
- Francisco "Frank" Moran - Ward 3
- Gilbert "Whip" Wilson - Council Member At Large
- Ali Sloan-El, Sr. - Ward 2 (resigned August 30, 2006).
Although not publicly elected, George Norcross III is the current political boss for the Democratic Party of Camden County, New Jersey.
Federal, state and county representation
Camden is in the First Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 5th Legislative District.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of ; of it is land and of it is water. The total area is 15.03% water.
Camden borders Collingswood, Gloucester City, Haddon Township, Pennsauken, and Woodlynne. Just offshore of Camden is Pettys Island, which is officially part of Pennsauken Township.
Camden contains the U.S.'s first federally funded planned community, Yorkship Village (now called Fairview). The village was designed by Electus Darwin Litchfield, who was influenced by the "garden city" developments popular in England at the time.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 79,904 people, 24,177 households, and 17,431 families residing in the city. The population density was 9,057.0 people per square mile (3,497.9/km˛). There were 29,769 housing units at an average density of 3,374.3 units per square mile (1,303.2/km˛).
The racial makeup of the city was 53.35% Black or African American, 16.84% White, 2.45% Asian, 0.54% Native American, , 0.07% Pacific Islander, and 22.83% from other races. 3.92% of residents were from two or more races. 38.82% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 8.9% of the population is foreign-born. 7.1% of the population were Whites of non-Hispanic ancestry.
There were 24,177 households out of which 42.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.1% were married couples living together, 37.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.12 and the average family size was 3.62.
In the city the population is quite young with 34.6% under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.
The per capita income for the city was $9,815. 35.5% of the population and 32.8% of families were below the poverty line. 45.5% of those under the age of 18 and 23.8% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Based on 2006 data from the United States Census Bureau, 44% of the city's residents live in poverty, the highest rate in the nation. The city had a median household income of $18,007, the lowest of all U.S. communities with populations of more than 65,000 residents, making it America's poorest city. A group of poor Camden residents were the subject of a 20/20 special on poverty in America broadcast on January 26, 2007. In the special, Diane Sawyer profiled the lives of three young children growing up in Camden. A follow up was shown on November 9, 2007.
In 2000, 28.85% of Camden residents identified themselves as being of Puerto Rican heritage. This was the third highest proportion of Puerto Ricans in a municipality on the United States mainland, behind only Holyoke, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut, for all communities in which 1,000 or more people listed an ancestry group.
An extensive repository of data on the City of Camden is available at http://www.camconnect.org, a local Camden-based data warehouse. The website includes information on health, housing, education, public safety, and municipal finances. Many public documents have been archived for easy access as well.
Transportation
New Jersey Transit's Walter Rand Transportation Center is located at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Broadway. Besides being a major hub for New Jersey Transit (NJT) buses and Greyhound Lines, the Walter Rand Transportation Center is also a PATCO high-speed line and the recently-opened River LINE light rail station.
The PATCO Speedline offers frequent train service to Philadelphia and the suburbs to the east in Camden County, with stations at City Hall, Broadway (Walter Rand Transportation Center) and Ferry Avenue.
Since its opening in 2004, NJT's River LINE has offered frequent light rail service to towns along the Delaware north of Camden, and terminates in Trenton. Camden stations are 36th Street, Walter Rand Transportation Center, Cooper Street-Rutgers University, Aquarium and Entertainment Center.
NJT bus service is available to Philadelphia on the 313, 315, 317, and 318 and various 400 series lines, to Atlantic City is served by the 551 bus. Local service is offered on the 450, 451, 452, 453, and 457 lines.
Interstate 676 runs through Camden to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge on the north side of the city.
Camden Waterfront
One of the most popular attractions of Camden is the city's waterfront, along the Delaware River. The waterfront is highlighted by its four main attractions, the USS New Jersey; the Susquehanna Bank Center; Campbell's Field; and the Adventure Aquarium.
The Adventure Aquarium was originally opened in 1992 as the New Jersey State Aquarium at Camden. In 2005 after extensive renovation the aquarium was reopened under the name Adventure Aquarium. The aquarium was one of the original centerpieces in Camden's plans for revitalizing their city.
The recently renamed Susquehanna Bank Center (formerly known as the Tweeter Center) is a 25,000 seat open air concert amphitheater that was opened in 1995.
Campbell's Field, opened in 2001, is home the Camden Riversharks Minor League Baseball team, of the Atlantic League; and the Rutgers-Camden baseball team.
The USS New Jersey (BB-62) was a United States Navy battleship that was intermitently active between the years 1943 and 1991. After its retirement the ship was turned into a museum along the Waterfront that opened in 2001. The New Jersey saw action in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
Other attractions at the Waterfront are the Wiggins Park Riverstage and Marina, One Port Center, The Victor Lofts, the Walt Whitman House, the Walt Whitman Cultural Arts Center, the Rutgers-Camden Center For The Arts and the Camden Children's Garden.
The Waterfront is also served by two modes of public transportation. New Jersey Transit services the Waterfront on its River Line, while people from Philadelphia can commute using the RiverLink Ferry, which connects the Waterfront with Old City Philadelphia.
Commerce
Urban Enterprise Zone
Portions of Camden are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone . In addition to other benefits to encourage employment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3˝% sales tax rate (versus the 7% rate charged statewide).
Redevelopment
Camden had been passed over for redevelopment for many decades. The dawn of the 21st Century has brought new redevelopment plans. Campbell Soup Company has decided to go forward with a scaled down redevelopment of the area around its corporate headquarters in Camden, including an expanded corporate headquarters. The nearby Sears building was bought by a local developer, with plans for loft-style housing and commercial businesses. Cherokee Investment Partners had a grand plan to redevelop north Camden with 5,000 new homes and a shopping center on 450 acres. Cherokee dropped their plans in the face of local opposition and the slumping real estate market.
Education
Camden's public schools are operated by Camden City Public Schools. The district is one of 31 Abbott Districts.
Holy Name School, Sacred Heart Grade School, , St. Anthony of Padua School, are elementary schools that operate under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden.
Rutgers University and Rowan University, both of which are public universities, maintain campuses in downtown Camden. Additionally, the city is home to one of Camden County College's three campuses.
Camden is also home to Cooper University Hospital, which is nationally recognized as a leader in the area of trauma.
Sports
Additional facts
- Camden is the place where the first drive-in theater opened, invented by Richard Hollingshead, on June 6, 1933.
- On September 6, 1949, mass murderer Howard Unruh went on a killing spree in his Camden neighborhood. Thirteen people died as a result. Unruh remains confined in a state psychiatric facility.
- Racial riots occurred when a Puerto Rican motorist was beaten by city police and died in August 1971. Sections of downtown were looted and torched.
- The Camden 28 were a group of "Catholic left" anti-Vietnam War activists who in 1971 planned and executed a raid on a Camden draft board. The raid resulted in a high-profile trial against the activists that was seen by many as a referendum on the Vietnam War.
- The Church of Scientology was founded in Camden.
- In the 1990s sitcom A Different World, the character Jaleesa Vinson (played by Dawnn Lewis) is from Camden, New Jersey.
- In 1996, Governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman frisked Sherron Rolax in Camden, which many alleged violated Rolax's civil rights.
- The shoot-out in the fourth "Die Hard" movie, Live Free or Die Hard, takes place in Camden.
Points of interest
Noted residents
 - Prince Badi Ajamu (1974-), professional boxer
- Rob Andrews (1957-), member, U.S. House of Representatives, 1st Congressional District, New Jersey.
- William J. Browning (1850-1920), represented New Jersey's 1st congressional district from 1911-1920.
- Pam Casale (1963-), professional tennis player
- Russ Columbo (1908-1934), singer, actor, composer.
- Donovin Darius (1975-), played in the NFL for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
- Samuel Dash (1922-2004), lawyer, professor, chief counsel for the Senate Watergate Committee during the Watergate.
- Rachel Dawson (1985-), field hockey midfielder.
- Martin Dillon (1957-2005), musician, operatic tenor, and professor of music at Rutgers University in Camden.
- Andrea Dworkin (1946-2005), author, activist.
- Lola Falana (1942-), singer, dancer, actress.
- Bruce S. Gordon (1946-), former president and CEO, NAACP.
- George Hegamin (1973-), former offensive lineman in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
- Leon Huff (1942-), of the songwriting team Gamble and Huff.
- Bob McElwee (1935-), former National Football League official
- Claude Maurice "Turk" McBride (1985-) defensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs
- Francis F. Patterson, Jr. (1867-1935), represented New Jersey's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1920 to 1927.
- Jim Perry (1934-), U.S. and Canadian game show host. Hosted Definition in Canada and Card Sharks and $ale of the Century in the United States.
- Dwight Muhammad Qawi, a.k.a. Dwight Braxton (1953-), professional boxer, former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion.
- Aaron McCargo, Jr. (1970-), Winner of The Next Food Network Star (Season 4)
- Marco Reginelli (1897-1956), underworld boss from Nepezzano, in the Province of Teramo Italy.
- Buddy Rogers (1921-1992) professional wrestler.
- Mike Rozier (1961-), Heisman trophy winner and former NFL running back.
- Sidra Smith (1971-), movie director, writer, producer.
- Tasha Smith (1971-), actress, Movies; Playaz Ball, Daddy's Little Girls, Why Did I Get Married.
- John F. Starr (1818-1904), represented New Jersey's 1st congressional district from 1863 to 1867.
- Billy Thompson (1963-), former professional basketball player.
- Tye Tribbett (1977-), gospel recording artist; founder of Tye Tribbett & G.A.
- Nick Virgilio (1928-1989), internationally recognized haiku poet.
- Dajuan Wagner (1983-), professional basketball player.
- Milt Wagner (1963-), former professional basketball player.
- John S. Watson (1924-1996), an African-American politician
- Walt Whitman (1819-1892), poet, essayist, journalist, born in New York, Whitman lived his later years in Camden and died in the city. His Camden home is a historical monument. Whitman is buried in Harleigh Cemetery on Haddon Avenue in Camden.
- Gary Williams (1945-), current head coach of the University of Maryland's Men's Basketball team; he started his coaching career at Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden.
- James Miller Williams (1818-1890), businessman and political figure commonly viewed as the father of Canada's petroleum industry.
- Karen Zerby (1946-), current leader of the Children of God, a new religious movement.
- Phil Zimmermann (1954-), creator of the encryption software PGP, was born in Camden.
- Janaye Ingram (1983-), Miss New Jersey USA 2004, grew up in Camden.
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