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Lancaster, Pennsylvania
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Lancaster is a city in the South Central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is the county seat of Lancaster County. With a population of 55,351, it is the eighth largest city in Pennsylvania, behind Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Reading, Scranton, and Bethlehem. The metropolitan area population stands at 494,486 making it the 101st largest metropolitan area in the US.
Locally, Lancaster is pronounced as , rather than the more common American pronunciation (cf.
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Encyclopedia
Lancaster is a city in the South Central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is the county seat of Lancaster County. With a population of 55,351, it is the eighth largest city in Pennsylvania, behind Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Reading, Scranton, and Bethlehem. The metropolitan area population stands at 494,486 making it the 101st largest metropolitan area in the US.
Locally, Lancaster is pronounced as , rather than the more common American pronunciation (cf. the British pronounciation).
History
Originally called Hickory Town, the city was renamed after the English city of Lancaster by native John Wright. Its symbol, the red rose, is from the House of Lancaster. Lancaster was part of the 1681 Penn's Woods Charter of William Penn, and was laid out by James Hamilton in 1734. It was incorporated as a borough in 1742 and incorporated as a city in 1818. During the American Revolution, it was briefly the capital of the colonies on September 27, 1777, when the Continental Congress fled Philadelphia, which had been captured by the British. After meeting one day, they moved still farther away, to York, Pennsylvania. Lancaster was capital of Pennsylvania from 1799 to 1812, after which the capital was moved to Harrisburg.
In 1737, the Lancaster County Prison was built in the city, and is a near-replication of the Lancaster Castle in England. The prison remains in use as of 2008, and was used for public hangings until 1912.
The first paved road in the United States was the former Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, which makes up part of the present-day U.S. Route 30. Opened in 1795, the Turnpike connected the cities of Lancaster and Philadelphia, and was designed by a Scottish engineer named John Loudon MacAdam. Lancaster residents are known to use the word, "macadam", in lieu of pavement or asphalt. This name is a reference to the paving process named by MacAdam.
The city of Lancaster was home to several important figures in American history. Wheatland, the estate of James Buchanan, the fifteenth President of the United States, is one of Lancaster's most popular attractions. Thaddeus Stevens, considered among the most powerful members of the United States House of Representatives, lived in Lancaster as an attorney. Stevens gained notoriety as a Radical Republican and for his abolitionism. The Fulton Opera House in the city was named for Lancaster native Robert Fulton, a renaissance man who created the first fully-functional steamboat.
After the American Revolution, the city of Lancaster became an iron-foundry center. Two of the most common products needed by pioneers to settle the Frontier were manufactured in Lancaster: the Conestoga wagon and the Pennsylvania long rifle. The Conestoga wagon was named after the Conestoga River, which runs through the city.
In 1803, Meriwether Lewis visited Lancaster to be educated in survey methods by the well-known surveyor Andrew Ellicott. During his visit, Lewis learned to plot latitude and longitude as part of his overall training needed to lead the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
In 1879, Franklin Winfield Woolworth opened his first successful "five and dime" store in the city of Lancaster. The F. W. Woolworth Company is succeeded by Foot Locker.
Lancaster was one of the winning communities for the All-America City award in 2000.
Geography
Lancaster is located at 40°02'23" North, 76°18'16" West (40.039860, -76.304366), and is above sea level.
The city is located about southeast of Harrisburg, west of Philadelphia, north-northeast of Baltimore and north of Washington, D.C.
The nearest towns and boroughs are Millersville (4.0 miles), Willow Street (4.8 miles), East Petersburg (5.3 miles), Lititz (7.9 miles), Landisville (8.6 miles), Mountville (8.8 miles), Rothsville (8.9 miles), and Leola (8.9 miles).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.4 square miles (19.2 km²), of which, 7.4 square miles (19.2 km²) of it is land and 0.14% is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 56,348 people, 20,933 households, and 12,162 families residing in the city. The population density was 7,616.5 people per square mile (2,940.0/km²). There were 23,024 housing units at an average density of 3,112.1/sq mi (1,201.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.55% White, 14.09% African American, 0.44% Native American, 2.46% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 17.44% from other races, and 3.94% from two or more races. 30.76% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
In 2000, 24.34% of Lancaster residents were of Puerto Rican ancestry. The city has the highest concentration of Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania. For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as the "Spanish Rose." Lancaster celebrates its Hispanic heritage once every year with the Puerto Rican Festival.
There were 20,933 households out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.4% were married couples living together, 19.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.9% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 13.9% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,770, and the median income for a family was $34,623. Males had a median income of $27,833 versus $21,862 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,955. 21.2% of the population and 17.9% of families were below the poverty line. 29.2% of those under the age of 18 and 12.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Economy
Lancaster suffers from high unemployment, especially in the southeastern quadrant. This area, which includes census tracts 8, 9, 15, and 16, had unemployment rates of 10.9%, 10.1%, 3.5%, and 9.0% , respectively, in 1999, when the rest of the county was 4.9%. The Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board sees a persistent problem in underemployment: "People are working but surviving just on the edge of poverty." Outside the city, however, employment has increased 18% by adding 34,900 jobs between the years 1999 and 2002.
Lancaster City has been in the process of recreating itself recently with an explosion of specialty shops, boutiques, bars, clubs, and reinvestment in downtown institutions and locations.
Since 1999, the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority, Penn Square Partners and the City's Redevelopment Authority have pursued a controversial plan to build a 300-room Marriott Hotel and a convention center, funded by a hotel tax and taxpayer-backed bonds, in and near the space formerly occupied by the Watt & Shand department store, preserving only the building's façade. The project's supporters believe it would promote the revitalization of the city's center. Its opponents, however, feel it poses a significant risk to taxpayers. This plan also includes the demolition of significant portions of other historic sites, including Thaddeus Stevens' home.
There are also plans to convert an area of unused polluted industrial grounds (i.e., Brownfields), which were once occupied by Armstrong World Industries, into playing fields for Franklin & Marshall College. This action is expected to take up most of the former industrial site. The Northwest Corridor will be developed with funds from Lancaster General Hospital. The hospital plans to create a mixed-use development which will add several city blocks to Lancaster’s grid. F&M's president, John Fry, has also orchestrated the construction of new dormitories and apartments for Franklin & Marshall students along Harrisburg Pike.
Another Brownfields site is Burle Business Park, the City's only commercial and industrial park. Devoted to adaptive re-use, this facility originally opened in 1942 as a U.S. Navy electronics research, development and manufacturing plant that was operated by RCA. The Navy facility was purchased after World War II by RCA. Burle Business Park was originally occupied by Burle Industries, the successor company to the RCA New Products Division following the 1986 acquisition of RCA by General Electric Company (GE). The GE acquisition of RCA resulted in the divestiture of this facility and the electronic business, but GE retained certain environmental liabilities that were subdivided into a separate parcel. Burle Industries is a major manufacturer of vacuum tube products, including photomultiplier tubes, power tubes, and imaging tubes. and is the largest U.S. manufacturer of photomultiplier tubes. Burle Industries has completed a voluntary clean-up under the Pennsylvania Land Recycling Program ("Act 2") .
Shopping
In addition to Lancaster's plethora of urban boutiques and shops, there is the Park City Center, the largest enclosed shopping center in South Central Pennsylvania. The mall includes an excess of 150 stores and is anchored by The Bon-Ton, Boscov's, JCPenney, Kohl's, and Sears.
A unique shopping experience can be found at the historic Central Market. Built in 1889, the market is the oldest, continuously-operated farmers market in the United States, and many tourists come to purchase the handmade Amish goods that are not common elsewhere. Central Market is listed with the National Register of Historic Places, and its towers are of the Romanesque Revival style.
Transportation
The Red Rose Transit Authority (RRTA) provides local bus transit to Lancaster City as well as surrounding areas in Lancaster County. RRTA is headquartered outside the City of Lancaster.
Capitol Trailways provides intercity bus transit from the Lancaster train station to King of Prussia, Philadelphia, and New York City.
Amtrak also serves the Lancaster train station, located on the northernmost edge of the city at 53 McGovern Avenue. The Pennsylvanian, with service between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, as well as the Keystone, with service between Harrisburg and New York, both serve Lancaster.
The city is served by the Lancaster Airport, located six miles (10 km) north of downtown and just south of Lititz.
Fire Department
The city of Lancaster is serviced by the professional Lancaster Fire Department. The Lancaster Fire Department employs over eighty members and services an average of 3,250 dispatched emergency calls per year. The Department operates three city-wide firehouses and has an apparatus fleet of six engine companies (two reserve engines and one foam/haz-mat reserve engine kept at Fire Station # 4 on New Holland Avenue, now closed), two ladder companies, and support units.
Fire Station Locations
Fire Station # 1
West Side-425 West King Street
Truck 2
Engine 1
Support Units
Fire Station # 3
East Side-333 East King Street
Truck 1
Engine 3
Engine 6(RSV)
Support Units
Fire Station # 6
South Side-843 Fremont Street
Engine 2
Engine 4(RSV)
Historical landmarks
Many of Lancaster's landmarks were relevant places in local, state, and national history.
- Hamilton Watch Company- introduced the world's first battery-powered watch, the Hamilton Electric 500 in 1957.
- J. P. McCaskey High School- was built in 1938, and is designed in the Art Deco architectural style.
Art and museums
The city of Lancaster hosts several museums that preserve its important contributions to society. The Demuth Museum is located in the former home of a well-known Lancaster painter named Charles Demuth. Additional art museums include the Lancaster Museum of Art and the Philips Museum of Art on the campus of Franklin & Marshall College. Art students at the state-of-the-art Pennsylvania College of Art and Design present their works at the academy's gallery that is open to the public. Another newly-constructed museum, completed in 2007, is the Lancaster County Quilts and Textile Museum that celebrates the hand-sewn quilts and other textile items produced by the region's Amish community. Lancaster also possesses two other museums that pay homage to its unique Pennsylvania Dutch heritage with the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society Museum and the Heritage Center Museum. Children can have a hands-on experience with educational learning at the Hands-on House, also known as Children's Museum of Lancaster. Nature and geology-minded visitors can view the more earthly exhibits of the Louise Arnold Tanger Arboretum and the North Museum of Natural History and Science. Upon completion, the Lancaster County Convention Center will incorporate the Stevens and Smith Historic Site, a museum that will include the preserved home of Thaddeus Stevens and his confidante Lydia Hamilton Smith. In addition to its exhibits, the underground portion of the site will feature a recently discovered Underground Railroad feature: a converted water cistern utilized in the nineteenth century to hide runaway slaves escaping to freedom. In the surrounding county, the Landis Valley Museum contains exhibits that illustrate Lancaster County's history and culture.
Sports
Baseball
After 44 years without professional baseball, the Lancaster Barnstormers arrived to fill the void left by the departed Red Roses. The Barnstormers are named after the barnstorming baseball players who played exhibition games in the surrounding county, as well as a reference to the county's many farms. The Barnstormers continue a couple of traditions of the old Red Roses, as their official colors are red, navy blue, and khaki, the same colors used by the Red Roses. More importantly, the Barnstormers continue the old "War of the Roses" rivalry between Lancaster and the nearby city of York, contending with the York Revolution.
The city of Lancaster is the hometown of Major League alumnus, Tom Herr. Herr played for the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Mets, the San Francisco Giants, and finally with the St. Louis Cardinals. After his time in the Majors, he coached the Black Knights baseball team of Hempfield High School for several years. Herr joined the Lancaster Barnstormers for their inaugural season in 2005 as the manager. After a dismal 2005 season, he led the Barnstormers to their first-ever championship in 2006, against the Bridgeport Bluefish. Two of Tom's sons, Aaron and Jordan, both play professional baseball on Major League-affiliated clubs. Aaron is a member of the Louisville Bats, the AAA-level affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. Jordan joined his hometown Barnstormers for the 2008 season in lieu of completing his senior year at the University of Pittsburgh. Following the completion of the Barnstormers' 2008 season, Jordan piqued the interest of the Chicago White Sox, who allocated him to their Rookie-level Great Falls Voyagers.
Golf
Professional golf is well-represented by the Professional Golf Association's Jim Furyk. He placed 4th in the 1998 and 2003 Masters tournament, won the 2003 U.S. Open, placed 4th in the 1997, 1998, and 2006 British Open, and placed 6th in the 1997 PGA championship. Furyk also won the Vardon Trophy in 2006. He is an alumnus of Manheim Township High School, located in the immediate suburb of Manheim Township.
The 2015 U.S. Women's Open will be held at the Lancaster Country Club.
Soccer
Both the National Premier Soccer League and Women's Premier Soccer League expanded to Lancaster for the 2008 season, with both teams known as the Lancaster Inferno. The NPSL and WPSL are FIFA-recognized Division IV leagues, and are also included in the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. The Inferno is owned by the Pennsylvania Classics organization and play their home games at the Hempfield High School stadium in Landisville. The Inferno's colors are orange, black, and white.
A Lancaster native named Julian Valentin plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer. He is also a member of the Under-20 United States men's national soccer team, and played in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Valentin made his professional debut on October 26, 2008 versus FC Dallas.
Amateur sports in Lancaster
Lancaster's suburban area hosts several amateur sports teams. Ice hockey is represented by the Central Penn Panthers, a member of the junior-level Atlantic Metropolitan Hockey League, and the Lancaster Firebirds, a youth amateur ice hockey organization of the USA Hockey's Atlantic District. American football is represented by the Lancaster Lightning, a member of the semi-professional North American Football League, that plays in nearby Kinzers. A close cousin of American football, rugby, is represented by the Roses Rugby Football Club of the Mid Atlantic Rugby Football Union, of which the Roses RFC are the 2005 champion. Roller derby is represented by the Dutchland Derby Rollers, an all-female roller derby team which plays to raise money for various charities.
Historical Lancaster teams
All of Lancaster's defunct teams either were members of a professional baseball or basketball league. The most well-known of the city's former teams were the Lancaster Red Roses of the Eastern Professional Baseball League that played from 1906 to 1909, and from 1940 to their last season in 1961. The Red Roses were known as the Lancaster Maroons from 1896 to 1899 and the Lancaster Red Sox in 1932.
The most well-known of Lancaster's former basketball teams were the Lancaster Red Roses of the Continental Basketball Association from 1946 to 1949, and from 1953 to 1955. The Continental Basketball Association later hosted another Lancaster team called the Lightning from 1981-1985. The Lightning later moved to Rockford, Illinois, where they played until the 2007 season. The most recent basketball team to play in Lancaster was the Storm of the Eastern Basketball Alliance from 1997 to 2000. This team won the league championship in 1999.
Lancaster Classic
The city of Lancaster hosts the Tom Bamford Lancaster Classic, a professional bicycle racing event held each June since 1992. It is part of the 2006-2007 UCI America Tour and the 2007 USA Cycling Professional Tour.
Inventions
- The first battery-powered watch, the Hamilton Electric 500, was released in 1957 by the Hamilton Watch Company.
- Peeps, an Easter confection shaped as marshmallow chicks covered with yellow sugar, were invented by the Rodda Candy Company of Lancaster in the 1920s. In 1953, Rodda was purchased by Sam Born, the Russian immigrant who invented ice cream "jimmies", and production was moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Education
Education in Lancaster is provided by many private and public institutions. The School District of Lancaster runs the city's public schools. The local high school campuses are McCaskey and McCaskey East. Established in 1836, it is the second oldest school district in Pennsylvania.
The Lancaster area hosts several colleges and universities including: Consolidated School of Business, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster General College of Nursing & Health Sciences, Lancaster Theological Seminary, Lancaster Bible College, Pennsylvania College of Art and Design, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, and the Harrisburg Area Community College.
Media
Print
TV
Radio
Local businesses
The businesses that are based in the vicinity of Lancaster include: Armstrong World Industries, Auntie Anne's, Fulton Bank, Fulton Financial Corporation, Herley Industries, Isaac's Restaurant & Deli, Kunzler & Company, Inc., Lancaster Brewing Company, Lancaster Laboratories, MapQuest, Opening Day Partners, Y&S Candies division of The Hershey Company, and the Lancaster Caramel Company (the original parent company of Hershey Chocolate Company).
See also
Further reading
- by Dave Pidgeon, Intelligencer Journal, July 13, 2006, retrieved July 14, 2006
External links
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