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Place Name
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Philadelphia
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Place Status (Type)
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city
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Capital Of
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Philadelphia County
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Population
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1,585,577 (1990)
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Location
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Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania (PA), United States, North America
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Latitude
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40°00'N
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Longitude
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75°58'W
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Philadelphia
, city (1990 pop. 1,585,577),  Philadelphia
co., SE Pa., city and co. of Philadelphia are coextensive, on the
Delaware R., at mouth of Schuylkill R. (4 bridges), opposite (W of)
Camden N.J. Bounded SW by Darby and Cobb creeks; drained and bounded NW
by Schuylkill R.; bounded NE by Poquessing Creek; also drained by
Pennypack, Tacony, Frankford, and Wissahickon creeks; 40°00'N
75°58'W. The 5th-largest city in the U.S. and a leading commercial
and cultural center since the 18th cent. Has ocean port facilities on
most of its Delaware R. frontage and SW to Del. state line. An
important trading and mfg. hub even before the Revolution, it maintains
a diverse industrial base. Mfg. includes printing and publishing,
chemicals, fabricated metal prods., textiles, apparel, paper prods.,
food prods., machinery, electronics, transportation equip., plastic
prods., instruments, and furniture. Prominent among the metropolitan
area's newer tertiary industries is a concentration of growing
health-care firms. Philadelphia is a major retailing, educational,
insurance and banking center. The site was 1st occupied by Native
Americans. In the 17th cent. there was a Swed. settlement; the land was
soon claimed by the Dutch and then contested by the British. William
Penn acquired it through a grant from Charles II of England and in 1682
founded Philadelphia, the “City of Brotherly Love,” intended as a
refuge for the peaceable Quakers—hence the nickname Quaker
City. Its commercial, industrial, and cultural growth was rapid, and by
1774 it was 2d only to London as the largest Eng.-speaking city. It was
the seat of the Continental Congress and served as the Amer. capital
from 1777 to 1788, except during the Br. occupation (Oct. 1777-June
1778) after the battle of Brandywine. It was the capital of the new
republic from 1790 to 1800, as well as the state capital (to 1799). The
2 Banks of the U.S. (1791-1811; 1816-1836) were here. The bank bldgs.
are examples of Gr. revival architecture. A nucleus of Amer. culture in
colonial times (among its prominent citizens at that time was the
scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin), Philadelphia is still the
seat of many philosophical, artistic, dramatic, musical, and scientific
societies. Among these are the Philadelphia. Academy of the Fine Arts
(1805); the Academy of Natural Sciences (1812); the Amer. Philosophical
Society (1743); and the Science Mus. of the Franklin Inst. (1824),
which now includes the Benjamin Franklin Memorial (1933), an important
unit of which is the Fels Planetarium. In nearby Merion is the Barnes
Foundation, with an extraordinary collection of paintings. Musical
activities flourish in the city, which has an outstanding symphony
orchestra. In Fairmount Park, the largest city park in the U.S., are
the Philadelphia Mus. of Art, zoological gardens, and many historic
monuments and shrines. Many early historic shrines are also in
Independence Natl. Historical Park (est. 1956). Among them are
Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed;
the Liberty Bell; the neighboring Congress Hall, where Congress met
from 1790 to 1800 and where George Washington gave his farewell
address; and Carpenters' Hall, where the First Continental Congress
met. City Hall, one of the nation's largest, is a conspicuous bldg.
with a tower surmounted by a statue of William Penn. Also of interest
are the Rodin Mus.; the Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church; and Christ
Church (begun in 1727), a representative example of Colonial
architecture. Near Elfreth's Alley, a narrow street that has retained
its colonial air, is the Betsy Ross House, where, according to one
story, the 1st Amer. flag was made. Edgar Allan Poe's house has also
been preserved (Edgar Allen Poe Natl. Historic Site). The historic
18th-cent. houses in the Society Hill sect. are additional tourist
attractions. The Revolutionary War Fort Mifflin has been
restored. Amer. Swedish History Mus., Chin. Cultural Center, Thaddeus
Kosciaszko Natl. Memorial commemorates Pol.-born patriot, Philadelphia
Zoological Gardens, Philadelphia Maritime Mus., Pa. Convention Center
in downtown. Philadelphia has more than 30 educational institutions,
including the Univ. of Pa., Temple Univ., Drexel Univ., La Salle Col.,
Chestnut Hill Col., St. Joseph's Univ., Curtis Institute of Music,
Academy of Music, Hahnemann Medical Col. and Hosp., Philadelphia Col.
of Pharmacy and Science, Thomas Jefferson Univ., the
Philadelphia Col. of Art, Moore Col. of Art and Design, Art Inst. of
Philadelphia (2-year col.), the Philadelphia Col. of Textiles and
Science, Academy of Natural Sciences, the Annenberg Inst. for Judaic
and Near Eastern Studies, and Community Col. of Philadelphia. Site of
Franklin Mills, one of the largest shopping centers in U.S. A sports
complex in S Philadelpha comprises the Spectrum, home of the Natl.
Basketball Association's Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers and the Natl.
Hockey League's Flyers; Veteran's Stadium, home of Natl. Football
League's Eagles and the Major League Baseball's Natl. League
Phillies, as well as the the site of the annual Army-Navy football
game. Installations of the U.S. Mint, the Federal Reserve System, and
the Internal Revenue Service are in the city. The U.S. Naval Shipyard,
the nation's oldest military shipyard and most prominent of
Philadelphia's several military installations, had lost most of its
building programs by the 1980s and was closed in 1991. Some of its
facilities are redirected to building cruise ships. Despite an
ambitious program of urban redevelopment initiated in the 1950s, the
city experienced the decay of its economic base and a sharp decline in
pop. through subsequent decades. Philadelphia Internatl. Airport at SW
end, on Delaware R. (Philadelphia/Delaware cos.), Northeast
Philadelphia Airport in NE. Benjamin Rush State Park in NE; John Heinz
Natl. Wildlife Refuge in SW; Fairmont, Tacony Creek, and Pennypack
parks follow city's streams. Longstanding tensions erupted in race
riots in the 1960s. In the 1970s, Frank Rizzo, a former police
commissioner often portrayed as a spokesman for the city's
working-class whites, was elected mayor. Wilson Goode became
Philadelphia's 1st black mayor in 1983. His administration was shaken
by the controversial firebombing of a city block containing the home of
an armed organization of black radicals. The decline of the central
city was met in part by the construction of new office bldgs.
downtown and development projects on the Delaware R. waterfront.
Overall, attempts at gentrification in the inner city have fallen below
expectation. The city govt. came close to bankruptcy in 1990.
Meanwhile, the metropolitan area, long noted for its wealthy and
exclusive suburbs (especially along the fabled Main Line), witnessed
dramatic growth in the Delaware Valley region. Chartered 1701.
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