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Philadelphia, commonly referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania [11] and the sixth-most populous city in the nation, with a population of 1,603,797 in the 2020 census.
Philadelphia, routinely referred to as Philly, is the birthplace of American democracy. In Independence Hall and in taverns and other locations around the city, the nation's founders planned and launched the American Revolution, which gave birth to the nation. Overview. Map. Directions.
May 19, 2024 · A guide to Philadelphia, the northeast US city stepping out of NYC's shadow. With a growing reputation for its diverse food scene, this US city offers nourishment for both body and soul in its ...
- Overview
- Character of the city
- The city site
- The city layout
Philadelphia, city and port, coextensive with Philadelphia county, southeastern Pennsylvania, U.S. It is situated at the confluence of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. Area 135 square miles (350 square km). Pop. (2010) 1,526,006; Philadelphia Metro Division, 4,008,994; Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington Metro Area, 5,965,343; (2020) 1,603,797; Phila...
Philadelphia has been described both as the elegant but rather jaded great lady and as the overage and sickly spinster of American cities. A more realistic look at Philadelphia, however, shows it to be a very modern and vigorous city, arising in gracious counterpoint to the deep serenity of an older city that has provided gentle but firm intellectual, economic, and humanitarian direction to the nation at whose birth it played midwife.
Philadelphia, the largest city in Pennsylvania, displays many characteristics of a small town. Its many trees, parks and other open spaces, and its quiet pace of life reflect in various ways the genteel Quaker heritage bestowed on the city by its founder, William Penn. Nearly everywhere are dignified reminders of the colonial and Revolutionary city and of Benjamin Franklin, a Philadelphian by adoption, who left his imprint on innumerable ongoing institutions, both cultural and commercial, in the city.
Philadelphia’s gently rolling site extends from the Delaware on the east across the Schuylkill and beyond. The coextensive boundaries of Philadelphia city and county remain essentially as defined by the Consolidation Act of 1854.
The grid of streets in central Philadelphia, the first U.S. city to be so arranged, follows the original plans of William Penn. Midway between the two rivers, Penn Square, occupied by City Hall, is the centre of the plan. The building itself, opened on January 1, 1901, is one of the city’s great monuments and is the largest example of French Second Empire architecture in the United States. City Hall contains 700 rooms and 250 architectural reliefs and sculptures by Alexander Milne Calder, including a 37-foot, 27-ton statue of William Penn that stands atop the building’s main tower; the tip of his hat— almost 549 feet above ground level, or approximately 33 stories—was for some 90 years the highest point in the city, by an unwritten “gentleman’s agreement.” Four shady, fountained squares—Logan, Franklin, Washington, and Rittenhouse—dot the quadrants. Westward from Penn Square along John F. Kennedy Boulevard is Penn Center, and the long stretch of Broad Street, north and south of Penn Square, has been called the Avenue of the Arts because of its numerous cultural attractions. The multilevel complex comprises high-rise offices and hotels, with interior courts and malls and underground walkways lined with shops and restaurants.
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Benjamin Franklin Parkway provides a splendid vista as it cuts diagonally northwestward from Penn Square through the grid, encircling Logan Square and leading into Fairmount Park. The nation’s largest landscaped park within city limits and the centre of the Centennial Exposition of 1876, Fairmount is one of the most frequent foregrounds for photographs of Philadelphia’s skyline, adding to the city’s reputation for shaded, sculpted elegance. Once a section of outlying estates of the wealthy, the park contains many fine old mansions maintained by the city as museums. Through it winds the narrow valley of Wissahickon Creek, whose rugged beauty has inspired generations of poets and painters.
The oldest sections of Philadelphia—Southwark, Society Hill, and the Independence Hall area—lie to the east, along and inland from the Delaware. Southwark is the oldest, having been settled by Swedes in 1643. Those of its ancient and dilapidated houses that have escaped bulldozing for riverfront expressways resemble the edifices of Society Hill before its restoration began in the 1950s. This latter area contains some of the city’s finest old houses, taverns, and churches, though some high-rise apartment buildings strike a dissonant note in the hearts of many Philadelphians.
Independence National Historical Park, established in 1956 and designated a World Heritage Site in 1979, contains Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were created, and many other buildings used by the Revolutionary and early federal governments. In 2001, the Independence Visitor Center opened in the park, and in 2003, the new Liberty Bell Center was opened to house the famous bell. Nearby, Elfreth’s Alley, dating from 1702, contains 33 houses that make up the oldest continuously inhabited street in the country. Included in the complex are Carpenters’ Hall, site of the meeting of the First Continental Congress, and Philosophical Hall, home of the American Philosophical Society. Also nearby is the National Constitution Center, which was opened on July 4, 2003, to promote the better understanding of the U.S. Constitution.
By Hillary S. Kativa. As the national capital from 1790 to 1800, Philadelphia was the seat of the federal government for a short but crucial time in the new nation’s history.
Philadelphia, known casually as Philly, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, and the sixth-most populous U.S. city with a 2019 estimated population of 1,584,064. [Since 1854, the city has had the same geographic boundaries as Philadelphia County, the most populous county in Pennsylvania and the urban core of the eighth-largest ...
The city of Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn in the English Crown Province of Pennsylvania between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. Before then, the area was inhabited by the Lenape people.
