Philadelphia

Introduction
Getting There
Getting Around
People
Neighborhoods
History
Government
Public Safety
Economy
Environment
Shoppping
Education
Health Care
Media
Sports
Parks and Recreation
Performing Arts
Libraries and Museums
Tourism
Holidays and Festivals
Famous Citizens
For Further Study

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America, North America

Founded: 1682;
Incorporated: 1701
Location: Eastern Pennsylvania, between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers
Flag: Outer vertical stripes of blue, with seal centered on center yellow stripe.
Time Zone: 7 am Eastern Standard Time (EST) = noon Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Ethnic Composition: White, 57.2%; Black, 39.9%; Native American, 0.2%; and Asian/Pacific Islander, 2.7%
Elevation: 12 m (40 ft)
Latitude and Longitude: 39°95'N, 75°16'W
Climate: Continental climate moderated by the Appalachian mountains and the Atlantic Ocean; hot, humid summers
Annual Mean Temperature: 12.5 °C (54.6°F); January 0.6°C (33.1°F); August 23.7°C (74.7°F)
Seasonal Average Snowfall: 50.8 cm (20 in)
Average Annual Precipitation (rainfall and melted snow): 105.2 cm (41.4 in)
Government: Mayor-council
Weights and Measures: Standard U.S.
Monetary Units: Standard U.S.
Telephone Area Codes: 215
Postal Codes: 19101–60

1. Introduction

Located in southeastern Pennsylvania, at the confluence of the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers, Philadelphia is the state's largest city and the fifth largest in the United States. Home of the Declaration of Independence and the Liberty Bell—and the first capital of the United States—Philadelphia has one of the nation's greatest concentrations of historic sites, which play a major role in attracting some three million visitors to the city every year. Although it has ceded its one-time position as manufacturing capital of the nation, Philadelphia today is home to a vigorous service-oriented economy as well as the number one freshwater port in the United States. Its central location in relation to the cities of the Eastern Seaboard, and the eastern United States as a whole, combined with its population, size, and cultural and recreational resources continue to make Philadelphia one of the nation's major cities.

2. Getting There

Philadelphia is located in southeastern Pennsylvania, where the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers meet. The city's fairly flat terrain resembles that of surrounding areas in New Jerseyand Delaware rather than the hilly land characteristic of much of Pennsylvania's interior.

Highways

The major interstate access to Philadelphia is via I-95, running from Boston and points north all the way down to Florida. Intersecting with I-95 is I-76 (the Schuylkill Expressway), which extends westward through southern Pennsylvania. Other major routes in the area are I-276 (the Pennsylvania Turnpike), and I-676 (the Vine Street Expressway), which links I-76 to Camden, New Jersey. I-476 (the "Blue Route") runs along the suburbs to the west of the city, connecting I-76 and I-276 to the north with I-95 to the south.

Bus and Railroad Service

Philadelphia is one of the main stops on the Amtrak route that traverses the Boston-Washington corridor in the northeast of the country. Trains arrive at and depart from Penn Station. Intercity bus service is available on Greyhound and Peter Pan/Trailways. Intercity service to nearby destinations is provided by New Jersey Transit.

Airports

Philadelphia International Airport is a hub for Midway Airlines and US Airways. It also services the other major U.S. carriers, including American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, TWA, and United.

Shipping

Penn's Landing is the largest freshwater port in the United States. Together with facilities in southern New Jersey and Delaware, it constitutes the Ports of Philadelphia, operated by the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority. The jointly operated port complex handles the East Coast's largest volume of international shipping freight.

Philadelphia Population Profile

City Proper

Population: 1,524,249
Area: 349.6 sq km (135 sq mi)
Ethnic composition: 57.2% white; 39.9% black; 0.2% Native American; and 2.7% Asian
Nicknames: City of Brotherly Love

Metropolitan Area

Population: 4,398,000
Description: Philadelphia and surrounding communities
Area: 9,984.5 sq km (3,855 sq mi)
World population rank ¹: 52
Percentage of national population ²: 1.6%
Average yearly growth rate: 0.4%
Ethnic composition: 76.9% white; 20% black; 2.9% Asian/Pacific Islander

1. The Philadelphia metropolitan area's rank among the world's urban areas.
2. The percent of the United States' total population living in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

3. Getting Around

The streets of Philadelphia are laid out in a grid pattern, with numbered streets running north-south. Many of the east-west streets were named—by founding father William Penn (1644–1718)—for local plants and trees, including Cherry, Chestnut, Walnut, Locust, Spruce, and Pine. The Delaware River to the east and the Schuylkill River to the west meet south of the city.

Bus and Commuter Rail Service

Public transportation is operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and includes buses, trolleys, subways, and commuter trains. Bus lines include the PHLASH Bus service, which makes a loop through many of the downtown's major commercial and cultural sites, the Ben FrankLine, the Mid-City Loop, and the Chestnut Street Transitway. The commuter rail line, PATCO, connects the city with Camden, New Jersey, via the Ben Franklin Bridge. Underground Rapid Transit lines intersect underneath City Hall.

Sightseeing

Bus tours of Philadelphia's historic sights are offered by Gray Line Tours and American Trolley Tours, whose "trolleys" are actually double-decker buses. Candlelight walking tours of historic Philadelphia are available also, as well as tours by horse and carriage. Boat tours that offer views of the city's skyline from the harbor are offered on the Spirit of Philadelphia and the Liberty Belle II.

4. People

In 1990, the population of Philadelphia was 1,586,000, of which 39.9 percent were black, 2.7 percent Asian, and 0.2 percent Native American. Hispanics (both white and black) accounted for 5.6 percent of the population. The population estimate for 1994 was 1,524,249.

The population of the Philadelphia Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area was reported as 4,922,257 in 1990 and estimated at 4,940,653 as of 1997. The region's racial composition was listed by the U.S. Census Bureau in 1996 as 76.9 percent white; 20 percent black; and 2.9 percent Asian/Pacific Islander. The percentage of residents of Hispanic origin (an ethnic rather than a racial designation) was 4.3 percent.

5. Neighborhoods

The historic central city is known as Center City. At its center lies Penn Square, the site of Philadelphia's city hall. The surrounding area can be divided into four quadrants, each arranged around a central square (or, in the case of Logan Circle, the site of a former square). In the northwest quadrant, the gracious, tree-lined Benjamin Franklin Parkway passes through Logan Circle, in a district that includes the Franklin Institute Science Museum and the Academy of Natural Sciences. South of this section lies Rittenhouse Square, an urban park surrounded by buildings that reflect the district's nineteenth-century history as an exclusive neighborhood that was home to some of the city's wealthiest citizens.

In the southeast quadrant is Washington Square, where the city's historic colonial district (also known as Old City) begins and stretches eastward to the Delaware River. This area includes Independence National Historic Park. Colonial architecture is also on display to the south, in the area known as Society Hill, a fashionable neighborhood of restored Federal, Georgian, and colonial homes. Further south is Queen Village, an area originally settled by Swedes that boasts the oldest church in the state of Pennsylvania. South Street, which lies between Society Hill and Queen Village, became a counterculture enclave in the 1960s and is still a trendy and sophisticated venue filled with bookstores, cafes, natural food stores, restaurants, and other businesses.

South of Center City is South Philadelphia, the oldest section of Philadelphia. Today it is a colorful and ethnically diverse neighborhood with a strong Italian influence.

West of the Schuylkill River lies University City, home of the University of Pennsylvania ("Penn"), which moved to this location in the 1870s, and Drexel University. In recent years, the university has helped gentrify the area by supporting the establishment of bookstores and other businesses.

Northwest of Center City lie the residential communities of Chestnut Hill, Mount Airy, and Manayunk; the latter has become a fashionable neighborhood graced by a lively assortment of galleries, restaurants, boutiques, and cafes. Chestnut Hill, originally a planned community designed by British architects in the mid-nineteenth century, has been designated a National Historic District thanks to its distinctive buildings.

Other municipalities in the metropolitan Philadelphia area include Upper Darby, Levittown, Doylestown, and New Hope (all in Pennsylvania), as well as Haddonfield, Moorestown, and Merchantsville in New Jersey. Also geographically associated with Philadelphia are a series of Pennsylvania communities known as the Main Line, including Merion, Wayne, Ardmore, Villanova, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr.

6. History

The Philadelphia region was first settled by Swedes in the first half of the seventeenth century. It was not until 1682 that the Englishman William Penn, having received a land grant from King Charles II, founded his settlement between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, north of the existing Swedish settlement. Penn planned a town with broad avenues and public squares. Settlers were attracted by the economic opportunities available in the new land, as well as by the promise of religious freedom guaranteed by Penn, a Quaker who had rejected the dictates of England's established Anglican Church.

By the eighteenth century, thanks to its fine port and good agricultural land, Philadelphia had become the foremost city in the 13 British colonies. Its considerable wealth, reflected in both its architecture and in the interior decor of its houses, also supported an impressive infrastructure and network of public services and cultural institutions. The first hospital in the future United States was opened in Philadelphia in 1755 (a project in which the city's most famous son, Benjamin Franklin, participated). Franklin was also a driving force behind the founding of the University of Pennsylvania, the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the American Philosophical Society.

Although the Philadelphians were more politically moderate than their neighbors in New England, they participated actively in the debate that preceded the adoption of the Declaration of Independence (which occurred in the city's own Independence Hall, then known as the State House) and were heavily involved in the Revolutionary War (1775–1783), during which their city was occupied by British troops under General Howe between 1777 and 1778 before Howe's army moved on to New York. The members of the Continental Congress fled to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, taking the Liberty Bell with them. After the war, Philadelphia was the site of the Constitutional Convention, at which the U.S. Constitution was drafted in 1787, and the city served as the capital of the new country in the 1790s before the completion of Washington, D.C.

The nineteenth century brought continued prosperity and cultural advancement to the city. In 1805 the first permanent bridge over the Schuylkill River connected Philadelphia with the fertile farmland of the interior. In the 1820s and 1830s, seaport and rail access made the Philadelphia the manufacturing capital of the United States, as well as one of its premier financial centers. Cultural progress continued also with the establishment of public education and the creation of such institutions as the Walnut Street Theater. Although the national capital had moved to Washington, Philadelphia remained the national center for the minting of money, shipbuilding, and weapons production.

As an enlightened city, Philadelphia was a hotbed of antislavery sentiment, although many of the city's elite, dependent on Southern trade, opposed the war for economic reasons. War brought its own economic compensation as Philadelphia became a center for military supplies and transport equipment.

However, nothing could compensate for the loss of thousands of Philadelphia's native sons in the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) in 1863. When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, his body lay in state in Independence Hall before traveling to its final resting place in Illinois.

Immigration to Philadelphia, already heavy before the Civil War (1861–65), continued in the last decades of the century. New arrivals from Italy and Eastern Europe joined the large number of Irish immigrants who had arrived earlier and helped maintain Philadelphia's position as the nation's manufacturing capital, with a varied manufacturing base that ranged from sugar refining to hat manufacturing. In 1876 Philadelphia hosted the first World's Fair held in the United States: the Centennial Exhibition in Fairmount Park, which included a demonstration of the telephone. Philadelphia went on to become a pioneer in the establishment of modern utilities, claiming the first residential and office electric lighting and the first telephone exchange, both in place by 1878.

As the new century arrived, Philadelphians were prospering, with the greatest home ownership rate of any city in the world. During World War I (1914–18), the city boasted the largest shipbuilding plant in existence at the time. The city's population continued to grow—from one million to two million between 1900 and 1930, an increase that included a large number of African Americans. However, the Great Depression of the 1930s signaled the end of Philadelphia's predominance as a manufacturing center, even though the city's economy rebounded with the advent of World War II (1939–45).

In the post-war years, Philadelphia's leaders have slowed migration to the surrounding suburbs with an ambitious program of urban renewal that restored Center City, preserving Philadelphia's historic heritage while allowing for development that would draw businesses to the city. Like other urban centers in the United States, Philadelphia has seen the growth of a service-oriented economy replace its former manufacturing base; today, manufacturing in this former industrial capital employs only about ten percent of the work force. As the twenty-first century began, the city continued to combine historic preservation with new development as the National Park Service worked on plans to transform Independence Mall, and a new National Constitution Center entered the planning stages as well.

7. Government

Both the city and the county of Philadelphia are administered by the same mayor-council government, established under a 1951 charter that served as a national model for big-city government, eliminating the administrative role of council and strengthening the powers of the mayor. The mayor and the 17 council members are elected to four-year terms, with ten council members elected by district and seven elected at large. The mayor may not serve more than two consecutive terms, although there are no limits on the number of non-consecutive mayoral terms.

8. Public Safety

Philadelphia is considered one of the nation's safest large metropolitan areas. In 1995, the city's incidence of reported violent crimes per 100,000 population was 1,436, including 28 murders, 51 rapes, and 889 robberies. The incidence of property crimes was 5,642 and included 1,057 burglaries and 1,556 motor vehicle thefts.

9. Economy

Like other cities in the Northeast, Philadelphia—once the manufacturing capital of the nation—has seen a decline in its traditional industrial base since World War II, as heavy industry moved to areas in the South and West. Until the 1980s, the city's port and petroleum-refining plants contributed substantially to the economy, but since that time service industries have replaced manufacturing as the dominant economic sector. Manufacturing, which used to account for 50 percent of the city's employment, now accounts for only about ten percent.

Today's leading economic sectors include advertising, financial services, law, and book publishing. The health care field is also a major income producer, with some 20 percent of the work force employed in health care services or the city's growing biomedical and pharmaceutical industries. Philadelphia has also made a concerted effort to capitalize on its historic attractions by promoting tourism, most notably through the construction of a new $525 million convention center, completed in 1993, and developing its waterfront areas.

Another target of the city's economic planning has been the promotion of Philadelphia as a venue for corporate headquarters, and new buildings as well as entire office parks have multiplied rapidly along Route 202 just west of the city. Major corporations headquartered in the Philadelphia area today include SmithKline Beecham, Aramark, Advanta, and CIGNA.

10. Environment

The physical features of the Philadelphia region have determined many aspects of its history, from the fertile river-wash soil that drew its early settlers to begin farming the area to its ports, which guaranteed an abundant supply of water, encouraged the growth of shipbuilding, and have made the city a major transport and shipping center throughout its history. The Fairmount Waterworks, constructed in 1840 and still standing in Fairmount Park, was a state-of-the-art project that pumped water from the Schuylkill River into the community for residential and commercial use.

11. Shopping

Philadelphia offers both traditional retail outlets in its historic neighborhoods and abundant mall and outlet shopping. For sheer size, the dominant shopping venue is the King of Prussia Court and Plaza north of the city, which is America's second-largest shopping mall, superseded only by the Mall of America in Minnesota. The King of Prussia facility, which boasts 450 stores and 51 hectares (126 acres) of parking, offers major stores such as Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Bloomingdale's, and specialty retailers including Tiffany, Williams-Sonoma, and Hermes.

The Franklin Mills outlet mall northeast of Center City is a single-story mall that attracts millions of shoppers annually with over 200 discount and outlet stores, including outlets for Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, and Burlington Coat Factory, as well as a 14-screen multiplex cinema.

Popular traditional urban shopping venues include Liberty Place, a downtown skyscraper that contains over 70 stores; South Street, which has evolved from a 1960s hippie district into a trendy upscale commercial and entertainment center; University City, the area surrounding the University of Pennsylvania, west of the Schuylkill river, which is home to a variety of boutiques and specialty shops; and the community of Manayunk northwest of Center City. A new shopping center near Philadelphia International Airport also draws large numbers of shoppers.

12. Education

Philadelphia, home of the first public school in the United States (opened in 1698), was also a pioneer in the education of gifted children, establishing special admission schools to meet the needs of students with special abilities in a variety of areas. Today Philadelphia has the nation's fifth-largest public school system, enrolling almost 220,000 students at all levels, from preschool through twelfth grade. In the fall of 1996, Philadelphia's public school enrollment was 63.8 percent black, 19.8 percent white, 11.6 percent Hispanic, and 4.7 percent Asian/Pacific. The school system employed 11,144 classroom teachers and 23,216 staff personnel.

The city of Philadelphia has about 20 post-secondary institutions, and its metropolitan area is home to nearly 90. The University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League college located in downtown Philadelphia, is over 250 years old. It was home to the nation's first medical school (1765), law school (1790), and business school (1881) and pioneered the integration of a classical education with modern fields of study. Situated west of the Schuylkill River since the 1870s, the university enrolls over 20,000 students in four undergraduate and 12 graduate schools. Located nearby is Drexel University.

Philadelphia is also home to the Curtis Institute, one of the nation's top music schools.

13. Health Care

There are more than 100 hospitals in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and six medical schools, as well as schools of nursing, dentistry, and pharmacology. There are major teaching hospitals affiliated with both the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University.

Pennsylvania Hospital, part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, is the oldest hospital in the United States, established in 1751 by Dr. Thomas Bond (1712–84) and Benjamin Franklin (1706–90). This 505-bed facility was also home to the country's first surgical amphitheater and was the first hospital in the country to treat mental illness.

Temple University Hospital, affiliated with the Temple University Medical School, is a 514-bed facility that provided care to 20,000 patients and 150,000 outpatients in 1998. Its emergency department, a certified Level I regional trauma center, treats more than 37,000 patients a year. Community hospitals that belong to the Temple University Health System include Episcopal Hospital, Jeanes Hospital, Lower Bucks Hospital, Neumann Medical Center, and Northeastern Hospital. Also part of Temple's hospital system is Temple University Children's Medical Center.

Philadelphia is also home to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Wills Eye Hospital, both considered among the best in the country in their respective specialties.

14. Media

Philadelphia's major daily newspapers (with 1998 circulation figures) are the Philadelphia Inquirer, published seven mornings a week (weekdays, 428,895; Sunday, 880,918), and the Philadelphia Daily News, published Monday through Saturday evening (weekday circulation 175,448). (Both papers are now owned by the same company.) The Inquirer is better known for its national coverage, while the Daily News has more local news. City Paper and Philadelphia Weekly are free alternative weeklies with articles on local issues and entertainment listings. Monthly magazines include Philadelphia Magazine and Where Philadelphia Magazine.

All major television networks have affiliates in Philadelphia, and the metropolitan region is home to more than 30 am and FM radio stations providing news, music, and local features. The acclaimed interview program "Fresh Air," hosted by Terry Gross, originates from WHYY, Philadelphia's National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate, and is syndicated on NPR stations throughout the country.

15. Sports

Philadelphia—where the world's first baseball game was played in 1860—fields teams in all major-league sports. The Philadelphia Phillies, who won the National League championship in 1993 and advanced to the playoffs two years later, play at Veterans Stadium, which is also the home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. The Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association compete in the modern, $230 million First Union Center, as do the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League.

As an area with one of the nation's heaviest concentration of colleges, Greater Philadelphia has an active collegiate sports scene, many of whose games take place at Franklin Field and the Palestra in West Philadelphia. Every April, Franklin Field is the site of the Penn Relays, an intercollegiate and amateur track event. Also popular are regattas on the Schuylkill River.

16. Parks and Recreation

Fairmount Park, the largest landscaped park in the country, extends over 3,602 hectares (8,900 acres) northwest of Center City. In addition to 161 kilometers (100 miles) of hiking, bicycling, and bridle trails, the park also encompasses historic and cultural attractions, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Zoo (the nation's oldest), the historic Fairmount Waterworks, nearly 30 colonial mansions open to visitors, Japanese gardens and a teahouse, outdoor sculpture, and the Philadelphia Orchestra's summer home, the Mann Music Center. Visitors to the park can use hike-and-bike trails; rent rowboats and canoes for use on the Schuylkill River, which runs through the park, dividing it into eastern and western sections; visit the waterworks, built in 1840; tour the historic houses, which include Lemon Hill, Mt. Pleasant, Laurel Hill, Strawberry Mansion, and Chamounix Mansion; take their children to Smith Playground; take in horticultural exhibits; or visit the 40-hectare (99-acre) Laurel Hill Cemetery.

The metropolitan area has over 100 golf courses, five of which are 18-hole municipal courses operated by the city of Philadelphia. Tennis courts can be found in Fairmount Park, on the University of Pennsylvania campus, and at other locations. Philadelphia has 86 municipal swimming pools, and the Blue Cross River Rink at Penn's Landing is a popular spot for ice skating.

17. Performing Arts

Anchored by its symphony orchestra and the renowned Curtis Institute, Philadelphia has a top-notch classical music scene. The Philadelphia Orchestra, which grew to greatness under maestros including Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy, remains one of the best in the world under music director, Wolfgang Sawallisch. The orchestra presents a regular season of concerts at the Academy of Music between September and May and also plays a six-week summer season at the Mann Music Center amphitheatre in Fairmount Park.

The talented faculty and student of the Curtis Institute can be heard in regular solo recitals and chamber music concerts in the school's concert hall in Rittenhouse Square. The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presents concerts featuring well-known soloists and ensembles performing both classical and popular music. In addition, the city has its own chamber orchestra, the Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra, as well as a group that specializes in contemporary music, the Relache Ensemble. The Opera Company of Philadelphia presents four fully staged opera productions annually at the Academy of Music.

Philadelphia presents varied opportunities for theater goers. In addition to traveling productions of Broadway plays, local audiences can attend productions by the resident company at the Walnut Street Theatre, the Philadelphia Theater Company, the Arden Theatre Company, and the American Music Theater Festival, which specializes in musical theater. The Wilma Theater is a respected troupe dedicated to presenting contemporary works, which are also the focus at the Philadelphia Festival Theatre for New Plays and the InterAct Theatre Company.

The acclaimed Pennsylvania Ballet performs at the Academy of Music, the Annenberg Center, and the Merriam Theater, in a season that includes an annual performance of The Nutcracker in the original version choreographed by Balanchine. A variety of local groups make up the Philadelphia Dance Alliance. Movement Theatre International performances showcase dance and movement of all kinds, including mime and even circus acts.

18. Libraries and Museums

The Free Library of Philadelphia operates a central library downtown and 49 neighborhood branches. With a total of 7,983,088 items, the library has a circulation of over six million. Its special collections cover subject areas including fine prints and printmaking, automobiles, Judaica, choral music, jazz, Americana, British writer Beatrix Potter (1866–1943), and British illustrator Arthur Rackham (1867–1939). It also has an exceptional children's library.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is the nation's third-largest art museum and one of its best. Its collection ranges from the middle ages to the present and features special attractions, including a medieval courtyard and fountain, a Gothic chapel, and a Hindu temple. Both older and contemporary European masters are represented, as well as a broad array of American artworks, including the decorative arts, and a variety of special exhibits. The Museum of American Art, housed in a distinguished Victorian building designed by Frank Furness and George Hewitt and extensively refurbished for the 1976 American bicentennial and further renovated in 1994, houses an outstanding collection of works by American artists from colonial times to the present. The Philadelphia Art Alliance promotes all the fine arts, displaying paintings, sculptures, and photography and also serving as a venue for readings, concerts, and dramatic performances.

With its rich history dating back to colonial times, Philadelphia is home to a variety of historic sites and historical museums. The Atwater-Kent Museum illuminates the city's history through exhibits detailing changing urban life over the past three hundred years. The Civil War Library and Museum houses a collection of research materials and artifacts from the war years, including a weapons display. Independence Seaport Museum, located at Penn's Landing, is devoted to the maritime history of the Delaware River and Chesapeake Bay.

Independence Hall (where the Declaration of Independence was drafted), together with the nearby pavilion that houses the Liberty Bell, is Philadelphia's most famous historic site. Nearby are the quarters occupied by the U.S. Congress and the Supreme Court in the 1790s when Philadelphia served as the nation's capital. Another major historic attraction in Philadelphia is Gloria Dei Church. Built in 1700 by early Swedish colonists in the region, it is the oldest church in Pennsylvania. The former home of poet and short-story writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–49) has been turned into the Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site, which displays artifacts illuminating Poe's life and work.

The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology is devoted to the history of the world's cultures, while the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies focuses on Philadelphia's history as a major immigration center. In addition, several museums in Philadelphia are devoted to the history of specific ethnic groups. These include the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum, the National Museum of American Jewish History, the Polish American Cultural Center, the American Swedish Historical Museum.

Philadelphia's legacy as the home of statesman and scientist Benjamin Franklin is reflected in the city's distinguished science museums. Originally founded in 1824, the Franklin Institute Science Museum (also the site of the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial) was a leader in the development of hands-on science exhibits. The Academy of Natural Sciences has exhibits that include dioramas, hands-on experiments, and a gem and mineral display. The College of Physicians of Philadelphia sponsors both the C. Everett Koop Community Health Information Center and the Mütter Museum.

19. Tourism

An estimated three million tourists visit Philadelphia every year, drawn by the city's historic and cultural attractions. The Philadelphia Convention Center, located in the central historic district, has boosted the city's economy by creating new jobs in the service and retail sectors, as growing numbers of convention delegates visit Philadelphia.

20. Holidays and Festivals

January
Mummers Parade

February
Black Writer's Festival
Chocolate Festival
Junior Jazz Weekend
Mardi Gras Jamboree
PECO Energy Jazz Festival
U.S. Hot Rod Grand Slam Monster Jam

March
Book & Cook Fair
Maple Syrup Festival
Purim Festival
Philadelphia Boat Show
Philadelphia Flower Show

April
Historic Houses in Flower
Penn Relays
Springside School Antiques Show

April–May
Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema
Philadelphia Open House Tours

May
Chestnut Hill Garden Festival Blooms
Flower & Garden Festival
Devon Horse Show & Country Fair
Jam Festival
Jam on the River
Pennsylvania Fair

May-September
Festival of Fountains

June
First Union U.S. Pro Championship
Manayunk Arts Fest
Midsommarfest
Odunde African Street Festival & Marketplace
Rittenhouse Square Fine Arts Annual

June-July
Welcome America

July
Philadelphia International Film Festival

September
Yo Philadelphia Festival

September-March
Bach Festival of Philadelphia

October-November
Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show

November
Advanta Tennis Championships for Women

December
Market Street East Holiday Festival

21. Famous Citizens

Marian Anderson (1897–1993), singer.

Mary Cassatt (1844–1926), painter.

Wilt Chamberlain (1936–99), basketball player.

W. C. Chamberlain (1879–1946), comic actor.

Thomas Eakins (1844–1916), painter.

Benjamin Franklin (1706–90), statesman and inventor.

Grace Kelly (1929–82), screen actress and princess of Monaco.

Margaret Mead (1901–1978), anthropologist.

William Penn (1644–1718), founder of Pennsylvania.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809–49), author.

Betsy Ross (1752–1836), flag maker.

22. For Further Study

Websites

Philadelphia City Net. [Online] Available http://www.city.net/countries/united_states/pennsylvania/philadelphia (accessed December 8, 1999).

Philadelphia City Pages. [Online] Available http://philadelphia.thelinks.com/ (accessed December 8, 1999).

Philadelphia Liberty Net. [Online] Available http://www.libertynet.org (accessed December 8, 1999).

Philadelphia Online. [Online] Available http://www.phillynews.com/ (accessed December 8, 1999).

Government Offices

Mayor's Office
215 City Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(206) 686-2181

Philadelphia City Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 686-1776

Tourist and Convention Bureaus

Philadelphia Convention Center
1101 Arch St.
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(206) 447-5000

Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau
1515 Market St., Suite 2020
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 636-3300

Publications

Philadelphia Business Journal
400 Market St., Suite 300
Philadelphia, PA 19106

Philadelphia Daily News
P.O. Box 7788
Philadelphia, PA 19101

Philadelphia Inquirer
P.O. Box 8263
Philadelphia, PA 19101

Books

Adams, Carolyn. Philadelphia: Neighborhoods, Division, and Conflict in a Post-industrial City. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991.

Cotter, John L., Daniel G. Roberts, and Michael Parrington. The Buried Past: An Archaeological History of Philadelphia. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992.

Davis, Allen F., and Mark H. Haller, eds. The Peoples of Philadelphia: A History of Ethnic Groups and Lower-class Life, 1790–1940. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998.

Ellison, Elaine Krasnow, and Elaine Mark Jaffe. Voices from Marshall Street: Jewish Life in a Philadelphia Neighborhood, 1920–1960. Philadelphia: Camino Books, 1994.

Gephart, Elizabeth S. Philadelphia with Children: A Guide to the Delaware Valley Including Lancaster and Hershey. Illustrated by Candace Stringer. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Camino Books, 1996.

Hulin-Salkin, Belinda. Greater Philadelphia: Into the Future, a Contemporary Portrait. 1st ed. Chatsworth, CA: Windsor Publications, 1991.

Hutchins, Catherine E. Shaping a National Culture: The Philadelphia Experience, 1750–1800. 1st ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1994.

Morrone, Francis. An Architectural Guidebook toPhiladelphia. Photography by James Iska. 1st ed. Salt Lake City, UT: Gibbs Smith, 1999.

Rockland, Michael Aaron. Snowshoeing Through Sewers: Adventures in New York City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1994.

Seitz, Ruth Hoover. Philadelphia & Its Countryside. Photography by Blair Seitz ; foreword by James A. Michener. Harrisburg, PA: RB Books, 1994.

Stevick, Philip. Imagining Philadelphia: Travelers' Views of the City from 1800 to the Present. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996.