Philadelphia travel guide — Philadelphia tourism and travel information

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Philadelphia travel guide

about Philadelphia

Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania, occupying all of Philadelphia County. . As of the 2000 census, the population was 1,517,550, but a July 1, 2002 Census estimate showed the population dropping to 1,492,231, making it the fifth largest city in the United States, though it is believed that Phoenix has since passed or will soon pass Philadelphia.

Philadelphia is one of the oldest cities in the United States (dating from 1681) and has played a central role in American history and the development of the United States.

During part of the 18th century the city was the second capital and then-largest city of the United States. At that time it eclipsed Boston and New York in political and social importance, with Boston-born Benjamin Franklin playing an extraordinary role in its rise.

The city is the central city for the Delaware Valley metropolitan area.

Philadelphia geography

Philadelphia is located at 39°59'53" North, 75°8'41" West (39.998012, -75.144793).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 369.4 km² (142.6 mi²). 349.9 km² (135.1 mi²) of it is land and 19.6 km² (7.6 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.29% water. Bodies of water include the Schuylkill River, Cobbs Creek, Wissahickon Creek, and Pennypack Creek.

Philadelphia is unofficially divided into numerous neighborhoods. These include Andorra, Roxborough, Northern Liberties, Manayunk, Center City, Queen Village, Kensington, University City, Strawberry Mansion, Chestnut Hill, Fishtown, Germantown, Mount Airy, Chinatown, Fox Chase, South Philly, Society Hill, the Museum District and many others.

Philadelphia history

Philadelphia was a planned city founded and developed by William Penn, a Quaker. Philadelphia was the capital of Penn's colony. During early immigration by Quakers and others when immigrants purchased land in the city, they also received farm land outside of the city. This was intended to allow the city's population to leave the city easily. Penn also required lots of alley ways and open spaces in to hopes of controlling fires and disease (which were then common problems in London).

It was the major center for the independence movement during the American Revolutionary War.

The name of the city means "brotherly love" in ancient Greek.

For a time in the 18th century, Philadelphia was the largest city in the Americas north of Mexico City, and second only to London in size in the British Empire.

In 1790, the seat of the United States Government was moved from Federal Hall in New York to Congress Hall in Philadelphia as the result of a compromise between a number of Southern congressmen and United States Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. In exchange for locating a permanent capital on the banks of the Potomac River, the congressmen agreed to support Hamilton's financial proposals. Philadelphia served as the temporary capital until 1800 when the Capitol building in the new Federal city of Washington, DC was opened.

An early railroad center, Philadelphia was the original home of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, the world's largest builder of steam locomotives (which relocated to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania). The Pennsylvania Railroad, once America's largest railroad by revenue and traffic volume and at one time the largest public corporation in the world, was headquartered on Broad Street, as was its merger successor, the Penn Central Railroad.

The city limits have been coterminous with the county since 1854. Prior to that, the city of Philadelphia consisted only of those areas between South Street, Vine Street, the Delaware River, and the Schuylkill River.

In 1876 Philadelphia hosted the World's Fair known as the Centennial Exposition. Memorial Hall and the expansive mall in front of it are remnants of this fair.

In 1926, the city held the Sesquicentennial Exposition.

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania".

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