Philadelphia (also referred to as "Philly," the "the City of Brotherly Love," and "the Quaker City") is the fifth most populous city in the United States and the largest in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, both in area and population. Since 1854, the city has been coterminous with Philadelphia County. Since 1952, the city and county have shared a common government, yet the county still exists as a separate entity within Pennsylvania. As of July 1, 2004, the population of the city was estimated at 1,470,151. Philadelphia has the third largest downtown residential population in the U.S., behind New York and Chicago.
The Philadelphia metropolitan area is the fourth largest in the U.S. by the current official definition, with some 6.2 million people, though other definitions place it sixth behind the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington-Baltimore. Philadelphia is the central city of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area.
Philadelphia is one of the oldest and most historically significant cities in the U.S. During part of the 18th century, the city was the second capital and most populous city of the United States. At that time, it eclipsed Boston and New York City in political and social importance, with Benjamin Franklin playing an extraordinary role in Philadelphia's rise.
The city limits have been coterminous with Philadelphia County since The Act of Consolidation in 1854. Prior to that, the city consisted only of the area bounded by South Street, Vine Street, the Delaware River, and the Schuylkill River. The city's expansion incorporated the neighborhoods of West Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, and Northeast Philadelphia, as well as Germantown and smaller communities such as Roxborough, Manayunk, Mount Airy and Chestnut Hill.
Philadelphia is also one of the largest college towns in the United States with over 120,000 students studying within the city limits alone and nearly 300,000 total college and university students in the metropolitan area.
Philadelphia is located at 39°59'53"N, 75°8'41"W.
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 Delaware River, Schuylkill River, Cobbs Creek, Wissahickon Creek, and Pennypack Creek.
The lowest point in the city is 10 feet above sea level near Fort Mifflin in Southwest Philadelphia at the convergence of the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. The highest point in the city is Chestnut Hill, with an elevation of 432 feet above sea level located near Evergreen Place, just north and west of Evergreen Avenue.
1790 - 28,5221800 - 41,2201810 - 53,7221820 - 63,8021830 - 80,4621840 - 93,6651850 - 121,3761860 - 565,5291870 - 674,0221880 - 847,1701890 - 1,046,9641900 - 1,293,6971910 - 1,549,0081920 - 1,823,7791930 - 1,950,9611940 - 1,931,3341950 - 2,071,6051960 - 2,002,5121970 - 1,948,6091980 - 1,688,2101990 - 1,585,5772000 - 1,517,550
As of the census of 2000, there are 1,517,550 people, 590,071 households, and 352,272 families residing in the city. The population density is 4,337.3/km2 (11,233.6/mi2). There are 661,958 housing units at an average density of 1,891.9/km2 (4,900.1/mi2).
The racial makeup of the city is:
The ethnic makeup of the city is 32.5% African American, 13.6% Irish, 9.2% Italian, 6.6% Puerto Rican, 6.4% German, and 4.3% Polish.
The racial makeup of the city in 2010, estimated by the U.S Census Bureau :
Of the 590,071 households, 27.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.1% are married couples living together, 22.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 40.3% are non-families. 33.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.48 and the average family size is 3.22.
In the city the population is spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 81.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $30,746, and the median income for a family is $37,036. Males have a median income of $34,199 versus $28,477 for females. The per capita income for the city is $16,509. 22.9% of the population and 18.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 31.3% of those under the age of 18 and 16.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Philadelphia's population appears to have reached its highest level approximately around 1950 and has decreased since then. However, recent estimations predict the city to have growth slightly before or after 2010. This is because of dramatic increases in immigration, flight from cities such as Camden and Baltimore, and the city's changing appearance. Center City being one of America's most beautiful downtowns, drastic improvement of the waterfront, and continuing redevelopment throughout the city are other main reasons.
Philadelphia's economy is heavily based upon manufacturing, refining, food, and financial services. The city also has its own stock exchange.
The city is home to many major Fortune 500 companies, including cable television and internet provider Comcast, insurance companies CIGNA and Lincoln Financial Group, energy company Sunoco, food services company Aramark, Crown Holdings Incorporated, Rohm and Haas Company, the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, Boeing helicopters division, and automotive parts retailer Pep Boys.
The Federal government plays a large role in Philadelphia as well. The city served as the first capital city of the United States, before the construction of Washington, D.C.. Today, the East Coast operations of the United States Mint are based near the historic district, and the Federal Reserve Bank's Philadelphia division is based there as well.
Due in part to the historical presence of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the large ridership at 30th Street Station, Amtrak also maintains a significant presence in the city. These jobs include customer service representatives and ticket processing and other behind the scenes personnel, in addition to the normal functions of the railroad.
Because of the presence of the federal government, the city has a large contingent of law firms. The city is also a national center of law due to the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Law School and the Temple University Beasley School of Law.
Before Europeans arrived, the Delaware (Lenape) Indian town of Shackamaxon was located where Philadelphia now stands, specifically, the Germantown neighborhood. Although the area was within the bounds described in the 1632 Charter of Maryland, the Calvert family's influence never reached this far north, and the first Europeans to settle the area were mainly Swedes (see New Sweden), who called it Wiccacoa. A congregation was formed in 1646 on Tinicum Island by Swedish missionary Johannes Campanius. In 1700, the group built the Gloria Dei Church, also known as Old Swedes.
Philadelphia is a planned city, founded and developed in 1682 by William Penn, a Quaker. The city's name means "brotherly love" in Greek (). Penn hoped that the city, as the capital of his new colony founded on principles of freedom and religious tolerance, would be a model of this philosophy. During early immigration by Quakers and others, when immigrants purchased land in the city, they also received farm land outside the city; this was intended to allow the population to leave the city easily. Penn also mandated the construction of alleyways and open spaces, in the hope of controlling fires and disease, which were then common problems in London and other major cities.
Philadelphia was a major center of the independence movement during the American Revolutionary War. The Declaration of Independence and US Constitution were drafted in Philadelphia and signed in the city's Independence Hall. The United States Marine Corps also began here on Nov. 10, 1775 when Samuel Nicholas began recruiting men at Tun Tavern.
For a time in the 18th century, Philadelphia was the largest city in the Americas north of Mexico City, and was the fourth largest city under Crown rule (after London, Bristol, and Dublin).
In 1790, as the result of a compromise between a number of Southern congressmen and Alexander Hamilton, then Secretary of the Treasury, the seat of the United States Government was moved from Federal Hall in New York to Congress Hall in Philadelphia, before taking its current residence in Washington, DC. In exchange for locating a permanent capital on the banks of the Potomac, the congressmen agreed to support Hamilton's financial proposals. Philadelphia served as capital for a decade, 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 eventually 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 in the city, as was its merger successor, the Penn Central, and in turn its freight railroad successor, Conrail.
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 to celebrate the nation's 150th birthday.
In 1976, Philadelphia was one of the participating cities in the United States Bicentennial observances that took place nationwide.
Source:
Philadelphia-USA.com
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