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Boundaries

Philadelphia is bounded as follows:

• On the north by Bucks County
• On the west by Montgomery County
• On the south by Delaware County
• On the east by the Delaware River

History

William Penn's connections with the Duke of York (who later became King James II) enabled him to secure a land grant for a colony that would become a refuge for persecuted Quakers in the New World. Penn's petition was granted and the Charter of Pennsylvania was signed on March 4, 1681 by the King.  

Penn sailed to America on the ship Welcome and arrived November 8, 1682.  He founded Philadelphia--he chose the name, which means "city of brotherly love" in Greek.  He approved the site between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. He envisioned a 10,000 acre city, but accepted a 1,200-acre plan. Penn named major streets including Broad, Chestnut, Pine, and Spruce.

The new state adopted a constitution which, called for a Great Law, a humanitarian code that guaranteed liberty of conscience and opened up Pennsylvania for settlement to other persecuted people of Europe.

The city of Philadelphia, as laid out by William Penn, comprised only that portion of the present city situated between South and Vine Streets and Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. In fact, the city proper was that portion between High (Market) Street and Dock Creek.

Native Americans were present, The Delawares (or Leni Lanape) were an Algonquian-speaking tribe that lived at the basin of the Delaware River. The Connoys and Nanticokes also merged with the Delawares.  The Susquehannocks were another Algonquian-speaking tribe, who lived along the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania and Maryland. Their population, like many other native tribes at the time, was devastated by European diseases. either as spectators of the improvements then progressing, or, venders of their game and venison from the neighboring wilds.

Revolution

The First Continental Congress was held in September in Carpenters' Hall.  The American Revolutionary War began after the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April, 1775 and the Second Continental Congress met the next month at the Pennsylvania State House where they would sign the Declaration of Independence more than a year later.  Following the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, the United States Congress had moved out of Philadelphia, eventually settling in New York City. Besides the Constitutional Convention in May 1787, United States politics was no longer centered in Philadelphia. Philadelphians tried to lobby and petition the Congress to move back to Philadelphia or southeastern Pennsylvania. However, a permanent capital was selected to be along the Potomac River and Philadelphia was selected to be the temporary United States capital for ten years starting in 1790. Congress occupied the Philadelphia County Courthouse, which became known as Congress Hall, and the Supreme Court worked at City Hall. Robert Morris donated his home on Market Street to be the residence for President Washington.^[27]

Industrial growth

The Pennsylvania state government left Philadelphia in 1799 and at the time the United States government left Philadelphia in 1800, the city had become one of the United States' busiest ports and the country's largest city with 67,787 people living in Philadelphia and its contiguous suburbs.^[29] Philadelphia's maritime trade was interrupted by the Embargo Act of 1807 and then the War of 1812. After the war, Philadelphia's shipping industry never returned to its pre-embargo status and New York City would soon become the United States' busiest port and largest city.^[30]

Immigrants, mostly from Germany and Ireland, streamed into the city, swelling the population of Philadelphia and its suburbs.^[35] In Philadelphia, as the rich moved west of 7th Street, the poor moved into the upper class' former homes, now converted into tenements and boarding houses. Many small row houses crowded alleyways and small streets, and these areas were filthy, filled with garbage and the smell of manure from animal pens. During the 1840s and 1850s, hundreds died each year in Philadelphia and the surrounding districts from diseases like malaria, smallpox, tuberculosis, and cholera, with the poor being affected the worst.^[36]

Late 19th century

In the years following the Civil War Philadelphia's population continued to grow. The population grew from 565,529 in 1860 to 674,022 in 1870. By 1876 the city's population stood at 817,000. The dense population areas were not only growing north and south along the Delaware River, but also moving westward across the Schuylkill River.^[42] A large portion of the growth came from immigrants, still mostly German and Irish. In 1870 twenty-seven percent of Philadelphia's population was born outside the United States. By the 1880s immigration from Russia, Eastern Europe, and Italy started rivaling immigration from Western Europe. Much of the immigration from Russia and Eastern Europe were Jews. In 1881 there were around 5,000 Jews in the city and by 1905 there were around 100,000. Philadelphia's Italian population grew from around 300 in 1870 to around 18,000 in 1900, with the majority settling in South Philadelphia. Along with foreign immigration, domestic immigration from African Americans gave Philadelphia the largest African American population of a Northern U.S. city. In 1876 there were around 25,000 African Americans living in Philadelphia and by 1890 the population was near 40,000. While immigrants moved into the city Philadelphia's rich emptied out. During the 1880s much of Philadelphia's upper class moved into the growing suburbs along the Pennsylvania Railroad's Main Line west of the city.^[44]

One of the biggest projects of the time was the Centennial Exposition, a World's Fair that celebrated the United States Centennial. The Exposition was held in Fairmount Park and exhibits included Alexander Graham Bell's telephone and the Corliss Steam Engine. The Exposition began on May 10, 1876 and when the fair ended on November 10 over nine million people had visited the fair.

Another project was the construction of a new city hall. Construction of Philadelphia City Hall was graft-ridden and it took twenty-three years to complete. The building was completed in 1884 and was the tallest building in Philadelphia until the 1980s.

Philadelphia's major industries of the era were the Baldwin Locomotive Works, William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Company, and the Pennsylvania Railroad. Along with the Pennsylvania Railroad, Philadelphia's other local railroad was the Reading Railroad, but after a series of bankruptcies it came under control of New Yorkers.

The largest industry in Philadelphia was textiles. Philadelphia produced more textiles than any other U.S. city and in 1904 textiles employed more than 35 percent of the city's workers. The cigar, sugar, and oil industries also made an impact on the city. During this time the major department stores, Wanamaker's, Gimbels, Strawbridge and Clothier, and Lit Brothers, sprung up along Market Street.

Early 20th century

In the beginning of the 20th century Philadelphia had taken on a poor reputation. People both inside and outside of the city commented that Philadelphia and its citizens were dull and contented with its lack of change. Harper's Magazine commented that "The one thing unforgivable in Philadelphia is to be new, to be different from what has been."

During this time Philadelphia continued to grow with immigrants coming from Eastern Europe and Italy and African Americans from the South.  Foreign immigration was briefly interrupted by World War I when the city's factories, including the new U.S. Naval Yard at Hog Island, constructed ships, trains, and other items needed in the war effort.

Into the 21st century

In 1993 a new convention center was opened creating a hotel boom with seventeen hotels opening between 1998 and 2000 and the city began promoting its historic sites, festivals, and entertainment to attract tourists.

In 2005 National Geographic Traveler named Philadelphia America's Next Great City citing its recent revitalization and general cityscape.

Architecture and housing stock

The buildings and architecture of Philadelphia are a mix of historic and modern styles that reflect the city's history. The first European settlements appeared within the present day borders of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the 17th century with most structures being built from logs. By the 18th century brick structures had become common. Georgian and later Federal style buildings dominated much of the cityscape. In the first half of the 19th century Greek revival appeared and flourished with architects such as William Strickland, John Haviland, and Thomas U. Walter. In the second half of the 19th century Victorian architecture became popular with the city's most notable Victorian architect being Frank Furness.

Steel and concrete skyscrapers appeared in the first decades of the 20th century and glass and granite skyscrapers towards the end of the century. Construction continued into the 21st century with the city tallest building, the Comcast Center. Philadelphia made significant contributions in the architecture of the United States. The row house was introduced to the United States via Philadelphia in the 19th century, the United States' first International style skyscraper was built in Philadelphia, and one of the most important examples of Postmodern architecture, Robert Venturi's Guild House, is located in the city.

Public transportation

Public transportation in southeastern Pennsylvania, which includes Philadelphia and the surrounding counties, is provided by SEPTA, the region's mass transit authority.

            Regional rail (a.k.a. commuter rail)

Buses

Trolleys (a.k.a. trams or streetcars)

Education

Colleges and Universities

Trish Franklin
Trish Franklin Team
Keller Williams Real Estate
910 Harvest Drive Suite 100
Blue Bell, PA 19422

(215) 275-6257
(215)-646-2900

Trish@Franklinbehr.com