Photo:1
Photo:2
Photo:3
Photo:4
Photo:1 Photo:2 Photo:3 Photo:4 |
| History | |
| 2>
Main article: History of Philadelphia
Penn's Treaty with the Indians by Benjamin West
Before Europeans arrived, the Philadelphia area was home to the Lenape (Delaware) Indians in the village of Shackamaxon. Europeans came to the Delaware Valley in the early 17th century, with the first settlements founded by the Dutch, who in 1623 built Fort Nassau on the Delaware River opposite the Schuylkill River in what is now Brooklawn, New Jersey. The Dutch considered the entire Delaware River valley to be part of their New Netherland colony. In 1638, Swedish settlers led by renegade Dutch established the colony of New Sweden at Fort Christina (present day Wilmington, Delaware) and quickly spread out in the valley. In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their military defeat of the English colony of Maryland. In 1648, the Dutch built Fort Beversreede on the west bank of the Delaware, south of the Schuylkill near the present-day Eastwick section of Philadelphia, to reassert their dominion over the area. The Swedes responded by building Fort Nya Korsholm, named New Korsholm after a town that is now in Finland. In 1655, a Dutch military campaign led by New Netherland Director-General Peter Stuyvesant took control of the Swedish colony, ending its claim to independence, although the Swedish and Finnish settlers continued to have their own militia, religion, and court, and to enjoy substantial autonomy under the Dutch. The English conquered the New Netherland colony in 1664, but the situation did not really change until 1682, when the area was included in William Penn's charter for Pennsylvania.
In 1681, in partial repayment of a debt, Charles II of England granted William Penn a charter for what would become the Pennsylvania colony. Despite the royal charter, Penn bought the land from the local Lenape to be on good terms with the Native Americans and ensure peace for his colony.[15] According to legend Penn made a treaty of friendship with Lenape chief Tammany under an elm tree at Shackamaxon, in what is now the city's Fishtown section.[16] Penn named the city Philadelphia, which is Greek for brotherly love (from philos, "love" or "friendship", and adelphos, "brother"). As a Quaker, Penn had experienced religious persecution and wanted his colony to be a place where anyone could worship freely. This tolerance, far more than afforded by most other colonies, led to healthier relationships with the local Native tribes and fostered Philadelphia's rapid growth into America's most important city.[17] Penn planned a city on the Delaware River to serve as a port and place for government. Hoping that Philadelphia would become more like an English rural town instead of a city, Penn laid out roads on a grid plan to keep houses and businesses spread far apart, allowing them to be surrounded by gardens and orchards. The city's inhabitants did not follow Penn's plans and crowded by the Delaware River and subdivided and resold their lots.[18] Before Penn left Philadelphia for the last time, he issued the Charter of 1701 establishing Philadelphia as a city. The city soon established itself as an important trading center, poor at first, but with tolerable living conditions by the 1750s. Benjamin Franklin, a leading citizen of the time, helped improve city services and founded new ones, such as one of the American Colonies' first hospitals.
Benjamin Franklin, 1777
In pursuit of this aim, a number of important philosophical societies were formed: the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture (1785), the Pennsylvania Society for the Encouragement of Manufactures and the Useful Arts (1787), The Academy of Natural Sciences (1812), and the Franklin Institute (1824).[19] These set out to establish and finance new industries and attract skilled and knowledgeable emigrants from Europe.
Philadelphia's importance and central location in the colonies made it a natural center for America's revolutionaries. The city hosted the First Continental Congress before the war; the Second Continental Congress, which signed the United States Declaration of Independence, during the war; and the Constitutional Convention after the war. Several battles were fought in and near Philadelphia as well.
President's House, Philadelphia. This mansion at 6th & Market Streets served as the presidential mansion of George Washington and John Adams, 1790–1800.
Philadelphia served as the temporary capital of the United States, 1790–1800, while the Federal City was under construction in the District of Columbia.[20] In 1793, one of the largest yellow fever epidemics in U.S. history killed as many as 5,000 people in Philadelphia, roughly 10% of the population.[21]
The state government left Philadelphia in 1799, and the federal government left soon after in 1800, but the city remained the young nation's largest; it was a financial and cultural center. New York City soon surpassed Philadelphia in population, but construction of roads, canals, and railroads helped turn Philadelphia into the United States' first major industrial city. Before 1800, its free black community founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), the first independent black denomination in the country. Throughout the 19th century, Philadelphia had a variety of industries and businesses, the largest being textiles. Major corporations in the 19th and early 20th centuries included the Baldwin Locomotive Works, William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Company, and the Pennsylvania Railroad.[22] Industry, along with the U.S. Centennial, was celebrated in 1876 with the Centennial Exposition, the first official World's Fair in the United States. Immigrants, mostly Irish and German, settled in Philadelphia and the surrounding districts. The rise in population of the surrounding districts helped lead to the Act of Consolidation of 1854 which extended the city of Philadelphia to include all of Philadelphia County.[23] In the later half of the century, immigrants from Russia, Eastern Europe and Italy; and African Americans from the southern U.S. settled in the city.[24] Between 1880 and 1930, the African-American population of Philadelphia increased from 31,699 to 219,559.[25][26] Twentieth-century blacks were part of the Great Migration out of the rural South to northern and midwestern industrial cities.
8th and Market Street, showing the Strawbridge and Clothier department store, 1910s.
By the 20th century, Philadelphia had become known as "corrupt and contented", with a complacent population and an entrenched Republican political machine.[27] The first major reform came in 1917 when outrage over the election-year murder of a police officer led to the shrinking of the Philadelphia City Council from two houses to just one.[28] In July 1919, Philadelphia was one of more than 36 industrial cities nationally to suffer a race riot of whites against blacks during Red Summer, in post-World War I unrest. In the 1920s, the public flouting of Prohibition laws, mob violence, and police involvement in illegal activities led to the appointment of Brigadier General Smedley Butler of the U.S. Marine Corps as director of public safety, but political pressure prevented any long-term success in fighting crime and corruption.[29]
In 1940, non-Hispanic whites constituted 86.8% of the city's population.[30] The population peaked at more than two million residents in 1950, then began to decline with the restructuring of industry, which led to the loss of many middle-class union jobs. In addition, suburbanization drew off many of the wealthier residents to outlying railroad commuting towns and newer housing. Revitalization and gentrification of neighborhoods began in the late 1970s and continues into the 21st century, with much of the development in the Center City and University City areas of the city. After many of the old manufacturers and businesses left Philadelphia or shut down, the city started attracting service businesses and began to more aggressively market itself as a tourist destination. Glass-and-granite skyscrapers were built in Center City. Historic areas such as Independence National Historical Park located in Old City and Society Hill were renovated during the reformist mayoral era of the 1950s through the 1980s. They are now among the most desirable living areas of Center City. This has slowed the city's 40-year population decline after losing nearly one-quarter of its population.[31][32] In addition, the city has attracted more recent immigrants: Hispanics from Central and South America, and Asian refugees from Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Tags:United States,Pennsylvania,County,Est,Delaware,Schuylkill,Greek,Declaration Of Independence,Penn's Treaty With The Indians,Lenape (delaware),Indians,Shackamaxon,Delaware Valley,Fort Nassau,Delaware River,Schuylkill River,Brooklawn, New Jersey,New Netherland,New Sweden,Fort Christina,Susquehannocks,Fort Beversreede,Fort Nya Korsholm,Peter Stuyvesant,William Penn,Charles Ii Of England,Charter,Pennsylvania Colony,Legend,Tammany,Grid Plan,Academy Of Natural Sciences,Franklin Institute,America's Revolutionaries,First Continental Congress,Second Continental Congress,United States Declaration Of Independence,Federal City,District Of Columbia, | |
| Topography | |
| 3>
A simulated-color satellite image of Philadelphia taken on NASA's Landsat 7 satellite. The Delaware River is visible in this shot.
Philadelphia is located at 40° 00′ north latitude and 75° 09′ west longitude. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 142.6 square miles (369.3 km2), of which 135.1 square miles (349.9 km2) is land and 7.6 square miles (19.7 km2), or 5.29%, is water. Bodies of water include the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, and Cobbs, Wissahickon, and Pennypack Creeks.
The lowest point is sea level, while the highest point is in Chestnut Hill, at approximately 445 feet (136 m) above sea level (near the intersection of Germantown Avenue and Bethlehem Pike).[33]
Philadelphia is located on the Fall Line separating the Atlantic Coastal Plain from the Piedmont.[34] The rapids on the Schuylkill River at East Falls disappeared after the completion of the Fairmount Dam.[35]
The city is the seat of its own county. The adjacent counties are Montgomery to the north; Bucks to the northeast; Burlington County, New Jersey to the east; Camden County, New Jersey to the southeast; Gloucester County, New Jersey to the south; and Delaware County to the west.
Pennsylvania Main Line
Cheltenham
Bensalem
Upper Darby
Camden, New Jersey
Philadelphia
Tinicum Township (Delco)
West Deptford Township, New Jersey
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Tags: | |
| Climate | |
| 3>
Under the Köppen climate classification Philadelphia falls in the northern periphery of the humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen Cfa). Summers are typically hot and muggy, fall and spring are generally mild, and winter is cold. Snowfall is variable, with some winters bringing only light snow and others bringing several major snowstorms. The average annual snowfall is 19.3 in (49.0 cm). Precipitation is generally spread throughout the year, with eight to twelve wet days per month,[36] at an average annual rate of 42.1 in (1,070 mm).
The January average is 32.3 °F (0.17 °C), though lows at times reach 10 °F (−12 °C), not including wind chill, and highs may soar above 50 °F (10 °C). July averages 77.6 °F (25.3 °C), although heat waves accompanied by high humidity are frequent with highs above 95 °F (35 °C) and even higher heat indices. Early fall and late winter are generally driest, with October being the driest month by average daily precipitation, averaging 2.75 inches (70 mm) for the month.
The snowiest winter has been the 2009–2010 winter season,[37] with 78.7 inches (199.9 cm) of snow[38] The least snowy winter was the 1972–1973 season, with only trace amounts of snowfall.[39] The city's heaviest single-storm snowfall (30.7 inches (78.0 cm)) occurred in January 1996.
The highest recorded temperature was 106 °F (41 °C) on August 7, 1918, but 100 °F (38 °C)+ temperatures are uncommon.[40] The lowest officially recorded temperature was −11 °F (−24 °C) on February 9, 1934,[40] but temperatures below 0 °F (−17.8 °C) occur only a few times a decade.
Climate data for Philadelphia (Philadelphia Airport)
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Record high °F (°C)
74
(23)
79
(26)
87
(31)
95
(35)
97
(36)
102
(39)
104
(40)
106
(41)
102
(39)
96
(36)
84
(29)
73
(23)
106
(41)
Average high °F (°C)
40.3
(4.6)
43.8
(6.6)
52.7
(11.5)
63.9
(17.7)
73.8
(23.2)
82.7
(28.2)
87.1
(30.6)
85.3
(29.6)
78.0
(25.6)
66.6
(19.2)
56.0
(13.3)
44.8
(7.1)
64.58
(18.10)
Average low °F (°C)
25.5
(−3.6)
27.5
(−2.5)
34.3
(1.3)
44.0
(6.7)
53.9
(12.2)
63.7
(17.6)
69.0
(20.6)
67.8
(19.9)
60.2
(15.7)
48.4
(9.1)
39.2
(4.0)
30.0
(−1.1)
46.96
(8.31)
Record low °F (°C)
−7
(−22)
−11
(−24)
5
(−15)
14
(−10)
28
(−2)
44
(7)
51
(11)
44
(7)
35
(2)
25
(−4)
8
(−13)
−5
(−21)
−11
(−24)
Precipitation inches (mm)
3.03
(77)
2.64
(67.1)
3.78
(96)
3.57
(90.7)
3.70
(94)
3.43
(87.1)
4.35
(110.5)
3.49
(88.6)
3.78
(96)
3.18
(80.8)
2.98
(75.7)
3.55
(90.2)
41.48
(1,053.6)
Snowfall inches (cm)
7.1
(18)
8.7
(22.1)
2.5
(6.4)
.5
(1.3)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
.3
(0.8)
3.6
(9.1)
22.7
(57.7)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in)
10.6
9.4
10.5
11.3
11.1
9.8
9.9
8.4
8.7
8.6
9.3
10.6
118.2
Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 in)
4.5
3.7
1.7
.4
0
0
0
0
0
0
.2
1.9
12.4
Sunshine hours
155.0
155.4
201.5
216.0
244.9
270.0
275.9
260.4
219.0
204.6
156.0
136.4
2,495.1
Source no. 1: NOAA [41], The Weather Channel (records) [42]
Source no. 2: HKO (sun, 1961-1990) [43]
Tags: | |
| Cityscape | |
| 2>
Panoramic view of the Philadelphia skyline from across the Delaware River in Camden, New Jersey.
Tags: | |
| Architecture | |
| 3>
Main articles: Architecture of Philadelphia and List of tallest buildings in Philadelphia
Philadelphia's architectural history dates back to Colonial times and includes a wide range of styles. The earliest structures were of logs const Tags: | |
z³ote monety |