The Philadelphia Portal
Philadelphia, colloquially referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the sixth-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 1,603,797 in the 2020 census. The city is the urban core of the larger Delaware Valley, also known as the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the nation's eighth-largest metropolitan area and seventh-largest combined statistical area with 6.245 million residents and 7.366 million residents, respectively.
As of 2022[update], the Philadelphia metropolitan area had a gross metropolitan product of US$518.5 billion and is home to five Fortune 500 corporate headquarters. Metropolitan Philadelphia ranks as one of the Big Five U.S. venture capital hubs, facilitated by its geographic proximity to both the entrepreneurial and financial ecosystems of New York City and to the federal regulatory environment of Washington, D.C. Greater Philadelphia is also a biotechnology hub. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange, owned by Nasdaq since 2008, is the nation's oldest stock exchange and a global leader in options trading. 30th Street Station, the city's primary rail station, is the third-busiest Amtrak hub in the nation, and the city's multimodal transportation and logistics infrastructure also includes Philadelphia International Airport, a major transatlantic gateway and transcontinental hub; the rapidly-growing PhilaPort seaport; and Interstate 95, the spine of the north–south highway system along the U.S. East Coast. (Full article...)
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The history of Philadelphia goes back to its founding in 1682 by William Penn. The area had earlier been inhabited by the Lenape (Delaware) Indians and European settlers who first arrived in the area in the early 1600s. Philadelphia quickly grew into an important colonial city and during the American Revolution was the site of the First and Second Continental Congresses. After the Revolution the city served as the temporary capital of the United States. At the beginning of the 19th century, the federal and state governments left Philadelphia, but the city was still the cultural and financial center of the country. Philadelphia became one of the first industrial centers in the United States, and the city contained a variety of industries, the largest being textiles. After the American Civil War, Philadelphia's government was controlled by an increasingly corrupt Republican political machine and by the beginning of the 20th century the city was described as "corrupt and contented." Various reform efforts slowly changed city government with the most significant in 1950 when a new city charter strengthened the position of mayor and weakened the Philadelphia City Council. At the same time Philadelphia moved its support from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party, which has since created a strong organization. The city's population began to decline in the 1950s as mostly white and middle-class families left for the suburbs. Many of Philadelphia's houses were in poor condition and lacked proper facilities, and gang and mafia warfare plagued the city. Revitalization and gentrification of certain neighborhoods started bringing people back to the city. Promotions and incentives in the 1990s and the early 21st century have improved the city's image and created a condominium boom in Center City and the surrounding areas that has slowed the population decline.
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Independence Hall is the building where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated and adopted. It is now the centerpiece of Independence National Historical Park. The building was completed in 1753 as the colonial legislature (later Pennsylvania State House) for the Province of Pennsylvania and was used in that capacity until the state capital moved to Lancaster in 1799. It became the principal meeting place of the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1783 and was the site of the Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1787. A convention held in Independence Hall in 1915, presided over by William Howard Taft, marked the formal announcement of the formation of the League to Enforce Peace, which led to the League of Nations and eventually the United Nations. The building was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1979.
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Tory Burch is an American fashion designer who was born, raised, and educated in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. She attended the Agnes Irwin School in Rosemont, PA, and the University of Pennsylvania. After graduation, she moved to New York City, where she began a career working with fashion designers and at Harper's Bazaar magazine. She was a copywriter for Polo Ralph Lauren and worked for Vera Wang. She began a fashion label in February 2004. The label was an immediate success and was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey the following year. The label has stores in several large American cities and has lines that are sold in several upscale specialty department stores. Burch has won several fashion awards for her designs. Her fashion label known as "TRB by Tory Burch"—later as "Tory Burch"—began as a business operation in her Upper East Side apartment and very quickly blossomed into eighteen free-standing boutiques. In February 2004, Tory Burch opened a flagship store in the NoLIta neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City; the store was almost completely sold out on the first day. She now has locations in Atlanta, Bal Harbour, Bellevue, Chicago, Costa Mesa, Dallas, East Hampton, Houston, Greenwich, Connecticut, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Palm Beach, San Diego, and San Francisco, and her fashion line is carried in Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Bloomingdale's. Stories about her and her fashion line have appeared in a broad spectrum of magazines and newspapers, and in April 2005, Winfrey endorsed her line on the The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that after operating for 168 years and moving to three buildings, the Mercantile Library in Philadelphia was closed due to concerns about asbestos?
- ... that judge Robert Bork's leaked list of video rentals included movies such as Citizen Kane, The Philadelphia Story and Sixteen Candles?
- ... that the funds from the sale of burial lots at Cathedral Cemetery in Philadelphia were intended for the construction of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul?
- ... that Fox bought a Philadelphia TV station started by a Fox?
- ... that Leverington Cemetery has the most orbs and apparitions in Philadelphia?
- ... that queer pro-Palestinian protesters faced off against the 2024 Philadelphia Pride drumline?
- ... that exhibits at Peale's Philadelphia Museum included the first nearly complete skeleton of a mastodon?
- ... that John Morin Scott, the mayor of Philadelphia, responded to the 1842 Lombard Street riot by mostly arresting black victims?
Selected anniversaries - December
- December 9, 1981 - Police officer Daniel Faulkner is murdered, Mumia Abu-Jamal is later found guilty for the murder.
- December 20, 1853 - A bill is presented to the Pennsylvania Assembly for the Consolidation of Philadelphia.
- December 22, 1719 - Philadelphia's first newspaper, Andrew Bradford's American Weekly Mercury began publishing.
- December 29, 1870 - Philadelphia City Council eliminates the volunteer fire companies and creates a paid fire department.
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"You are now fixed at the mercy of no governor that comes to make his fortune great; you shall be governed by laws of your own making and live a free, and if you will, a sober and industrious life."
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