67 Facts About Philadelphia PA

1.

Philadelphia PA was founded in 1682 by William Penn, an English Quaker.

FactSnippet No. 860,564
2.

Philadelphia PA went on to play a historic and vital role in the 18th century as the central meeting place for the nation's founding fathers whose plans and actions in Philadelphia PA ultimately inspired and resulted in the American Revolution.

FactSnippet No. 860,565
3.

Philadelphia PA hosted the First Continental Congress in 1774 following the Boston Tea Party, preserved the Liberty Bell, and hosted the Second Continental Congress during which the founders signed the Declaration of Independence, which historian Joseph Ellis has described as "the most potent and consequential words in American history".

FactSnippet No. 860,566
4.

Philadelphia PA is the center of economic activity in Pennsylvania and is home to five Fortune 1000 companies.

FactSnippet No. 860,567
5.

Philadelphia PA has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city.

FactSnippet No. 860,568
6.

Philadelphia PA is home to a culturally and philanthropically active LGBTQ+ community and culture.

FactSnippet No. 860,569
7.

Philadelphia PA contains 67 National Historic Landmarks, including the World Heritage Site of Independence Hall.

FactSnippet No. 860,570
8.

In 2015, Philadelphia was the first U S city to be named to the Organization of World Heritage Cities.

FactSnippet No. 860,571
9.

Penn named the city Philadelphia PA, which is Greek for "brotherly love, " derived from the Ancient Greek terms f???? philos and ade?f?? adelphos .

FactSnippet No. 860,572
10.

Philadelphia PA served as capital of the United States for much of the colonial and early post-colonial periods, including for a decade, from 1790 to 1800, while the District of Columbia was being constructed and prepared to serve as the new nation's national capital.

FactSnippet No. 860,573
11.

Philadelphia PA remained the young nation's largest city until the late 18th century, serving as the nation's financial and cultural center, until ultimately being eclipsed in total population by New York City in 1790.

FactSnippet No. 860,574
12.

Philadelphia PA was represented by the Washington Grays in the American Civil War.

FactSnippet No. 860,575
13.

In July 1919, Philadelphia PA was one of more than 36 industrial cities nationally to suffer a race riot of ethnic whites against blacks during Red Summer, in post-World War I unrest, as recent immigrants competed with blacks for jobs.

FactSnippet No. 860,576
14.

Geographic center of Philadelphia PA is about 40° 0' 34? north latitude and 75° 8' 0? west longitude.

FactSnippet No. 860,577
15.

Philadelphia PA is situated on the Fall Line that separates the Atlantic coastal plain from the Piedmont.

FactSnippet No. 860,578
16.

Philadelphia PA's neighborhoods are divided into large sections—North, Northeast, South, Southwest, West, and Northwest—surrounding Center City, which correspond closely with the city's limits before consolidation in 1854.

FactSnippet No. 860,579
17.

The commission maintains the Philadelphia PA Register of Historic Places, adding historic buildings, structures, sites, objects and districts as it sees fit.

FactSnippet No. 860,580
18.

Philadelphia PA County received an ozone grade of F and a 24-hour particle pollution rating of D in the American Lung Association's 2017 State of the Air report, which analyzed data from 2013 to 2015.

FactSnippet No. 860,581
19.

Philadelphia PA has the second-largest Irish and Italian populations in the United States, after New York City.

FactSnippet No. 860,582
20.

South Philadelphia PA remains one of the largest Italian neighborhoods in the country and is home to the Italian Market.

FactSnippet No. 860,583
21.

Northeast Philadelphia PA, although known for its Irish and Irish-American population, is home to a large Jewish and Russian population.

FactSnippet No. 860,584
22.

Mount Airy in Northwest Philadelphia PA contains a large Jewish community, while nearby Chestnut Hill is historically known as an Anglo-Saxon Protestant community.

FactSnippet No. 860,585
23.

Black American population in Philadelphia PA is the third-largest in the country, after New York City and Chicago.

FactSnippet No. 860,586
24.

Puerto Rican population in Philadelphia PA is the second-largest on the mainland United States after New York City, and the second-fastest growing after Orlando.

FactSnippet No. 860,587
25.

In regard to other Latin American populations in Philadelphia PA, there are significant Mexican and Central American populations in South Philadelphia PA.

FactSnippet No. 860,588
26.

Center City hosts a growing Chinatown accommodating heavily traveled Chinese-owned bus lines to and from Chinatown, Manhattan in New York City, 95 miles to the north, as Philadelphia PA is experiencing significant Chinese immigration from New York City.

FactSnippet No. 860,589
27.

South Philadelphia PA is home to large Cambodian, Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese communities.

FactSnippet No. 860,590
28.

Protestant Christian community in Philadelphia PA is dominated by mainline Protestant denominations including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church in the United States, Presbyterian Church and American Baptist Churches USA.

FactSnippet No. 860,591
29.

The Ukrainian Catholic jurisdiction is headquartered in Philadelphia PA, and is seated at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

FactSnippet No. 860,592
30.

Philadelphia PA has the fifth largest Muslim population among American cities.

FactSnippet No. 860,593
31.

Philadelphia PA is the center of economic activity in Pennsylvania with the headquarters of five Fortune 1000 companies within city limits.

FactSnippet No. 860,594
32.

Education in Philadelphia PA is provided by many private and public institutions.

FactSnippet No. 860,595
33.

The School District of Philadelphia PA is the local school district, operating public schools, in all of the city.

FactSnippet No. 860,596
34.

Philadelphia PA is home to five schools of medicine: Drexel University College of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA College of Osteopathic Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, and Thomas Jefferson University's Sidney Kimmel Medical College.

FactSnippet No. 860,597
35.

Philadelphia PA is home to many national historical sites that relate to the founding of the United States.

FactSnippet No. 860,598
36.

Philadelphia PA alone has 67 National Historic Landmarks, the third most of any city in the country.

FactSnippet No. 860,599
37.

Philadelphia PA is home to the United States's first zoo and hospital, as well as Fairmount Park, one of America's oldest and largest urban parks, founded in 1855.

FactSnippet No. 860,600
38.

City is home to important archival repositories, including the Library Company of Philadelphia PA, established in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin, and the Athenaeum of Philadelphia PA, founded in 1814.

FactSnippet No. 860,601
39.

Philadelphia PA Orchestra is generally considered one of the top five orchestras in the United States.

FactSnippet No. 860,602
40.

Philadelphia PA has played a prominent role in the music of the United States.

FactSnippet No. 860,603
41.

Philadelphia PA-born singers such as Frankie Avalon, James Darren, Eddie Fisher, Fabian Forte, and Bobby Rydell, along with South Philly-raised Chubby Checker, topped the music charts, establishing a clean-cut rock and roll image.

FactSnippet No. 860,604
42.

The Philadelphia PA area has many establishments that serve cheesesteaks, including restaurants, taverns, delicatessens and pizza parlors.

FactSnippet No. 860,605
43.

Traditional Philadelphia PA accent is considered by some linguists to be the most distinctive accent in North America.

FactSnippet No. 860,606
44.

Philadelphia PA has its own unique collection of neologisms and slang terms.

FactSnippet No. 860,607
45.

Philadelphia PA was the second of eight American cities to have won titles in all four major leagues, and has a title in soccer .

FactSnippet No. 860,608
46.

Philadelphia PA is home to professional, semi-professional, and elite amateur teams in cricket, rugby league, and rugby union.

FactSnippet No. 860,609
47.

Philadelphia PA Spinners were a professional ultimate team in Major League Ultimate until 2016.

FactSnippet No. 860,610
48.

Philadelphia PA is home to the Philadelphia PA Big 5, a group of five NCAA Division I college basketball programs.

FactSnippet No. 860,611
49.

Philadelphia PA will be one of the eleven US host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

FactSnippet No. 860,612
50.

From a governmental perspective, Philadelphia PA County is a legal nullity, as all county functions were assumed by the city in 1952.

FactSnippet No. 860,613
51.

Philadelphia PA County is coterminous with the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania.

FactSnippet No. 860,614
52.

Additionally, Philadelphia is home to the federal United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, both of which are housed in the James A Byrne United States Courthouse.

FactSnippet No. 860,615
53.

Philadelphia PA was a bastion of the Republican Party from the American Civil War until the mid-1930s.

FactSnippet No. 860,616
54.

Philadelphia PA had been assistant counsel on the Warren Commission in 1964 and the city's district attorney from 1966 to 1974.

FactSnippet No. 860,617
55.

In May 2019, former U S Vice President Joe Biden chose Philadelphia to be his 2020 U S presidential campaign headquarters.

FactSnippet No. 860,618
56.

In 2012, Philadelphia PA had the fourth-highest homicide rate among the country's most populous cities.

FactSnippet No. 860,619
57.

In 2014, Philadelphia PA enacted an ordinance decriminalizing the possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana or 8 grams of hashish; the ordinance gave police officers the discretion to treat possession of these amounts as a civil infraction punishable by a $25 ticket, rather than a crime.

FactSnippet No. 860,620
58.

Philadelphia PA was at the time the largest city to decriminalize the possession of marijuana.

FactSnippet No. 860,621
59.

Philadelphia PA is served by three non-commercial public radio stations: WHYY-FM, WRTI-FM, and WXPN-FM .

FactSnippet No. 860,622
60.

Philadelphia PA has owned-and-operated stations for all five major English-language broadcast networks: NBC – WCAU-TV, CBSKYW-TV, ABC – WPVI-TV, Fox – WTXF-TV, and The CW – WPSG-TV.

FactSnippet No. 860,623
61.

Philadelphia PA is served by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority which operates buses, trains, rapid transit, trolleys, and trackless trolleys throughout Philadelphia PA, the four Pennsylvania suburban counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery, in addition to service to Mercer County, New Jersey and New Castle County, Delaware .

FactSnippet No. 860,624
62.

Philadelphia PA's 30th Street Station is a major railroad station on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor with 4.

FactSnippet No. 860,625
63.

William Penn planned Philadelphia PA with numbered streets traversing north and south, and streets named for trees, such as Chestnut, Walnut, and Mulberry, traversing east and west.

FactSnippet No. 860,626
64.

Since the early days of rail transportation in the United States, Philadelphia PA has served as a hub for several major rail companies, particularly the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Railroad.

FactSnippet No. 860,627
65.

Philadelphia PA is a regional hub of the federally owned Amtrak system, with 30th Street Station being a primary stop on the Washington-Boston Northeast Corridor and the Keystone Corridor to Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.

FactSnippet No. 860,628
66.

In 1815, Philadelphia PA began sourcing its water via the Fairmount Water Works on the Schuylkill River, the nation's first major urban water supply system.

FactSnippet No. 860,629
67.

The CDI of Philadelphia has participated in the U S Department of State's "Partners for Peace" project with Mosul, Iraq, as well as accepting visiting delegations from dozens of other countries.

FactSnippet No. 860,630