Philadelphia

{{Main|History of Philadelphia}}

{{For timeline|Timeline of Philadelphia}}

{{See also|List of National Historic Landmarks in Philadelphia|National Register of Historic Places listings in Philadelphia}}

Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the early 17th century, the Lenape, an Indian tribe also known as the Delaware Indians, lived in the village of Shackamaxon in present-day Philadelphia and the surrounding area.Josephy 188–189 The Lenape historically lived along the Delaware River watershed, western Long Island, and the Lower Hudson Valley.{{efn|1= Description of the Lenape peoples (Delaware nations) historic territories inside the divides of the frequently mountainous landforms flanking the Delaware River's drainage basin. These terrains encompass from South to North and then counter-clockwise:

{{Bulleted list

| the shores from the east-shore mouth of the river and the sea coast to Western Long Island (all of both colonial New Amsterdam and New Sweden), and

| portions of Western Connecticut up to the latitude of the Massachusetts corner of today's boundaries—making the eastern bounds of their influence, thence their region extended:

| westerly past the region around Albany, New York to the Susquehanna River side of the Catskills, then

| southerly through the eastern Poconos outside the rival Susquehannock lands past Eastern Pennsylvania then southerly past the site of Colonial Philadelphia past the west bank mouth of the Delaware and extending south from that point along a stretch of sea coast in northern colonial Delaware.

}}

The Susquehanna-Delaware River system's watershed divided the frequently contested hunting grounds between the rival Susquehannock people and Lenape peoples, and the Catskills and Berkshires played a similar boundary role in the northern regions of their original colonial era range.}} Most Lenape were pushed out of the region during the 18th century as the original Thirteen colonies expanded, which was further exacerbated by losses from intertribal conflicts. Lenape communities were also weakened by newly introduced diseases, mainly smallpox, and conflicts with Europeans. The Iroquois occasionally fought the Lenape. Surviving Lenape moved west into the upper Ohio River basin. Following the American Revolutionary War and the subsequent establishment of the United States, the Lenape began moving further west. In the 1860s, the U.S. federal government sent most remaining Lenape in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma and surrounding territories as part of the Indian removal policy.

File:The Birth of Pennsylvania 1680 cph.3g07157.jpg (holding paper) and King Charles II depicted in The Birth of Pennsylvania 1680, a portrait by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris]]

File:Treaty of Penn with Indians by Benjamin West.jpg with the Lenape tribe depicted in Penn's Treaty with the Indians, a 1772 portrait by Benjamin West]]

File:Map of the Original City of Philadelphia in 1682 by Thomas Holme.jpg, believed to be the city's first map|alt=A Portraiture of the City of Philadelphia, by Thomas Holme]]

Europeans first entered Philadelphia and the surrounding Delaware Valley in the early 17th century. The first settlements were founded by Dutch colonists, who built Fort Nassau on the Delaware River in 1623 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, located in present-day Wilmington, Delaware, and quickly spread out in the valley. In 1644, New Sweden supported the Susquehannocks in their war against Maryland colonists.{{cite book |last=Jennings |first=Francis |year=1984 |title=The Ambiguous Iroquois Empire: The Covenant Chain Confederation of Indian Tribes with English Colonies from Its Beginnings to the Lancaster Treaty of 1744 |location=New York |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=0-393-01719-2 |oclc=9066383}} In 1648, the Dutch built Fort Beversreede on the west bank of the Delaware, south of the Schuylkill River near the present-day Eastwick section of Philadelphia, to reassert their dominion over the area. The Swedes responded by building Fort Nya Korsholm, or New Korsholm, named after a town in Finland with a Swedish majority.

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. The Swedish and Finnish settlers continued to have their own militia, religion, and court, and to enjoy substantial autonomy under the Dutch. An English fleet captured the New Netherland colony in 1664, though the situation did not change substantially until 1682, when the area was included in William Penn's charter for Pennsylvania.{{Citation |author-last1=Brookes |author-first1=Karin |author-first2=John |author-last2=Gattuso |author-first3=Lou |author-last3=Harry |author-first4=Edward |author-last4=Jardim |author-first5=Donald |author-last5=Kraybill |author-first6=Susan |author-last6=Lewis |author-first7=Dave |author-last7=Nelson |author-first8=Carol |author-last8=Turkington |editor-first=Zoë |editor-last=Ross |title=Insight Guides: Philadelphia and Surroundings |edition=Second (Updated) |year=2005 |publisher=APA Publications |pages=[https://archive.org/details/insightguidephil00zoer/page/21 21–22] |isbn=1-58573-026-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/insightguidephil00zoer/page/21 }}

In 1681, in partial repayment of a debt, Charles II of England granted Penn a charter for what would become the Pennsylvania colony. Despite the royal charter, Penn bought the land from the local Lenape in an effort to establish good terms with the Native Americans and ensure peace for the colony.{{Cite book |title=Insight Guides: Philadelphia and Surroundings |page=21 }} Penn made a treaty of friendship with Lenape chief Tammany under an elm tree at Shackamaxon, in what is now the city's Fishtown neighborhood.{{Cite book |author= |editor-first=RF |editor-last=Weigley |title=Philadelphia: A 300-Year History |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |year=1982 |location=New York and London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/philadelphia300y00weig/page/4 4–5] |isbn=0-393-01610-2 |oclc=8532897 |display-editors=etal |url=https://archive.org/details/philadelphia300y00weig/page/4 }} Penn named the city Philadelphia, which is Greek for "brotherly love", derived from the Ancient Greek terms φίλος phílos (beloved, dear) and ἀδελφός adelphós (brother, brotherly). There were a number of cities named Philadelphia in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Greek and Roman periods, including modern Alaşehir, mentioned as the site of an early Christian congregation in the Book of Revelation. As a Quaker, Penn had experienced religious persecution and wanted his colony to be a place where anyone could worship freely. This tolerance, which exceeded that of other colonies, led to better relations with the local native tribes and fostered Philadelphia's rapid growth into America's most important city.{{Cite book |last=Avery |first=Ron |title=A Concise History of Philadelphia |publisher=Otis Books |year=1999 |location=Philadelphia |page=[https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof0000aver/page/19 19] |isbn=0-9658825-1-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/concisehistoryof0000aver/page/19 }}

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 with areas for gardens and orchards.

The city's inhabitants did not follow Penn's plans, however, and instead crowded the present-day Port of Philadelphia on the Delaware River and subdivided and resold their lots.{{cite book |author= |editor-first=RF |editor-last=Weigley |title=Philadelphia: A 300-Year History |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |year=1982 |location=New York and London |pages=7, 14–16 |isbn=0-393-01610-2 |oclc=8532897 |display-editors=etal |url=https://archive.org/details/philadelphia300y00weig/page/7 }} Before Penn left Philadelphia for the final time, he issued the Charter of 1701 establishing it as a city. Though poor at first, Philadelphia became an important trading center with tolerable living conditions by the 1750s. Benjamin Franklin, a leading citizen, helped improve city services and founded new ones that were among the first in the nation, including a fire company, library, and hospital.

A number of philosophical societies were formed, which were centers of the city's intellectual life, including 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).{{cite web |url=http://explorepahistory.com/story.php?storyId=35&chapter=2 |title=Explore PA History website |publisher=Explorepahistory.com |access-date=December 23, 2010 |archive-date=December 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215022801/http://explorepahistory.com/story.php?storyId=35&chapter=2 |url-status=live }} These societies developed and financed new industries that attracted skilled and knowledgeable immigrants from Europe.

{{See also|Pennsylvania in the American Revolution|Philadelphia campaign}}

File:Declaration of Independence (1819), by John Trumbull.jpg presenting their draft of the Declaration of Independence in Independence Hall on June 28, 1776, depicted in an 1818 painting by John Trumbull; historian Joseph Ellis called the Declaration "the most potent and consequential words in American history."John Hazelton, The Historical Value of Trumbull's: Declaration of Independence, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, volume 31 (Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1907), 38.]]

File:Philadelphia Presidents house.jpg on Market Street served as the presidential mansion for the nation's first two presidents, George Washington and John Adams, from 1790 to 1800 prior to the completion of the White House and the development of Washington, D.C. as the nation's new capital.]]

File:Exterior of the Independence Hall, Aug 2019.jpg on Chestnut Street between 5th and 6th streets, where the Declaration of Independence was signed and the Constitution was ratified, on July 4, 1776, and June 21, 1788, respectively]]

Philadelphia's importance and central location in the colonies made it a natural center for America's revolutionaries. By the 1750s, Philadelphia surpassed Boston as the largest city and busiest port in British America, and the second-largest city in the entire British Empire after London.{{cite book |last=Lew |first=Alan A. |title=Geography: USA |year=2004 |chapter-url=http://www.geog.nau.edu/courses/alew/gsp220/text/chapters/ch4.html |publisher=Northern Arizona University |chapter=Chapter 4 – The Mid-Atlantic and Megalopolis |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202002258/http://www.geog.nau.edu/courses/alew/gsp220/text/chapters/ch4.html |archive-date=February 2, 2015 }}{{cite book |title=Robert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution |last=Rappleye |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Rappleye |year=2010 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |location=New York City |isbn=978-1-4165-7091-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/robertm_rap_2010_00_1148/page/13 13] |url=https://archive.org/details/robertm_rap_2010_00_1148/page/13 }} In 1774, as resentment of the British government's policies towards the colonies and support for independence began burgeoning in the colonies, Philadelphia hosted the First Continental Congress at Carpenters' Hall, and 12 of the original 13 colonies sent delegates to the Congress.

From 1775 to 1781, Philadelphia hosted the Second Continental Congress,{{cite web |title=View of Philadelphia, Circa 1770 |url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/9578/ |work=Library of Congress |year=1770 |publisher=World Digital Library |access-date=January 4, 2014 |archive-date=January 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104205330/http://www.wdl.org/en/item/9578/ |url-status=live }} whose 56 delegated unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence inside what was then called Pennsylvania State House and was later renamed Independence Hall. Written predominantly by Thomas Jefferson from his second-floor apartment on Market Street within walking distance of Independence Hall, the Declaration has been described by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Joseph Ellis as "the most potent and consequential words in American history," and its adoption represented a declaration of war against Great Britain. Since the Declaration's July 4, 1776, adoption, its signing has been cited globally and repeatedly by various peoples of the world seeking independence and liberty. It also has been, since its adoption, the basis for annual celebration by Americans; in 1938, this celebration of the Declaration was formalized as Independence Day, one of only eleven designated U.S. federal holidays.

After George Washington's defeat at the Battle of Brandywine in Chadds Ford Township, on September 11, 1777, during the Philadelphia campaign, the revolutionary capital of Philadelphia was defenseless, and the city prepared for what was perceived to be an inevitable British attack. Because bells could easily be recast into munitions, the Liberty Bell, then known as the Pennsylvania State Bell, and bells from two Philadelphia churches, Christ Church and St. Peter's Church, were hastily taken down and transported by heavily guarded wagon train out of the city. The Liberty Bell was taken to Zion German Reformed Church in Northampton Town, which is present-day Allentown, where it was hidden under the church's floor boards for nine months from September 1777 until departure of British forces from Philadelphia in June 1778.Nash, p. 19 Two Revolutionary War battles, the Siege of Fort Mifflin, fought between September 26 and November 16, 1777, and the Battle of Germantown, fought on October 4, 1777, took place within Philadelphia's city limits.

In Philadelphia, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation on November 15, 1777. Independence Hall in Philadelphia was the meeting place for the Constitutional Convention, which ratified the Constitution on September 17, 1787, which is now the longest-standing codified national constitution.

Philadelphia served as capital of the United States for most of the colonial and early post-colonial period. including for a decade, from 1790 to 1800, while Washington, D.C., was being constructed and prepared to serve as the new national capital, and on five prior occasions between 1776 and 1790.Insight Guides: Philadelphia and Surroundings, pages 30–33 In 1793, the largest yellow fever epidemic in U.S. history killed approximately 4,000 to 5,000 people in Philadelphia, or about ten percent of the city's population at the time.{{cite web |title=Part 3: Philadelphia/The Yellow Fever Epidemic |work=Africans in America |publisher=PBS Online |year=1998 |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3p1590.html |access-date=September 8, 2017 |archive-date=March 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321120827/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3p1590.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Arnebeck |first=Bob |title=A Short History of Yellow Fever in the US |work=Benjamin Rush, Yellow Fever and the Birth of Modern Medicine |date=January 30, 2008 |url=http://geocities.com/bobarnebeck/history.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028142521/http://geocities.com/bobarnebeck/history.html |archive-date=October 28, 2009 |access-date=December 4, 2008 }} The capital of the United States was moved to Washington, D.C. in 1800 upon completion of the White House and U.S. Capitol buildings.

The state capital was moved from Philadelphia to Lancaster in 1799, then ultimately to Harrisburg in 1812. Philadelphia remained the nation's largest city until the late 18th century. It also was the nation's financial and cultural center until ultimately being eclipsed in total population by New York City in 1790. In 1816, the city's free Black community founded the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first independent Black denomination in the country, and the first Black Episcopal Church. The free Black community also established many schools for its children with the help of Quakers. Large-scale construction projects for new roads, canals, and railroads made Philadelphia the first major industrial city in the United States.

{{Further|Pennsylvania in the American Civil War}}

File:Centennial Exhibition, Opening Day.jpg at Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park in 1876, the first world fair held in the U.S. on the centennial anniversary of the nation's founding]]

Throughout the 19th century, Philadelphia hosted a variety of industries and businesses; the largest was the textile industry. Major corporations in the 19th and early 20th centuries included the Baldwin Locomotive Works, William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company, and the Pennsylvania Railroad.{{Cite book |author= |editor-first=RF |editor-last=Weigley |title=Philadelphia: A 300-Year History |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |year=1982 |location=New York and London |pages=214, 218, 428–429 |isbn=0-393-01610-2 |oclc=8532897 |display-editors=etal |url=https://archive.org/details/philadelphia300y00weig/page/214 }} Established in 1870, the Philadelphia Conveyancers' Association was chartered by the state in 1871. Along with the U.S. Centennial in 1876, the city's industry was celebrated in the Centennial Exposition, the first official World's fair in the U.S.

Immigrants, mostly from Ireland and Germany, settled in Philadelphia and the surrounding districts. These immigrants were largely responsible for the first general strike in North America in 1835, in which workers in the city won the ten-hour workday. The city was a destination for thousands of Irish immigrants fleeing the Great Famine in the 1840s; housing for them was developed south of South Street and later occupied by succeeding immigrants. They established a network of Catholic churches and schools and dominated the Catholic clergy for decades. Anti-Irish, anti-Catholic nativist riots erupted in Philadelphia in 1844. The rise in population of the surrounding districts helped lead to the Act of Consolidation of 1854, which extended the city limits from the {{convert|2|sqmi}} of Center City to the roughly {{convert|134|sqmi}} of Philadelphia County.{{cite web |url=http://www.ushistory.org/philadelphia/philadelphia.html |title=A Brief History of Philadelphia |access-date=December 14, 2006 |work=Philadelphia History |publisher=ushistory.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104085513/http://www.ushistory.org/philadelphia/philadelphia.html |archive-date=January 4, 2013 }}{{cite web |url=http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/consolidation-act-of-1854/ |title=Consolidation Act of 1854 |access-date=September 17, 2014 |archive-date=November 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110124235/http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/consolidation-act-of-1854/ |url-status=live }}

In the latter half of the 19th century and leading into the 20th century, immigrants from Russia, Eastern Europe, and Italy, and African Americans from the southern U.S. settled in the city.Insight Guides: Philadelphia and Surroundings, pages 38–39

Philadelphia was represented by the Washington Grays in the American Civil War. The African-American population of Philadelphia increased from 31,699 to 219,559 between 1880 and 1930, largely stemming from the Great Migration from the South.{{cite web |url=http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/features/wphila/stats/census_lloyd.html |title=Notes on the historical development of population in West Philadelphia |website=University of Pennsylvania |access-date=January 16, 2010 |archive-date=June 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614195259/http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/features/wphila/stats/census_lloyd.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://bentley.umich.edu/research/publications/migration/ch1.php |title=Detroit and the Great Migration, 1916–1929 by Elizabeth Anne Martin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080615144911/http://bentley.umich.edu/research/publications/migration/ch1.php |archive-date=June 15, 2008 |date=July 5, 2007 |publisher=Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan }}

By the 20th century, Philadelphia had an entrenched Republican political machine and a complacent population.{{clarify|date=August 2024|reason=What is meant by a "complacent population"?}}Philadelphia: A 300-Year History, pages 535, 537 In 1910, a general strike shut down the entire city.Foner, Philip S. [https://books.google.com/books?id=vIn-bO2Oe1cC&pg=PA143 The General Strike in Philadelphia—1910] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713051302/https://books.google.com/books?id=vIn-bO2Oe1cC&pg=PA143 |date=July 13, 2023 }} Ch 6 of History of the labor movement in the United States, Vol. 5: The AFL in the Progressive Era 1910 - 1915. International Publishers Co. {{ISBN|0-7178-0562-X}}. Accessed June 29, 2011, at Google Books.

In 1917, following outrage over the election-year murder of a Philadelphia police officer, the City Council shrank from two houses to just one.Philadelphia: A 300-Year History, pages 563 – 564 In July 1919, Philadelphia was one of more than 36 industrial cities nationally to suffer a race riot during Red Summer in post-World War I unrest as recent immigrants competed with Blacks for jobs. In the 1920s, the public flouting of Prohibition laws, organized crime, mob violence, and corrupt police involvement in illegal activities led to the appointment of Brig. Gen. Smedley Butler of the U.S. Marine Corps as the city's director of public safety, but political pressure still prevented long-term success in fighting crime and corruption.Philadelphia: A 300-Year History, pages 578 – 581

In 1940, non-Hispanic whites constituted 86.8% of the city's population.{{cite web |title=Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120812191959/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/twps0076.html |archive-date=August 12, 2012 }} In 1950, the population peaked at more than two million residents, then began to decline with the restructuring of industry that led to the loss of many middle-class union jobs. In addition, suburbanization enticed many affluent residents to depart the city for its outlying railroad commuting towns and newer housing. The resulting reduction in Philadelphia's tax base and the resources of local government caused the city to struggle through a long period of adjustment, and it approached bankruptcy by the late 1980s.{{Cite journal |url=http://www.picapa.org/docs/OW/19961015_A_Foreboding_Future_for_Philadelphia.pdf |title=Continuing Economic Decline: A Foreboding Future for Philadelphia |date=October 15, 1996 |journal=White Paper |access-date=September 29, 2015 |archive-date=September 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910172147/http://www.picapa.org/docs/OW/19961015_A_Foreboding_Future_for_Philadelphia.pdf |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |title=Philadelphia's Changing Middle Class: After Decades of Decline, Prospects for Growth |url=http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2014/02/24/philadelphias-changing-middle-class-after-decades-of-decline-prospects-for-growth |website=www.pewtrusts.org |date=February 24, 2014 |access-date=September 29, 2015 |archive-date=September 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930024050/http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2014/02/24/philadelphias-changing-middle-class-after-decades-of-decline-prospects-for-growth |url-status=live }}

In 1985, the MOVE Bombing of the Cobbs Creek neighborhood by city helicopters occurred, killing 11 and destroying 61 homes.{{cite web |last1=Demby |first1=Gene |date=May 13, 2015 |title=I'm From Philly. 30 Years Later, I'm Still Trying To Make Sense Of The MOVE Bombing |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/05/13/406243272/im-from-philly-30-years-later-im-still-trying-to-make-sense-of-the-move-bombing |access-date=May 13, 2023 |website=NPR |publisher=National Public Radio, Inc. |ref=Demby 2015 |archive-date=November 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111094018/https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/05/13/406243272/im-from-philly-30-years-later-im-still-trying-to-make-sense-of-the-move-bombing |url-status=live }}

Revitalization and gentrification of neighborhoods began in the late 1970s and continues into the 21st century with much of the development occurring in the Center City and University City neighborhoods. But this expanded a shortage of affordable housing in the city. After many manufacturers and businesses left Philadelphia or shut down, the city started attracting service businesses and began to market itself more aggressively as a tourist destination. Contemporary glass-and-granite skyscrapers were built in Center City beginning in the 1980s. Historic areas such as Old City and Society Hill were renovated during the reformist mayoral era of the 1950s through the 1980s, making both areas among the most desirable Center City neighborhoods. Immigrants from around the world began to enter the U.S. through Philadelphia as their gateway, leading to a reversal of the city's population decline between 1950 and 2000, during which it lost about 25 percent of its residents.Insight Guides: Philadelphia and Surroundings, pages 44–45A Concise History of Philadelphia, page 78

Philadelphia eventually began experiencing a growth in its population in 2007, which continued with incremental annual increases through the present.{{cite web |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/197903331.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130319073844/http://www.philly.com/philly/news/197903331.html |archive-date=March 19, 2013 |title=Census: Phila. keeps on growing |first1=Dylan |last1=Purcell |first2=Karie |last2=Simmons |date=March 14, 2013 |website=philly.com }}{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/philadelphiacountypennsylvania |title=QuickFacts Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=April 18, 2019 |archive-date=January 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101141044/https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/philadelphiacountypennsylvania |url-status=live }} A migration pattern has been established from New York City to Philadelphia by residents opting for a large city with relative proximity and a lower cost of living.{{cite web |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2022/09/08/influx-of-new-york-transplants-to-philadelphia.amp.html |title=New Yorkers keep moving to Philadelphia, and local Realtors say the influx has 'raised the bar' |author=Ryan Mulligan |publisher=bizjournals.com |date=September 8, 2022 |access-date=February 22, 2023 |archive-date=March 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305224152/https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2022/09/08/influx-of-new-york-transplants-to-philadelphia.amp.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/nyregion/philadelphia-new-york-migration-immigrants.html |title=Leaving New York to Find the American Dream in Philadelphia |author=Matt Katz |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 20, 2018 |access-date=February 22, 2023 |archive-date=March 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305224152/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/nyregion/philadelphia-new-york-migration-immigrants.html |url-status=live }}

Philadelphia's geographic center is about 40° 0′ 34″ north latitude and 75° 8′ 0″ west longitude. The 40th parallel north passes through neighborhoods in Northeast Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, and West Philadelphia including Fairmount Park. The city encompasses {{convert|142.71|sqmi|2}}, of which {{convert|134.18|sqmi|2}} is land and {{convert|8.53|sqmi|2}}, or 6%, is water.{{cite web |title=2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2016_Gazetteer/2016_gaz_place_42.txt |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=May 25, 2018 |archive-date=August 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824204429/https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2016_Gazetteer/2016_gaz_place_42.txt |url-status=live }} Natural bodies of water include the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, lakes in Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park, and Cobbs, Wissahickon, and Pennypack creeks. The largest artificial body of water is East Park Reservoir in Fairmount Park.

The lowest point is sea level and the highest point is in Chestnut Hill, about {{convert|446|ft|m|0}} above sea level on Summit Street near the intersection of Germantown Avenue and Bethlehem Pike at: 40.07815 N, 75.20747 W.{{cite web |url=https://viewer.nationalmap.gov/advanced-viewer/ |title=The National Map |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |website=nationalmap.gov |access-date=October 22, 2018 |archive-date=March 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329155652/http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=https://www.chestnuthilllocal.com/2016/08/17/discovering-chestnut-hill-discover-summit-street-a-microcosm-of-19th-century-american-architecture/ |title=Discovering Chestnut Hill: Discover Summit Street, a microcosm of 19th Century American architecture – Chestnut Hill Local Philadelphia PA |publisher=Chestnut Hill Community Association |website=chestnuthilllocal.com |date=August 17, 2016 |access-date=October 22, 2018 |archive-date=August 18, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818181213/https://www.chestnuthilllocal.com/2016/08/17/discovering-chestnut-hill-discover-summit-street-a-microcosm-of-19th-century-american-architecture/ |url-status=live }} Philadelphia is located on the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line that separates the Atlantic Plain from the Piedmont.{{cite web |last=Railsback |first=Bruce |url=http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/1122EUSMISR.html |title=GEOL 1122: Earth's History of Global Change:The Fall Line |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219174225/http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/1122EUSMISR.html |archive-date=February 19, 2020 |website=University of Georgia Department of Geology }} The Schuylkill River's rapids at East Falls were inundated by completion of the dam at Fairmount Water Works."[http://www.phila.gov/phils/Docs/otherinfo/pname1.htm Philadelphia Neighborhoods and Place Names, A–K] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001200519/http://www.phila.gov/phils/docs/otherinfo/pname1.htm |date=October 1, 2010 }}". Philadelphia Information Locator System.

The city is the seat of its own county. The city is bordered by six adjacent counties: Montgomery to the northwest; Bucks to the north and 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 southwest.

{{see also|Architecture of Philadelphia|List of tallest buildings in Philadelphia}}

{{See also|List of Philadelphia neighborhoods}}

{{wide image|A651, Philadelphia skyline from the Spring Garden Street Bridge, 2018.jpg|900px|align-cap=center|The skyline of Philadelphia seen from the northwest on Spring Garden Street Bridge over the Schuylkill River in April 2018 (annotated version)}}

{{wide image|Philadelphia from South Street Bridge July 2016 panorama 3b.jpg|900px|align-cap=center|Philadelphia's skyline at twilight from the southwest on South Street Bridge with the Schuylkill River on the left in July 2016 (annotated version)}}

Philadelphia was created in the 17th century, following the plan by William Penn's surveyor Thomas Holme. Center City is structured with long, straight streets running nearly due east–west and north–south, forming a grid pattern between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers that is aligned with their courses. The original city plan was designed to allow for easy travel and to keep residences separated by open space that would help prevent the spread of fire.{{cite web |url=http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2011/02/04/a-guide-to-philadelphias-squares/ |title=A Guide To Philadelphia's 'Squares' |publisher=CBS Philly |date=February 4, 2011 |access-date=April 29, 2015 |author=Daly, Molly |archive-date=February 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110213014158/http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2011/02/04/a-guide-to-philadelphias-squares/ |url-status=live }} In keeping with the idea of a "Greene Countrie Towne", and inspired by the many types of trees that grew in the region, Penn named many of the east–west streets for local trees.Laura Turner Igoe, "[https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/trees-2/ Trees] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208184841/https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/trees-2/ |date=February 8, 2021 }}", The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia; accessed 2021.01.29. Penn planned the creation of five public parks in the city which were renamed in 1824. Centre Square was renamed Penn Square;[https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/pj_display.cfm/20977 "Philadelphia City Hall"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111041648/https://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/pj_display.cfm/20977 |date=November 11, 2017 }}. Philadelphia Architects and Buildings. The Athenaeum of Philadelphia. Retrieved November 27, 2017. Northeast Square was renamed Franklin Square; Southeast Square was renamed Washington Square; Southwest Square was renamed Rittenhouse Square; and Northwest Square was renamed Logan Circle/Square.{{cite web |url=http://historicphiladelphia.org/franklin-square/history/ |title=Franklin Square History |publisher=Historic Philadelphia |access-date=April 29, 2015 |archive-date=May 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527015930/http://historicphiladelphia.org/franklin-square/history/ |url-status=live }} Center City had an estimated 183,240 residents {{as of|2015|lc=y}}, making it the second-most populated downtown area in the United States after Midtown Manhattan in New York City.{{cite news |url=http://articles.philly.com/2015-04-22/news/61383432_1_south-philadelphia-annual-report-center-city-district |title=(Greater) Center City's population second only to Midtown Manhattan's |author=Maria Panaritis |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=April 22, 2015 |access-date=July 15, 2015 |archive-date=March 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313153228/http://articles.philly.com/2015-04-22/news/61383432_1_south-philadelphia-annual-report-center-city-district |url-status=dead }}

Philadelphia's neighborhoods are divided into six large sections that surround Center City: North Philadelphia, Northeast Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, Southwest Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, and Northwest Philadelphia. The city's geographic boundaries have been largely unchanged since these neighborhoods were consolidated in 1854. However, each of these large areas contains numerous neighborhoods, some of whose boundaries derive from the boroughs, townships, and other communities that constituted Pennsylvania County before their inclusion within the city.{{Cite book |title=Insight Guides: Philadelphia and Surroundings |page=58 }}

The City Planning Commission, tasked with guiding growth and development of the city, has divided the city into 18 planning districts as part of the Philadelphia2035 physical development plan.{{cite web |url=http://phila2035.org/home-page/about/ |title=About Philadelphia2035 |access-date=April 29, 2015 |archive-date=May 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503011928/http://phila2035.org/home-page/about/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.phila.gov/CityPlanning/plans/Pages/Phila2035.aspx |title=Philadelphia 2035: The Comprehensive Plan |publisher=Philadelphia City Planning Commission |access-date=April 29, 2015 |archive-date=March 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331055720/http://www.phila.gov/CityPlanning/plans/Pages/Phila2035.aspx |url-status=live }} Much of the city's 1980 zoning code was overhauled from 2007 to 2012 as part of a joint effort between former mayors John F. Street and Michael Nutter. The zoning changes were intended to rectify incorrect zoning maps to facilitate future community development, as the city forecasts an additional 100,000 residents and 40,000 jobs will be added by 2035.

The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) is the largest landlord in Pennsylvania. Established in 1937, the PHA is the nation's fourth-largest housing authority, serving about 81,000 people with affordable housing, while employing 1,400 on a budget of $371 million.{{cite web |url=http://www.pha.phila.gov/pha-news/pha-fast-facts.aspx |title=Philadelphia Housing Authority |publisher=Pha.phila.gov |access-date=December 24, 2013 |archive-date=January 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106183506/http://pha.phila.gov/pha-news/pha-fast-facts.aspx |url-status=live }} The Philadelphia Parking Authority is responsible for ensuring adequate parking for city residents, businesses, and visitors.{{cite web |url=http://philapark.org/about-ppa/history/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126033326/http://philapark.org/about-ppa/history/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 26, 2012 |title=Philadelphia Parking Authority: History |publisher=Philapark.org |access-date=December 24, 2013 }}

{{Main|Architecture of Philadelphia|List of tallest buildings in Philadelphia}}

File:Chestnut Street at Night.jpg in Center City at night in February 2016]]

File:CITY HALL PHILADELPHIA.jpg at night in December 2012]]

File:OneLiberyPlacePhiladelphia cropped.jpg most prominent high-rise buildings, One Liberty Place, built between 1985 and 1987 (in background), and Philadelphia City Hall, built between 1871 and 1901 (in foreground)]]

Philadelphia's architectural history dates back to colonial times and includes a wide range of styles. The earliest structures were constructed with logs, but brick structures were common by 1700. During the 18th century, the cityscape was dominated by Georgian architecture, including Independence Hall and Christ Church.

In the first decades of the 19th century, Federal and Greek Revival architecture were the dominant styles produced by Philadelphia architects such as Benjamin Latrobe, William Strickland, John Haviland, John Notman, Thomas Walter, and Samuel Sloan.{{Cite book |title=Philadelphia: A 300-Year History |pages=11, 41, 174–175, 251–253 }} Frank Furness is considered Philadelphia's greatest architect of the second half of the 19th century. His contemporaries included John McArthur Jr., Addison Hutton, Wilson Eyre, the Wilson Brothers, and Horace Trumbauer. In 1871, construction began on the Second Empire-style Philadelphia City Hall. The Philadelphia Historical Commission was created in 1955 to preserve the cultural and architectural history of the city. The commission maintains the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, adding historic buildings, structures, sites, objects and districts as it sees fit.{{cite web |url=http://www.phila.gov/historical/ |title=Philadelphia Historical Commission |publisher=Phila.gov |access-date=April 11, 2009 |archive-date=March 3, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303191207/http://www.phila.gov/historical/ |url-status=live }}

In 1932, Philadelphia became home to the first modern International Style skyscraper in the United States, the PSFS Building, designed by George Howe and William Lescaze. The {{cvt|548|ft|m|0}} City Hall remained the tallest building in the city until 1987 when One Liberty Place was completed. Numerous glass and granite skyscrapers were built in Center City beginning in the late 1980s. In 2007, the Comcast Center surpassed One Liberty Place to become the city's tallest building. The Comcast Technology Center was completed in 2018, reaching a height of {{cvt|1121|ft|m|0}}, as the tallest building in the United States outside of Manhattan and Chicago.{{cite web |url=http://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/the-comcast-innovation-and-technology-center/ |title=Philadelphia's Newest Skyscraper: The Comcast Innovation and Technology Center |publisher=Visit Philadelphia |access-date=April 3, 2015 |archive-date=March 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317221032/http://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/the-comcast-innovation-and-technology-center/ |url-status=live }}

For much of Philadelphia's history, the typical home has been the row house. The row house was introduced to the United States via Philadelphia in the early 19th century and, for a time, row houses built elsewhere in the United States were known as "Philadelphia rows". A variety of row houses are found throughout the city, from Federal-style continuous blocks in Old City and Society Hill to Victorian-style homes in North Philadelphia to twin row houses in West Philadelphia. While newer homes have been built recently, much of the housing dates to the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, which has created problems such as urban decay and vacant lots. Some neighborhoods, including Northern Liberties and Society Hill, have been rehabilitated through gentrification.{{Cite journal |last=Aitken |first=Joanne |title=Breaking Ground |journal=Philadelphia City Paper |date=June 3–19, 2004 |url=http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2004-06-03/cityspace.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113222258/http://citypaper.net/articles/2004-06-03/cityspace.shtml |archive-date=January 13, 2016 }}{{cite web |author=Mark Alan Hughes |title=Dirt Into Dollars; Converting Vacant Land Into Valuable Development |url=http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/2000/06/summer-metropolitanpolicy-hughes |date=June 1, 2000 |access-date=December 24, 2013 |archive-date=December 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225175538/http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/2000/06/summer-metropolitanpolicy-hughes |url-status=live }}

File:Elfreth's Alley, Philadelphia, 2008.jpg|Elfreth's Alley, first developed in 1703, is the nation's oldest residential street.Historical marker on Elfreth's Alley

File:Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, USA, May 2015.jpg|Carpenters' Hall, built between 1770 and 1774 in Georgian architecture style

File:Second Bank of the United States with Robert Morris, Jr. statue, Philadelphia.jpg|The Second Bank of the United States, built between 1818 and 1824, exhibiting Greek Revival architecture

File:City hall Philadelphia.jpg|Second Empire-style Philadelphia City Hall, built between 1871 and 1901, on South Broad Street

{{See also|Drinking fountains in Philadelphia|Fairmount Park|List of parks in Philadelphia|}}

File:Detroit Photographic Company (0757).jpg on the Schuylkill River, the city's largest and one of the world's largest public parks]]

{{As of|2014}}, the city's total park space, including municipal, state, and federal parks in the city, amounts to {{convert|11211|acre|sqmi|1}}. Philadelphia's largest park is Fairmount Park, which includes the Philadelphia Zoo and encompasses {{convert|2052|acre|sqmi|1}} of the total parkland. Fairmount Park's adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park contains {{convert|2042|acre|sqmi|1}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_20027240.pdf |title=The City of Philadelphia, Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan |website=dcnr.state.pa.us |publisher=The City of Philadelphia |year=2012 |page=2 |quote=The City contains approximately 6,781 acres of watershed parks including East/West Fairmount Parks (2052 ac.), Wissahickon Valley Park (2042 ac.) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161219001451/http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_20027240.pdf |archive-date=December 19, 2016 |url-status=dead |access-date=January 6, 2017 }} Fairmount Park, when combined with Wissahickon Valley Park, is one of the largest contiguous urban park areas in the U.S. The two parks, along with the Colonial Revival, Georgian and Federal-style mansions in them, have been listed as one entity on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972.{{cite web |url=http://focus.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/72001151 |title=National Register of Historic Places – Fairmount Park – #72001151 |date=February 7, 1972 |website=focus.nps.gov |publisher=National Park Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230223434/https://focus.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/72001151 |archive-date=December 30, 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=January 6, 2017 |quote=Locations: Philadelphia; Both banks of Schuylkill River and Wissahickon Creek, from Spring Garden St. to Northwestern Ave. }}

{{climate chart

| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

|26.0|41.3|3.13

|27.5|44.3|2.75

|34.3|52.8|3.96

|44.3|64.7|3.47

|54.2|74.4|3.34

|63.9|83.2|4.04

|69.6|87.8|4.38

|67.9|85.8|4.29

|60.9|78.9|4.40

|49.2|67.2|3.47

|38.8|55.9|2.91

|31.2|46.0|3.97

|float=right

|clear=both

|units=imperial

}}

Within the Köppen climate classification, Philadelphia falls under the northern periphery of the humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen Cfa).{{cite web |url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=80427&cityname=Philadelphia%2C+Pennsylvania%2C+United+States+of+America&units= |title=Climate Summary for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |work=Weatherbase |access-date=September 17, 2014 |archive-date=June 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628232633/http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=80427&cityname=Philadelphia%2C+Pennsylvania%2C+United+States+of+America&units= |url-status=live }} Within the Trewartha climate classification, Philadelphia has a temperate maritime climate (Do) limited to the north by the continental climate (Dc).Trewartha GT, Horn LH (1980) Introduction to climate, 5th edn. McGraw Hill, New York, NY Summers are typically hot and muggy. Fall and spring are generally mild, and winter is moderately cold. The plant life hardiness zones are 7a and 7b, reflecting an average annual extreme minimum temperature between {{convert|0|and|10|F|C}}.[http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/Images/All_states_halfzones_poster_300dpi.jpg "USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171121115552/http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/phzmweb/Images/All_states_halfzones_poster_300dpi.jpg |date=November 21, 2017 }}. usda.gov. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved December 6, 2017. Note: high resolution map, may be slow to download.

Snowfall is highly variable. Some winters have only light snow while others include major snowstorms. The normal seasonal snowfall averages {{cvt|22.4|in|cm|0}}, with rare snowfalls in November or April, and rarely any sustained snow cover. Seasonal snowfall accumulation has ranged from trace amounts in 1972–73, to {{convert|78.7|in|cm|0}} in the winter of 2009–10.{{efn|See North American blizzard of 2009#Snowfall (December 19–20, 2009), February 5–6, 2010 North American blizzard#Snowfall (February 5–6, 2010), and February 9–10, 2010 North American blizzard#Impact (February 9–10, 2010). The February 2010 storms contributed to a single month record accumulation of {{cvt|51.5|in|cm|0}}. If no snow fell outside of February that season, 2009–10 would still rank as 5th-snowiest. See the Franklin Institute for a visual representation of seasonal snowfall.}} The city's heaviest single-storm snowfall was {{cvt|30.7|in|cm|0}}, which occurred in January 1996.{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/one-wild-storm-a-look-back-at-the-blizzard-of-96/2013/01/07/89a1242c-5875-11e2-9fa9-5fbdc9530eb9_blog.html |title=One wild storm: A look back at the 'Blizzard of '96' |last=Lipman |first=Don |date=January 7, 2013 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |access-date=December 19, 2017 |archive-date=December 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219085852/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/post/one-wild-storm-a-look-back-at-the-blizzard-of-96/2013/01/07/89a1242c-5875-11e2-9fa9-5fbdc9530eb9_blog.html |url-status=live }}

Precipitation is generally spread throughout the year, with eight to eleven wet days per month,{{cite web |url=http://www.met.utah.edu/jhorel/html/wx/climate/daysrain.html |title=Average Days of Precipitation, .01 Inches or more |access-date=July 28, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060620130836/http://www.met.utah.edu/jhorel/html/wx/climate/daysrain.html |archive-date=June 20, 2006 }} at an average annual rate of {{convert|44.1|in|mm|sigfig=3}}, but historically ranging from {{cvt|29.31|in|mm}} in 1922 to {{cvt|64.33|in|mm}} in 2011. The most rain recorded in one day occurred on July 28, 2013, when {{cvt|8.02|in|mm|0}} fell at Philadelphia International Airport. Philadelphia has a moderately sunny climate with an average of 2,498 hours of sunshine annually. The percentage of sunshine ranges from 47% in December to 61% in June, July, and August.

The January daily average temperature is {{convert|33.7|°F|1}}. The temperature frequently rises to {{convert|50|°F}} during thaws. July averages {{convert|78.7|°F|1}}. Heat waves accompanied by high humidity and heat indices are frequent, with highs reaching or exceeding {{convert|90|°F|0}} on 30 days of the year. The average window for freezing temperatures is November 6 to April 2, allowing a growing season of 217 days. Early fall and late winter are generally dry, with February having the lowest average precipitation at {{convert|2.75|in|0}}. The dewpoint in the summer averages between {{convert|59.1|and|64.5|°F|0}}.

The highest recorded temperature was {{convert|106|°F|0}} on August 7, 1918. Temperatures at or above {{convert|100|°F|0}} are not common, with the last occurrence of such a temperature being July 21, 2019. The lowest officially recorded temperature was {{convert|-11|°F|0}} on February 9, 1934.{{cite web |url=http://www.stormfax.com/phlminmax2.html |title=Philadelphia Record Highs and Lows |access-date=April 3, 2007 |archive-date=March 22, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322192111/http://www.stormfax.com/phlminmax2.html |url-status=live }} Temperatures at or below {{convert|0|°F|0}} are rare, with the last such occurrence being January 19, 1994. The record low maximum is {{convert|5|°F|0}} on February 10, 1899, and December 30, 1880. The record high minimum is {{convert|83|°F|0}} on July 23, 2011, and July 24, 2010.{{cite web |url=http://threadex.rcc-acis.org/ |title=Threaded Station Extremes |access-date=May 10, 2020 |quote=Station=PA – Philadelphia (Center City records are {{convert|12|°F|0}} on January 8, 2014, and January 19, 1997, for the record low maximum; and {{convert|87|°F|0}} on July 6, 1999, for the record high minimum) |archive-date=March 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305195121/http://threadex.rcc-acis.org/ |url-status=live }}

{{Philadelphia weatherbox}}

{{Graph:Weather monthly history

| table=Ncei.noaa.gov/weather/Philadelphia.tab

| title=Philadelphia monthly weather statistics

}}

Philadelphia 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/sota/key-findings/methodology-and-acknowledgements.html |title=State of the Air 2017 – Methodology and Acknowledgements |publisher=American Lung Association |access-date=December 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208052851/http://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/sota/key-findings/methodology-and-acknowledgements.html |archive-date=December 8, 2017 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/sota/city-rankings/states/pennsylvania/philadelphia.html |title=Philadelphia County – State of the Air 2017 |publisher=American Lung Association |access-date=December 7, 2017 |archive-date=December 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207070041/http://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/sota/city-rankings/states/pennsylvania/philadelphia.html |url-status=live }} The city was ranked 22nd for ozone, 20th for short-term particle pollution, and 11th for year-round particle pollution.{{cite web |url=http://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/sota/city-rankings/most-polluted-cities.html |title=Most Polluted Cities |publisher=American Lung Association |access-date=December 8, 2017 |archive-date=July 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728191912/http://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/sota/city-rankings/most-polluted-cities.html |url-status=live }} According to the same report, the city experienced a significant reduction in high ozone days since 2001—from nearly 50 days per year to fewer than 10—along with fewer days of high particle pollution since 2000—from about 19 days per year to about 3—and an approximate 30% reduction in annual levels of particle pollution since 2000.

Five of the ten largest combined statistical areas (CSAs) were ranked higher for ozone: Los Angeles (1st), New York City (9th), Houston (12th), Dallas (13th), and San Jose, California (18th). Many smaller CSAs were also ranked higher for ozone, including Sacramento (8th), Las Vegas (10th), Denver (11th), El Paso (16th), and Salt Lake City (20th). Only two of those same ten CSAs, San Jose and Los Angeles, were ranked higher than Philadelphia for both year-round and short-term particle pollution.

{{Main|Demographics of Philadelphia}}

{{See also|Chinese in Philadelphia|History of Irish Americans in Philadelphia|History of Italian Americans in Philadelphia|Koreans in Philadelphia|Little Saigon, Philadelphia|History of Jews in Philadelphia|LGBT culture in Philadelphia|Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia}}

{{Historical populations

|type= USA

|1683|600

|1731|12000

|1790|28522

|1800|41220

|1810|53722

|1820|63802

|1830|80462

|1840|93665

|1850|121376

|1860|565529

|1870|674022

|1880|847170

|1890|1046964

|1900|1293697

|1910|1549008

|1920|1823779

|1930|1950961

|1940|1931334

|1950|2071605

|1960|2002512

|1970|1948609

|1980|1688210

|1990|1585577

|2000|1517550

|2010|1526006

|2020|1603797

|2023|1573916

|source=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web |url=http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html |title=Census of Population and Housing |publisher=Census.gov |access-date=June 4, 2016 |archive-date=June 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610232059/http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html |url-status=live }}

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |title=Census of Population and Housing |publisher=Census.gov |access-date=June 4, 2016 |archive-date=August 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829184404/https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html |url-status=live }}
2010–2020

}}

As of the 2020 U.S. Census, there were 1,603,797 people residing in Philadelphia, representing a 1.2% increase from the 2019 census estimate. The racial composition of the city was 39.3% Black alone (42.0% Black alone or in combination), 36.3% White alone (41.9% White alone or in combination), 8.7% Asian alone, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native alone, 8.7% some other race, and 6.9% multiracial. 14.9% of residents were Hispanic or Latino.

34.8% had a bachelor's degree or higher. 23.9% spoke a language other than English at home, the most common of which was Spanish (10.8%). 15.0% of the populations foreign born, roughly half of whom are naturalized U.S. citizens. 3.7% of the population are veterans. The median household income was $52,889 and 22.8% of the population lived in poverty. 49.5% of the population drove alone to work, while 23.2% used public transit, 8.2% carpooled, 7.9% walked, and 7.0% worked from home. The average commute is 31 minutes.{{cite web |publisher=United States Census Bureau |title=Explore Census Data |website=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile/Philadelphia_city,_Philadelphia_County,_Pennsylvania?g=0600000US4210160000 |access-date=October 15, 2022 |archive-date=October 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015200325/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile/Philadelphia_city,_Philadelphia_County,_Pennsylvania?g=0600000US4210160000 |url-status=live }}

After the 1950 census, when a record high of 2,071,605 was recorded, the city's population began a long decline. The population dropped to a low of 1,488,710 residents in 2006 before beginning to rise again. Between 2006 and 2017, Philadelphia added 92,153 residents. In 2017, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the racial composition of the city was 41.3% Black (non-Hispanic), 34.9% White (non-Hispanic), 14.1% Hispanic or Latino, 7.1% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 0.05% Pacific Islander, and 2.8% multiracial.{{cite web |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/17_5YR/DP05/1600000US4260000 |title=2011–2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213095851/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/17_5YR/DP05/1600000US4260000 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead }}

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="font-size: 90%;"

|-

! Census racial composition !! 2020!! 2010{{cite web |author=American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DP_DPDP1&prodType=table |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190521214830/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DP_DPDP1&prodType=table |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 21, 2019 |title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 2010 Demographic Profile Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census |access-date=August 12, 2011 }}!! 2000 !! 1990{{Cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/PAtab.xls |title=Pennsylvania – Race and Hispanic Origin for Selected Cities and Other Places: Earliest Census to 1990 |access-date=December 7, 2017 |archive-date=February 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202175335/https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0076/PAtab.xls |url-status=live }}!! 1980 !! 1970

|-

| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)|| 38.3% || 42.2% || 42.6% || 39.3% || 37.5% || 33.3%{{efn|name=fifteen}}

|-

| White (non-Hispanic) || 34.3% || 36.9% || 42.5% || 52.1% || 57.1% || 63.8{{efn|name=fifteen|From 15% sample}}

|-

| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 14.9% || 12.3% || 8.5% || 5.6% || 3.8% || 2.4%{{efn|name=fifteen}}

|-

| Asian || 8.3% || 6.3% || 4.5% || 2.7% || rowspan=2 | 1.1% || rowspan=2 | 0.3%

|-

| Pacific Islanders || 0.1% || <0.1% || <0.1% || <0.1%

|-

| Native Americans || 0.4% || 0.5% || 0.3% || 0.2% || 0.1% || 0.1%

|-

| Two or more races || 6.9% || 2.8% || 2.2% || n/a{{cite web |author=United States Census Bureau |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/race/racefactcb.html |title=How Does the Census 2000 Question on Race Differ from the 1990 Question? |publisher=census.gov |access-date=January 31, 2011 |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20011127063008/http%3A//www%2Ecensus%2Egov/population/www/socdemo/race/racefactcb%2Ehtml |archive-date=November 27, 2001 }} || n/a || n/a

|}

File:Ethnic Origins in Philadelphia.png

File:Italian Market Vegetable Stand 3000px.jpg in South Philadelphia]]

File:13th Gayborhood.jpg street sign near Washington Square]]

In addition to the city's economic growth, the city's population has been fueled by foreign immigration. According to The Pew Charitable Trusts, the city's foreign-born population increased by 69% between 2000 and 2016 to constitute nearly 20% of Philadelphia's workforce,{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/nyregion/philadelphia-new-york-migration-immigrants.html |title=Leaving New York to Find the American Dream in Philadelphia |author=Matt Katz |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 20, 2018 |access-date=August 6, 2018 |archive-date=August 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807001508/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/nyregion/philadelphia-new-york-migration-immigrants.html |url-status=live }} and it doubled between 1990 and 2017 to constitute 13.8% of the city's total population, with the top five countries of origin being China by a significant margin followed by the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, India, and Vietnam.{{cite news |url=https://www.philly.com/news/immigrants-philly-population-growth-foreign-born-20190510.html |title=Welcome to Philly: Percentage of foreign-born city residents has doubled since 1990 |author=Jeff Gammage |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=May 10, 2019 |access-date=May 10, 2019 |quote=China is, far and away, the primary sending country, with 22,140 city residents who make up about 11 percent of the foreign-born population, according to a Pew Charitable Trusts analysis of Census data. Next is the Dominican Republic with 13,792, followed by Jamaica, 13,500; India, 11,382; and Vietnam, 10,132...About 230,000 Philadelphians are foreign-born. More than a quarter of residents are immigrants or have a foreign-born parent, Pew reported, and 23 percent speak a foreign language at home. |archive-date=May 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510180258/https://www.philly.com/news/immigrants-philly-population-growth-foreign-born-20190510.html |url-status=live }}

{|class="wikitable floatright"

|+

Top 10 countries of origin for foreign-born Philadelphians, 2017{{Cite web |url=https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2019/04/the-state-of-immigrants-in-philadelphia-2019 |title=The State of Immigrants in Philadelphia, 2019 |date=April 11, 2019 |access-date=October 13, 2021 |archive-date=October 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211001200528/https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2019/04/the-state-of-immigrants-in-philadelphia-2019 |url-status=live }}

! Country || Population

|-

| {{Flagu|China}} ||align=right | {{formatnum:22140}}

|-

| {{Flagu|Dominican Republic}} ||align=right | {{formatnum:13792}}

|-

| {{Flagu|Jamaica}} ||align=right | {{formatnum:13500}}

|-

| {{Flagu|India}} ||align=right | {{formatnum:11382}}

|-

| {{Flagu|Vietnam}} ||align=right | {{formatnum:10132}}

|-

| {{Flagu|Haiti}} ||align=right | {{formatnum:9186}}

|-

| {{Flagu|Mexico}} ||align=right | {{formatnum:7823}}

|-

| {{Flagu|Ukraine}} ||align=right | {{formatnum:6898}}

|-

| {{Flagu|Albania}} ||align=right | {{formatnum:5258}}

|-

| {{Flagu|Korea}}/{{Flagu|North Korea}}||align=right | {{formatnum:4385}}

|}

Irish, Italian, German, Polish, English, Russian, Ukrainian, and French ancestries constitute the largest European ethnic groups in the city.{{cite web |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_5YR/B04006/1600000US4260000 |title=People Reporting Ancestry: 2011–2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=December 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213152124/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_5YR/B04006/1600000US4260000 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead }} Philadelphia has the second-largest Irish and Italian populations in the United States after New York City. South Philadelphia remains one of the largest Italian neighborhoods in the country and is home to the Italian Market.

The Pennsport neighborhood and Gray's Ferry section of South Philadelphia, home to many Mummer clubs, are well known as Irish neighborhoods. The Kensington, Port Richmond, and Fishtown neighborhoods have historically been heavily Irish and Polish. Port Richmond is a center for the Polish-American community in Philadelphia, and it remains a common destination for Polish immigrants. Northeast Philadelphia, although known for its Irish and Irish-American population, is home to a Jewish and Russian population. Mount Airy in Northwest Philadelphia also contains a Jewish community. Nearby Chestnut Hill is historically known as an Anglo-Saxon Protestant community.

Philadelphia's Black American population is the fourth-largest in the country after New York City, Chicago, and Houston. West Philadelphia and North Philadelphia are largely African-American neighborhoods, but many are leaving those areas in favor of the Northeast and Southwest sections of Philadelphia. A higher proportion of African-American Muslims reside in Philadelphia than most other major U.S. cities. West Philadelphia and Southwest Philadelphia are home to various Afro-Caribbean and African immigrant communities.{{cite web |title=Philadelphia immigration |url=http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/immigration-1930-present |publisher=Philadelphia immigration |date=August 5, 2013 |access-date=March 5, 2016 |archive-date=March 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310145147/http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/immigration-1930-present/ |url-status=live }}

The Puerto Rican population in Philadelphia is the second-largest on the U.S. mainland after New York City, and the second-fastest growing after Orlando.{{cite web |url=http://voxxi.com/2014/01/03/puerto-rico-population-decline-economic/ |title=Puerto Rico's population continues to decline as the economic plague persists |date=January 3, 2014 |work=Voxxi |access-date=September 17, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103154048/http://voxxi.com/2014/01/03/puerto-rico-population-decline-economic/ |archive-date=January 3, 2014 |author=Laura Sanchez Ubanell }} Eastern North Philadelphia, particularly Fairhill and surrounding areas to the north and east, has one of the highest concentrations of Puerto Ricans outside Puerto Rico, with many large swaths of blocks being close to 100% Puerto Rican.{{Cite web |url=http://www.congreso.net/census.php |title=Where is the "Latino Community" of Philadelphia? |access-date=September 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006120951/http://www.congreso.net/census.php |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.zip-codes.com/zip-code/19133/zip-code-19133.asp |title=ZIP Code 19133, Philadelphia PA (Pennsylvania) |website=www.zip-codes.com |access-date=September 15, 2022 |archive-date=September 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220915024835/https://www.zip-codes.com/zip-code/19133/zip-code-19133.asp |url-status=live }} Puerto Rican and Dominican populations reside in North Philadelphia and the Northeast, and Mexican and Central American populations exist in South Philadelphia.{{cite web |title=Latino Philadelphia at a Glance |url=http://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/latinophiladelphiaataglance.pdf |publisher=Latino Philadelphia |access-date=October 4, 2017 |archive-date=January 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116131238/http://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/latinophiladelphiaataglance.pdf |url-status=live }} South American migrants were being transported by bus from Texas to Philadelphia beginning in 2022.{{cite news |url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/bus-immigrants-texas-philadelphia-asylum-greg-abbott-20221229.html?outputType=amp |title=City receives 15th bus carrying immigrants from Texas to Philadelphia |author=Robert Moran |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=December 29, 2022 |access-date=February 22, 2023 |archive-date=February 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230222230053/https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/bus-immigrants-texas-philadelphia-asylum-greg-abbott-20221229.html?outputType=amp |url-status=live }}

Philadelphia's Asian American population includes those of Chinese, Indians, Vietnamese, South Koreans, Filipinos, Cambodians, and Indonesians. Over 35,000 Chinese Americans lived in the city in 2015,{{cite web |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_SPT/B01003/0500000US42101/popgroup~016 |title=2011–2015 American Community Survey Selected Population Tables – Chinese alone, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=June 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200214004430/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_SPT/B01003/0500000US42101/popgroup~016 |archive-date=February 14, 2020 |url-status=dead }} including a Fuzhounese population. Center City hosts a Chinatown that is served by Chinatown bus lines with service to/from Chinatown, Manhattan.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/nyregion/philadelphia-new-york-migration-immigrants.html |title=Leaving New York to Find the American Dream in Philadelphia |author=Matt Katz |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 20, 2018 |access-date=April 17, 2019 |archive-date=April 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418054111/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/nyregion/philadelphia-new-york-migration-immigrants.html |url-status=live }} Indians make up the second-largest Asian group in the city of Philadelphia,{{cite web |title=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (City) |url=https://statisticalatlas.com/place/Pennsylvania/Philadelphia/Ancestry |website=Statistical Atlas |access-date=December 15, 2024 |archive-date=December 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241215083215/https://statisticalatlas.com/place/Pennsylvania/Philadelphia/Ancestry |url-status=live }} while making up the largest foreign-born population in the Delaware Valley.{{cite web |last1=Singer |first1=Audrey |last2=Vitiello |first2=Domenic |last3=Katz |first3=Michael |last4=Park |first4=David |title=Recent Immigration to Philadelphia: Regional Change in a Re-Emerging Gateway |url=https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/1113_immigration_singer.pdf |website=Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings |publisher=Brookings Institution |access-date=December 15, 2024 |archive-date=December 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241215083215/https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/1113_immigration_singer.pdf |url-status=live }} A Korean community initially settled in the North Philadelphia neighborhood of Olney; however, the primary Koreatown has subsequently shifted further north, straddling the city's border with adjacent Cheltenham in Montgomery County and Cherry Hill in South Jersey. South Philadelphia is home to Vietnamese-Americans in Little Saigon and Cambodian-Americans in Cambodia Town, as well as Thai-American, Indonesian-American, and Chinese-American communities.

Philadelphia's Gay village near Washington Square is home to a concentration of gay and lesbian-friendly businesses, restaurants, and bars.{{cite web |title=Exploring Gay Philadelphia |url=http://www.visitphilly.com/itineraries/philadelphia/exploring-gay-philadelphia/ |publisher=Visit Philadelphia |access-date=July 23, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724030414/http://www.visitphilly.com/itineraries/philadelphia/exploring-gay-philadelphia/ |archive-date=July 24, 2015 }}{{cite web |title=Guide to Philadelphia's Gayborhood |url=http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/guide/guide-to-philadelphias-gayborhood/ |publisher=CBS Local Media |date=June 5, 2013 |access-date=July 23, 2015 |archive-date=July 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723061349/http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/guide/guide-to-philadelphias-gayborhood/ |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Religion in Philadelphia}}

In a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, 68% of the population of the city identified themselves as Christian.[http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/29/major-u-s-metropolitan-areas-differ-in-their-religious-profiles/ Major U.S. metropolitan areas differ in their religious profiles] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308152313/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/29/major-u-s-metropolitan-areas-differ-in-their-religious-profiles/ |date=March 8, 2021 }}, Pew Research Center Approximately 41% of Christians in the city and area professed attendance at a variety of churches that could be considered Protestant, while 26% professed Catholic beliefs.

The Protestant Christian community in Philadelphia 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 (USA) and American Baptist Churches USA. One of the most prominent mainline Protestant jurisdictions is the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. The African Methodist Episcopal Church was established in Philadelphia. Historically, the city has strong connections to the Quakers, Unitarian Universalism, and the Ethical Culture movement, all of which continue to be represented in the city. The Quaker Friends General Conference is based in Philadelphia. Evangelical Protestants making up less than 15% of the population were also prevalent.

Evangelical Protestant bodies included the Anglican Church in North America, Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, Presbyterian Church in America, and National Baptist Convention of America. The Catholic community is primarily served by the Latin Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia, and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Eparchy of the United States of America and Canada, though some independent Catholic churches exist throughout Philadelphia and its suburbs. The Latin Church-based jurisdiction is headquartered in the city, and its see is the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. The Ukrainian Catholic jurisdiction is headquartered in Philadelphia, and is seated at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

Less than 1% of Philadelphia's Christians were Mormons. The remainder of the Christian demographic is spread among smaller Protestant denominations and the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox among others. The Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania (Orthodox Church in America) and Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (Ecumenical Patriarchate) divide the Eastern Orthodox in Philadelphia. The Russian Orthodox St. Andrew's Cathedral is in the city.

The same study says that other religions collectively compose about 8% of the population, including Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, and Sikhism.{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/ |title=America's Changing Religious Landscape |publisher=Pew Research Center: Religion & Public Life |date=May 12, 2015 |access-date=July 30, 2015 |archive-date=January 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107064929/http://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/ |url-status=live }} Philadelphia has the fifth-largest Muslim population among U.S. cities.Overcoming the World Missions Crisis: Thinking Strategically to Reach the World, Russell Penney, page 110, 2001 The remaining 24% claimed no religious affiliation.

The Philadelphia metropolitan area's Jewish population was estimated at 206,000 in 2001, which was the sixth-largest in the U.S. at that time.{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0016_0_15694.html |title=Philadelphia |encyclopedia=Jewish Virtual Library |access-date=February 10, 2017 |archive-date=December 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201050252/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0016_0_15694.html |url-status=live }} Jewish traders were operating in southeastern Pennsylvania long before William Penn. Jews in Philadelphia took a prominent part in the War of Independence. Although the majority of the early Jewish residents were of Portuguese or Spanish descent, some among them had emigrated from Germany and Poland. About the beginning of the 19th century, a number of Jews from the latter countries, finding the services of the Congregation Mickvé Israel unfamiliar to them, resolved to form a new congregation which would use the ritual to which they had been accustomed.

African diasporic religions are practiced in some Latino and Hispanic and Caribbean communities in North and West Philadelphia.{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/30/pennsylvania.animal.remains/ |title=Group: Remains of more than 500 animals found at Philadelphia home |first=Ross |last=Levitt |date=December 30, 2009 |publisher=CNN |access-date=February 10, 2017 |archive-date=September 23, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923003000/http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/30/pennsylvania.animal.remains/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=http://northiowatoday.com/2012/01/15/man-gets-life-sentence-in-killing-over-santeria/ |author=Joseph A. Slobodzian |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |title=Man gets life sentence in killing over Santeria |date=January 15, 2012 |via=NorthIowaToday.com |access-date=February 10, 2017 |archive-date=February 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211075927/http://northiowatoday.com/2012/01/15/man-gets-life-sentence-in-killing-over-santeria/ |url-status=live }}

{{As of|2010}}, 79.12% (1,112,441) of Philadelphia residents age 5 and older spoke English at home as a primary language, while 9.72% (136,688) spoke Spanish, 1.64% (23,075) Chinese, 0.89% (12,499) Vietnamese, 0.77% (10,885) Russian, 0.66% (9,240) French, 0.61% (8,639) other Asian languages, 0.58% (8,217) African languages, 0.56% (7,933) Cambodian (Mon-Khmer), and Italian was spoken as a main language by 0.55% (7,773) of the population over the age of five. In total, 20.88% (293,544) of Philadelphia's population age 5 and older spoke a mother language other than English.{{cite web |url=http://www.mla.org/cgi-shl/docstudio/docs.pl?map_data_results |title=Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania |publisher=Modern Language Association |access-date=August 10, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815140430/http://www.mla.org/cgi-shl/docstudio/docs.pl?map_data_results |archive-date=August 15, 2013 }}

Philadelphia is home to many food poverty programs, of which two of the largest are Philabundance which claims to feed 90000 people per week.{{Cite web |title=Philabundance 2021 |url=https://indd.adobe.com/view/40769621-44c7-40d3-94b1-6136aa1f00be |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928192938/https://indd.adobe.com/view/40769621-44c7-40d3-94b1-6136aa1f00be |archive-date=September 28, 2022 |access-date=April 11, 2023 |website=indd.adobe.com |language=en }}{{Cite web |date=November 16, 2010 |title=A growing need for food relief |url=http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20101116_A_growing_need_for_food_relief.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121200334/http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20101116_A_growing_need_for_food_relief.html |archive-date=November 21, 2010 |access-date=December 7, 2010 |website=Philadelphia Daily News }}{{Cite web |last=Pompilio |first=Natalie |date=November 16, 2010 |title=Relief agencies feel hunger pangs |url=http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20101116_Relief_agencies_face_hunger_pangs.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119100612/http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20101116_Relief_agencies_face_hunger_pangs.html |archive-date=November 19, 2010 |access-date=December 7, 2010 |website=Philadelphia Daily News }}{{Cite web |date=October 18, 2010 |title=Philabundance Seeks Help From Suburbanites For Suburbanites |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/philabundance-seeks-help-from-suburbanites-for-suburbanites/ |access-date=April 11, 2023 |website=CBS Philadelphia |language=en-US }} and Share Food Program which claims to feed 1 million people per month.{{cite news |title=How to solve "the lost mile" for hungry Philadelphians |url=https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/solve-lost-mile-hungry-philadelphians/ |access-date=January 7, 2021 |work=The Philadelphia Citizen |archive-date=January 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107134429/https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/solve-lost-mile-hungry-philadelphians/ |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Economy of Philadelphia}}

{| class="wikitable floatright" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"

|-

| colspan="3" style="background:#9BDDFF;"|Top publicly traded companies
headquartered in Philadelphia

|- style="background:#ccc;"

| Corporation||2019
rank||Revenue
(billions)

|-

|Comcast||32||94.5

|-

|Aramark||198||15.8

|-

|FMC||556||4.7

|-

|Urban Outfitters||634||4.0

|-

|Carpenter Technology||940||2.2

|-

|colspan="3"|Source: Fortune{{cite web |url=https://fortune.com/fortune500/2019/search/?hqcity=Philadelphia |title=Fortune 500 |publisher=Fortune |access-date=October 10, 2019 |archive-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191111230302/https://fortune.com/fortune500/2019/search/?hqcity=Philadelphia |url-status=live }}

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Philadelphia's close geographical and transportation connections to other large metropolitan economies along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States have been cited as offering a significant competitive advantage for business creation and entrepreneurship.{{cite web |url=https://fransmart.com/why-you-should-start-a-business-in-philadelphia/ |title=Why You Should Start a Business in Philadelphia |date=November 8, 2021 |publisher=Fransmart News |access-date=November 5, 2022 |archive-date=November 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221105190855/https://fransmart.com/why-you-should-start-a-business-in-philadelphia/ |url-status=live }} The city is the center of economic activity in both Pennsylvania and the four-state Delaware Valley metropolitan region. Five Fortune 500 companies are based in the city. {{As of|2021}}, the Philadelphia metropolitan area is estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of US$479 billion,{{cite web |title=Gross domestic product (GDP) by metropolitan area |url=https://apps.bea.gov/itable/drilldown.cfm?reqid=70&stepnum=40&Major_Area=5&State=37980&Area=XX&TableId=501&Statistic=1&Year=2019&YearBegin=-1&Year_End=-1&Unit_Of_Measure=Levels&Rank=1&Drill=1&nRange=5 |publisher=U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis |access-date=November 1, 2022 |archive-date=October 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027140857/https://apps.bea.gov/itable/?reqid=70&stepnum=40&Major_Area=5&State=37980&Area=XX&TableId=501&Statistic=1&Year=2019&YearBegin=-1&Year_End=-1&Unit_Of_Measure=Levels&Rank=1&Drill=1&nRange=5 |url-status=live }} an increase from the $445 billion calculated by the Bureau of Economic Analysis for 2017,{{cite web |title=Gross domestic product (GDP) by metropolitan area |url=https://apps.bea.gov/itable/drilldown.cfm?reqid=70&stepnum=40&Major_Area=5&State=37980&Area=XX&TableId=501&Statistic=1&Year=2017&YearBegin=-1&Year_End=-1&Unit_Of_Measure=Levels&Rank=1&Drill=1&nRange=5 |publisher=U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis |date=September 18, 2018 |access-date=November 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201093147/https://apps.bea.gov/itable/drilldown.cfm?reqid=70&stepnum=40&Major_Area=5&State=37980&Area=XX&TableId=501&Statistic=1&Year=2017&YearBegin=-1&Year_End=-1&Unit_Of_Measure=Levels&Rank=1&Drill=1&nRange=5 |archive-date=December 1, 2018 |url-status=live }} representing the ninth-largest U.S. metropolitan economy.

Philadelphia's economic sectors include financial services, health care, biotechnology, information technology, trade and transportation, manufacturing, oil refining, food processing, and tourism. Metropolitan Philadelphia is one of the top five American venture capital hubs, credited to its proximity to New York City's financial and tech and biotechnology ecosystems. Financial activities account for the largest economic sector of the metropolitan area, which is one of the largest health education and research centers in the United States. The city's two largest employers are the federal and city governments. Philadelphia's largest private employer is the University of Pennsylvania followed by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

{{main|List of companies based in the Philadelphia area}}

File:2022 Old Philadelphia Stock Exchange Building, 1411 Walnut Street.jpg building, the nation's first stock exchange, at 1411 Walnut Street]]

The Philadelphia Stock Exchange, acquired by Nasdaq in 2007, is a global leader in options trading. The city is home to the headquarters of Comcast, the nation's largest multinational telecommunications corporation; insurance conglomerates Cigna, Colonial Penn, and Independence Blue Cross; as well as food services company Aramark, chemical makers FMC Corporation and Rohm and Haas, pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline, Amicus Therapeutics, Spark Therapeutics, apparel retailers Five Below and Urban Outfitters and its subsidiary Anthropologie, automotive parts retailer Pep Boys, and stainless steel producer Carpenter Technology Corporation.

Other corporation headquarters in the city include RiteAid, Crown Holdings, and Brandywine Realty Trust. The headquarters of Boeing Rotorcraft Systems and its main rotorcraft factory are in the Philadelphia suburb of Ridley Park; The Vanguard Group, and the U.S. headquarters of Siemens Healthineers are headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb. Healthcare conglomerate AmerisourceBergen is located in suburban Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Across the Delaware River in adjacent Camden County, New Jersey, Campbell Soup Company and Subaru USA are both headquartered in Camden, New Jersey, and TD Bank (USA) is headquartered in nearby suburban Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

File:Comcast Technology Center 2018.jpg in Center City]]

Philadelphia is a hub for information technology and biotechnology.{{Cite web |last=Eramian |first=Daniel |date=November 2, 2020 |title=Is Philadelphia's biotech cluster faltering? Experts say no |url=https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/02/philadelphia-biotech-funding/ |access-date=October 24, 2021 |website=STAT |language=en-US |archive-date=October 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024161332/https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/02/philadelphia-biotech-funding/ |url-status=live }} Philadelphia and Pennsylvania are attracting new life sciences ventures.[https://nvca.org/research/venture-monitor/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190610221717/https://nvca.org/research/venture-monitor/|date=June 10, 2019}} Accessed April 18, 2019. As of 2024, the Delaware Valley ranks as one of the Big Five U.S. venture capital hubs, enabled by its proximity to both the entrepreneurial and financial ecosystems of New York City and to the federal regulatory environment of Washington, D.C.

{{See also|List of tourist attractions in Philadelphia}}

Philadelphia's history attracts many tourists, with the Independence National Historical Park, which includes the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and other historic sites, received over 5 million visitors in 2016.{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/inde/parkmgmt/statistics.htm |title=Park Statistics |access-date=February 10, 2015 |archive-date=February 11, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211111955/http://www.nps.gov/inde/parkmgmt/statistics.htm |url-status=live }} The city welcomed 42 million domestic tourists in 2016 who spent $6.8 billion, generating an estimated $11 billion in total economic impact in the city and surrounding four counties of Pennsylvania. The annual Naked Bike Ride attracts participants from around the United States and internationally to Philadelphia.

{{main|Transportation in Philadelphia}}

Philadelphia International Airport, a major Transatlantic gateway and transcontinental hub, has undergone a $900 million infrastructural expansion to increase passenger capacity and augment passenger experience, and the airport continues an ongoing capital expenditure program to upgrade facilities and add further amenities.{{cite news |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/business/philly-airport-gets-16-5-million-federal-grant-for-runway-improvements-20170822.html |title=Philly airport gets $16.5 million federal grant for runway improvements |author=Linda Loyd |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=August 22, 2017 |access-date=June 3, 2018 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141404/http://www.philly.com/philly/business/philly-airport-gets-16-5-million-federal-grant-for-runway-improvements-20170822.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/business/airlines-at-phl-agree-to-900-million-in-infrastructure-20170522.html |title=Airlines at PHL agree to $900 million in improvements |author=Linda Loyd |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=May 22, 2017 |access-date=June 3, 2018 |archive-date=June 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180609190959/http://www.philly.com/philly/business/airlines-at-phl-agree-to-900-million-in-infrastructure-20170522.html |url-status=live }} The Port of Philadelphia, having experienced the highest percentage growth by tonnage loaded in 2017 among major U.S. seaports, has doubled its shipping capacity to accommodate super-sized post-Panamax shipping vessels since 2018.{{cite web |url=https://www.joc.com/port-news/us-ports/port-philadelphia/after-strongest-us-growth-philadelphia-port-double-capacity_20180405.html |title=After strongest US growth, Philadelphia port to double capacity |author=Hugh R. Morley |publisher=JOC |date=April 5, 2018 |access-date=June 3, 2018 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142253/https://www.joc.com/port-news/us-ports/port-philadelphia/after-strongest-us-growth-philadelphia-port-double-capacity_20180405.html |url-status=live }} Philadelphia's 30th Street Station is the third-busiest Amtrak rail hub, following Penn Station in Manhattan and Union Station in Washington, D.C., transporting over 4 million inter-city rail passengers annually.{{cite web |url=https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/corporate/nationalfactsheets/Amtrak-Corporate-Profile-FY2018-0319.pdf |title=FY 2018 Company Profile |website=www.amtrak.com |access-date=April 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403083153/https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/corporate/nationalfactsheets/Amtrak-Corporate-Profile-FY2018-0319.pdf |archive-date=April 3, 2019 |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Education in Philadelphia}}

{{See also|Free Library of Philadelphia}}

{{see also|School District of Philadelphia}}

File:Penn Charter.jpg, established in 1689, the nation's oldest Quaker school]]

Education in Philadelphia is provided by many private and public institutions. The School District of Philadelphia is the local school district, operating public schools, in all of the city.{{cite web |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st42_pa/schooldistrict_maps/c42101_philadelphia/DC20SD_C42101.pdf |title=2020 census - school district reference map: Philadelphia County, PA |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=July 22, 2022 |archive-date=July 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220722220327/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st42_pa/schooldistrict_maps/c42101_philadelphia/DC20SD_C42101.pdf |url-status=live}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st42_pa/schooldistrict_maps/c42101_philadelphia/DC20SD_C42101_SD2MS.txt Text list] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220722220329/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st42_pa/schooldistrict_maps/c42101_philadelphia/DC20SD_C42101_SD2MS.txt |date=July 22, 2022 }} The Philadelphia School District is the eighth-largest school district in the nation{{cite news |url=http://www.phila.k12.pa.us/about/ |title=About Us – The School District of Philadelphia |publisher=Philadelphia School District |access-date=April 27, 2015 |archive-date=May 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508103158/http://www.phila.k12.pa.us/about/ |url-status=live }} with 142,266 students in 218 traditional public schools and 86 charter schools {{As of|2014|lc=y}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.phila.k12.pa.us/about/#schools |title=About Us – Schools – The School District of Philadelphia |access-date=April 27, 2015 |archive-date=May 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508103158/http://www.phila.k12.pa.us/about/#schools |url-status=live }}

The city's K-12 enrollment in district–run schools dropped from 156,211 students in 2010 to 130,104 students in 2015. During the same time period, the enrollment in charter schools increased from 33,995 students in 2010 to 62,358 students in 2015. This consistent drop in enrollment led the city to close 24 of its public schools in 2013.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/education/philadelphia-officials-vote-to-close-23-schools.html |title=Philadelphia Officials Vote to Close 23 Schools |website=The New York Times |date=March 7, 2013 |access-date=April 27, 2015 |author=Hurdle, Jon |archive-date=May 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506111743/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/education/philadelphia-officials-vote-to-close-23-schools.html? |url-status=live }} During the 2014 school year, the city spent an average of $12,570 per pupil, below the average among comparable urban school districts.

Graduation rates among district-run schools, meanwhile, steadily increased in the ten years from 2005. In 2005, Philadelphia had a district graduation rate of 52%. This number increased to 65% in 2014, still below the national and state averages. Scores on the state's standardized test, the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) trended upward from 2005 to 2011 but subsequently decreased. In 2005, the district-run schools scored an average of 37.4% on math and 35.5% on reading. The city's schools reached their peak scores in 2011 with 59.0% on math and 52.3% on reading. In 2014, the scores dropped significantly to 45.2% on math and 42.0% on reading.

Of the city's public high schools, including charter schools, only four performed above the national average on the SAT (1497 out of 2400{{cite web |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/average-sat-score-2014-2014-10 |title=The Average SAT Score Last Year Was Just Under 1500 |website=Business Insider |date=October 7, 2014 |access-date=April 27, 2015 |author=Jacobs, Peter |archive-date=April 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430060215/http://www.businessinsider.com/average-sat-score-2014-2014-10 |url-status=live }}) in 2014: Masterman, Central, Girard Academic Music Program, and MaST Community Charter School. All other district-run schools were below average.

{{See also|List of colleges and universities in Philadelphia}}

File:Penn campus 2.jpg, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia founded in 1749 by Benjamin Franklin and one of the world's highest-ranked universities]]

File:Huntsman Hall at the University of Pennsylvania.jpg at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, one of the world's most prestigious business schools]]

Medical and research facilities of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Philadelphia has the third-largest student concentration on the East Coast, with more than 120,000 college and university students enrolled within the city and nearly 300,000 in the metropolitan area.{{cite news |url=http://www.citylab.com/design/2012/08/americas-leading-college-towns/3054/ |title=America's Leading College Towns |publisher=The Atlantic: City Lab |date=August 27, 2012 |access-date=April 27, 2015 |author=Florida, Richard |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |archive-date=May 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512235409/http://www.citylab.com/design/2012/08/americas-leading-college-towns/3054/ |url-status=live }} More than 80 colleges, universities, trade, and specialty schools are in the Philadelphia region. One of the founding members of the Association of American Universities is in the city, the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League institution with claims to be the First university in the United States.{{cite book |last1=Brownlee |first1=David B. |last2=Thomas |first2=George E. |title=Building America's First University: An Historical and Architectural Guide to the University of Pennsylvania |date=2000 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia |isbn=0812235150 }}

The city's largest university by student enrollment is Temple University, followed by Drexel University.{{cite web |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/sharon-oliver/2011/10/the-phila-areas-biggest-colleges.html |title=The Phila. area's biggest colleges |publisher=Philadelphia Business Journal |date=October 21, 2011 |access-date=April 27, 2015 |author=Oliver, Sharon |archive-date=May 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530021503/http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/blog/sharon-oliver/2011/10/the-phila-areas-biggest-colleges.html |url-status=live }} The city's nationally ranked research universities comprise the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Drexel University, and Thomas Jefferson University. Philadelphia is also home to five schools of medicine: Drexel University College of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, and Thomas Jefferson University's Sidney Kimmel Medical College. Hospitals, universities, and higher education research institutions in Philadelphia's four congressional districts received more than $252 million in National Institutes of Health grants in 2015.{{cite web |url=http://report.nih.gov/award/index.cfm?ot=&fy=2015&state=PA&ic=&fm=&orgid=&distr=PA1,PA2,PA8,PA13&rfa=&om=n&pid=&view=statedetail# |title=NIH Awards by Location & Organization |date=April 20, 2015 |access-date=April 27, 2015 |archive-date=June 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619085721/http://report.nih.gov/award/index.cfm?ot=&fy=2015&state=PA&ic=&fm=&orgid=&distr=PA1,PA2,PA8,PA13&rfa=&om=n&pid=&view=statedetail |url-status=dead }}

Other institutions of higher learning within the city's borders include:

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Chestnut Hill College
• Community College of Philadelphia
• Curtis Institute of Music
• Holy Family University
• La Salle University
• Moore College of Art and Design
• Peirce College
• Saint Joseph's University
• The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College

{{div col end}}

{{Main|Culture of Philadelphia}}

{{See also|List of National Historic Landmarks in Philadelphia|List of sites of interest in Philadelphia|List of tourist attractions in Philadelphia}}

File:Kimmel Center cropped.tif at 300 Broad Street, home of the Philadelphia Orchestra]]

Philadelphia is home to many national historical sites that relate to the founding of the United States. Independence National Historical Park is the center of these historical landmarks and one of the country's 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed, and the Liberty Bell is housed, are among the city's most popular attractions. Other national historic sites include the homes of Edgar Allan Poe and Thaddeus Kosciuszko, and early government buildings, including the First and the Second Bank of the United States, Fort Mifflin, and the Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church.{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/nhl/find/statelists/pa/PA.pdf |title=Listing of National Historic Landmarks by State – Pennsylvania (169) |access-date=October 4, 2017 |date=January 2017 |publisher=National Park Service |archive-date=August 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801101946/https://www.nps.gov/nhl/find/statelists/pa/PA.pdf |url-status=live }} Philadelphia alone has 67 National Historic Landmarks, the third most of any city in the country.

Philadelphia's major science museums include the Franklin Institute, which contains the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Mütter Museum, and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. History museums include the National Constitution Center, the Museum of the American Revolution, the Philadelphia History Museum, the National Museum of American Jewish History, the African American Museum in Philadelphia, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania in the Masonic Temple, and the Eastern State Penitentiary. Philadelphia is home to the United States's first zoo{{cite web |url=http://www.philadelphiazoo.org/About-the-Zoo.aspx |title=Philadelphia Zoo: About |publisher=Philadelphia Zoo |access-date=April 29, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330192449/http://www.philadelphiazoo.org/About-the-Zoo.aspx |archive-date=March 30, 2015 }} and hospital,{{cite web |url=https://www.pennmedicine.org/about |title=About Penn Medicine: History |publisher=Penn Medicine |access-date=March 4, 2018 |archive-date=March 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315151426/https://www.pennmedicine.org/about |url-status=live }} as well as Fairmount Park, one of America's oldest and largest urban parks, founded in 1855.{{cite web |url=http://www.phila.gov/ParksandRecreation/history/departmenthistory/parksystemhistory/Pages/default.aspx |title=Philadelphia Park System History |publisher=City of Philadelphia |access-date=April 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330223316/http://www.phila.gov/ParksandRecreation/history/departmenthistory/parksystemhistory/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=March 30, 2015 |url-status=dead }}

The city is home to important archival repositories, including the Library Company of Philadelphia, established in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin at 1314 Locust Street,[http://librarycompany.org/about-lcp/ "Library Company of Philadelphia: Overview"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305181140/http://librarycompany.org/about-lcp/ |date=March 5, 2018 }}. librarycompany.org. The Library Company of Philadelphia. Retrieved March 4, 2018. and the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, founded in 1814.[http://www.philaathenaeum.org/mission.html "Athenaeum of Philadelphia: Mission and History"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130107194252/http://www.philaathenaeum.org/mission.html |date=January 7, 2013 }}. philaathenaeum.org. The Athenaeum of Philadelphia. Retrieved March 4, 2018. The Presbyterian Historical Society is the country's oldest denominational historical society, organized in 1852.[https://www.history.pcusa.org/about "Presbyterian Historical Society: About"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305144226/https://www.history.pcusa.org/about |date=March 5, 2018 }}. history.pcusa.org. The Presbyterian Historical Society. Retrieved March 4, 2018.

{{See also|List of museums in Philadelphia|List of public art in Philadelphia|Mummers Parade}}

File:Philadelphia Museum of Art, main building.jpg]]

File:Keys To Community crop.jpg by James Peniston at 325 Arch Street in Center City]]

The city is home to multiple art museums, including the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Rodin Museum, which holds the largest collection of work by Auguste Rodin outside France. The city's largest art museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is one of the largest art museums in the world. The long flight of steps to the Art Museum's main entrance became famous after the film Rocky (1976).{{Cite journal |first=Jerome |last=Weeks |date=August 2006 |title=Philly goes the distance |journal=The Dallas Morning News |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/travel/unitedstates/stories/DN-philly_0806tra.State.Edition1.508ad59.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060820112528/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/travel/unitedstates/stories/DN-philly_0806tra.State.Edition1.508ad59.html |archive-date=August 20, 2006 }}

Annual events include the Philadelphia Film Festival, held annually each October, the 6abc Dunkin' Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade, the nation's longest-running continuously held Thanksgiving Day parade, and the Mummers Parade, the nation's longest continuously held folk parade, which is held every New Year's Day predominantly on Broad Street.

Areas such as South Street and the Old City section of the city have a vibrant night life. The Avenue of the Arts in Center City contains many restaurants and theaters, such as the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, home of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Academy of Music, home of Opera Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Ballet. The Wilma Theatre and the Philadelphia Theatre Company at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre produce a variety of new plays.[http://www.wilmatheater.org/history "Wilma Theater history"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026155025/https://wilmatheater.org/history/ |date=October 26, 2009 }}. wilmatheater.org. Retrieved March 2, 2018.[http://philadelphiatheatrecompany.org/about/ "Philadelphia Theatre Company at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180302164621/http://philadelphiatheatrecompany.org/about/ |date=March 2, 2018 }}. philadelphiatheatrecompany.org. Retrieved March 2, 2018. Several blocks to the east are the Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephens Episcopal Church;[http://www.lanterntheater.org/ "Lantern Theater Company"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305105715/http://www.lanterntheater.org/ |date=March 5, 2018 }}. lanterntheater.org. Retrieved March 2, 2018. and the Walnut Street Theatre, a National Historic Landmark stated to be the oldest and most subscribed-to theatre in the English-speaking world, founded in 1809.[http://www.explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=817 "Walnut Street Theatre Historical Marker"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090718224049/http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=817 |date=July 18, 2009 }}. ExplorePAhistory.com. Retrieved May 4, 2019. In May 2019, the Walnut Street Theatre announced a major expansion to begin in 2020.{{cite news |url=https://www.philly.com/arts/walnut-street-theatre-expansion-theater-in-the-round-parking-lot-20190504.html |title=Walnut Street Theatre announces a major expansion, set to start in 2020 |author=John Timpane |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=May 4, 2019 |access-date=May 4, 2019 |quote=The Walnut Street Theatre announced Saturday evening that fund-raising is now underway for a substantial new wing of the building. Plans would expand the 210-year-old theater's footprint partway into the parking lot next door and add a 400-seat theater in the round. The three-story, 35,000-square-foot addition would break ground in May 2020 and be completed in 2022. |archive-date=May 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504234103/https://www.philly.com/arts/walnut-street-theatre-expansion-theater-in-the-round-parking-lot-20190504.html |url-status=live }} New Freedom Theatre, Pennsylvania's oldest African-American theatre, is located on North Broad Street.

Philadelphia has more public art than any other American city.{{cite web |url=http://www.visitphilly.com/music-art/public-art/ |title=Public Art |publisher=Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation |access-date=May 31, 2010 |archive-date=July 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727101301/http://www.visitphilly.com/music-art/public-art/ |url-status=live }} In 1872, the Association for Public Art, formerly the Fairmount Park Art Association, was created as the first private association in the United States dedicated to integrating public art and urban planning.{{Cite journal |first=Joanne |last=Aitken |date=September 2, 2004 |title=Forget Paris |journal=City Paper |url=http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2004-09-02/cityspace.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203103019/http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2004-09-02/cityspace.shtml |archive-date=December 3, 2007 }} In 1959, lobbying by the Artists Equity Association helped create the Percent for Art ordinance, the first for a U.S. city.{{cite web |url=http://www.publicartreview.org/pdf/wetenhall.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060901030011/http://www.publicartreview.org/pdf/wetenhall.pdf |archive-date=September 1, 2006 |title=About A Brief History of Percent-For-Art in America |last=Wetenhall |first=John |publisher=Public Art Review |access-date=September 24, 2006 }} The program, which has funded more than 200 pieces of public art, is administered by the Philadelphia Office of Arts and Culture, the city's art agency.{{cite web |url=http://associationforpublicart.org/public-art-gateway/public-art-agencies/ |title=Office of Art and Culture |access-date=December 24, 2013 |archive-date=November 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103181410/http://associationforpublicart.org/public-art-gateway/public-art-agencies/ |url-status=live }} The city has more murals than any other American city, due to the 1984 creation of the Department of Recreation's Mural Arts Program, which seeks to beautify neighborhoods and provide an outlet for graffiti artists. The program has funded more than 2,800 murals by professional, staff and volunteer artists and educated more than 20,000 youth in underserved neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia.{{cite web |url=http://www.muralarts.org/about/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071208070210/http://www.muralarts.org/about/ |archive-date=December 8, 2007 |title=Mural Arts Program About page |access-date=November 27, 2007 }}

The city is home to a number of art organizations, including the regional art advocacy nonprofit Philadelphia Tri-State Artists Equity,{{cite web |last1=Schira |first1=Ron |title=Art review: GoggleWorks' 'Artists Equity' show proves uneven |url=http://www2.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=444811 |website=Reading Eagle |access-date=November 27, 2019 |language=en |date=January 20, 2013 |archive-date=February 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226103221/http://www2.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=444811 |url-status=dead }} the Philadelphia Sketch Club, one of the country's oldest artists' clubs,{{cite magazine |title=Art: Windfall |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,772330,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101014064937/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,772330,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 14, 2010 |magazine=Time |date=January 15, 1940 |access-date=March 2, 2018 }} and The Plastic Club, started by women excluded from the Sketch Club.{{Cite journal |last=Van Hook |first=Bailey |date=January 1, 2009 |title=The Early Career of Violet Oakley, Illustrator |jstor=40605220 |journal=Woman's Art Journal |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=29–38 }} Many Old City art galleries stay open late on the First Friday event of each month.{{cite news |title=What To Do For First Friday In Philly This January |url=http://www.uwishunu.com/2017/01/celebrate-first-friday-philly-january-6/#sm.000nnbzwxvrrcxq114e2340gzulvn |author=Jillian Wilson |newspaper=Visit Philadelphia |date=January 5, 2017 |access-date=March 2, 2018 |archive-date=September 11, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911205222/http://www.uwishunu.com/2017/01/celebrate-first-friday-philly-january-6/#sm.000nnbzwxvrrcxq114e2340gzulvn |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Cuisine of Philadelphia}}

File:Pats and Genos.jpg (foreground) and Geno's Steaks (background) in South Philadelphia]]

The city is known for its hoagies, stromboli, roast pork sandwich, scrapple, soft pretzels, water ice, Irish potato candy, tastykakes, and the cheesesteak sandwich which was developed by Italian immigrants.{{cite web |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20070730_Ricks_Steaks_takes_Reading_Terminal_Market_dispute_to_court.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080124113843/http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20070730_Ricks_Steaks_takes_Reading_Terminal_Market_dispute_to_court.html |archive-date=January 24, 2008 |title=Rick's Steaks takes Reading Terminal Market dispute to court |date=July 30, 2007 |first=Katie |last=Stuhldreher |publisher=philly.com |access-date=July 30, 2007 }} The Philadelphia area has many establishments that serve cheesesteaks, including restaurants, taverns, delicatessens and pizza parlors.[http://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/top-10-spots-for-authentic-philly-cheesesteaks/ "Top 10 Spots for Authentic Philly Cheesesteaks"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306044642/http://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/top-10-spots-for-authentic-philly-cheesesteaks/ |date=March 6, 2018 }}. visitphilly.com. Retrieved March 5, 2018.[https://www.foodnetwork.com/restaurants/photos/best-cheesesteak-philadelphia "The Best Cheesesteaks in Philadelphia"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306022821/https://www.foodnetwork.com/restaurants/photos/best-cheesesteak-philadelphia |date=March 6, 2018 }}. foodnetwork.com. Retrieved March 5, 2018.[https://www.grubhub.com/delivery/pa-philadelphia/cheesesteaks "Find Philadelphia cheesesteak shops near you and order online for free"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305202852/https://www.grubhub.com/delivery/pa-philadelphia/cheesesteaks |date=March 5, 2018 }}. grubhub.com. Retrieved March 5, 2018. The originator of the thinly-sliced steak sandwich in the 1930s, initially without cheese, is Pat's King of Steaks, which faces its rival Geno's Steaks, founded in 1966,[http://www.genosteaks.com/about/ "About us: Geno's Steaks"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305202442/http://www.genosteaks.com/about/ |date=March 5, 2018 }}. genosteaks.com. Retrieved March 4, 2018. across the intersection of 9th Street and Passyunk Avenue in the Italian Market of South Philadelphia.[http://www.philly.com/philly/food/restaurants/Pats_King_Of_Steaks.html "Pat's King Of Steaks"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305142733/http://www.philly.com/philly/food/restaurants/Pats_King_Of_Steaks.html |date=March 5, 2018 }}. philly.com. Retrieved March 4, 2018.

McGillin's Olde Ale House, opened in 1860 on Drury Street in Center City, is the oldest continuously operated tavern in the city.{{cite web |url=http://mcgillins.com/history/ |title=McGillin's History |publisher=McGillin's Olde Ale House |access-date=March 4, 2018 |archive-date=March 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311012717/http://mcgillins.com/history/ |url-status=live }} The City Tavern is a replica of a historic 18th-century building first opened in 1773, demolished in 1854 after a fire, and rebuilt in 1975 on the same site as part of Independence National Historical Park.[https://www.citytavern.com/city-tavern-timeline/ "City Tavern Timeline"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305232441/https://www.citytavern.com/city-tavern-timeline/ |date=March 5, 2018 }}. citytavern.com. Retrieved March 4, 2018. The tavern offers authentic 18th-century recipes, served in seven period dining rooms, three wine cellar rooms and an outdoor garden.[https://www.citytavern.com/private-affairs/ "City Tavern: Private Affairs"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305181304/https://www.citytavern.com/private-affairs/ |date=March 5, 2018 }}. citytavern.com. Retrieved March 4, 2018.

The Reading Terminal Market is a historic food market founded in 1893 in the Reading Terminal building, a designated National Historic Landmark. The enclosed market is one of the oldest and largest markets in the country, hosting over a hundred merchants offering Pennsylvania Dutch specialties, artisan cheese and meat, locally grown groceries, and specialty and ethnic foods.{{cite web |url=https://readingterminalmarket.org/about-us/ |title=Reading Terminal Market: About the market |publisher=Reading Terminal Market |access-date=March 4, 2018 |archive-date=March 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305142710/https://readingterminalmarket.org/about-us/ |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Philadelphia English}}

The traditional Philadelphia accent is considered by some linguists to be the most distinctive accent in North America.[https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/opinion/sunday/the-sound-of-philadelphia-fades-out.html?_r=0 New York Times Sunday Review, Loose Ends] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410041829/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/opinion/sunday/the-sound-of-philadelphia-fades-out.html?_r=0 |date=April 10, 2014 }} "The Sound of Philadelphia Fades Out" Daniel Nester March 1, 2014 The Philadelphia dialect, which is spread throughout the Delaware Valley and South Jersey, is part of a larger Mid-Atlantic American English family, a designation that also includes the Baltimore accent. Additionally, it shares many similarities with the New York accent. Owing to over a century of linguistic data collected by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania under sociolinguist William Labov, the Philadelphia dialect has been one of the best-studied forms of American English.{{cite journal |first=Matthew J. |last=Gordon |doi=10.1177/0075424206294308 |title=Interview with William Labov |journal=Journal of English Linguistics |volume=34 |year=2006 |pages=332–51 |issue=4 |s2cid=144459634 |issn=0075-4242 }}{{cite news |title=Penn linguist Labov wins Franklin Institute award |author=Tom Avril |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/health/20121022_Penn_linguist_Labov_wins_Franklin_Institute_award.html |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=October 22, 2012 |access-date=October 23, 2012 |archive-date=October 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024045341/http://www.philly.com/philly/health/20121022_Penn_linguist_Labov_wins_Franklin_Institute_award.html |url-status=live }}{{efn|1= E.g., in the opening chapter of The Handbook of Language Variation and Change (ed. Chambers et al., Blackwell, 2002), J. K. Chambers writes that "variationist sociolinguistics had its effective beginnings only in 1963, the year in which William Labov presented the first sociolinguistic research report"; the dedication page of the Handbook says that Labov's "ideas imbue every page".}} The accent is especially found within the Irish American and Italian American working-class neighborhoods.{{cite news |last=Rocca |first=Mo |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/philadelphia-mid-atlantic-dialect-accent-democratic-national-convention-2016/ |title=An earful and accent that's distinctly Philly |publisher=CBS Interactive Inc. |date=July 26, 2016 |access-date=February 14, 2017 |archive-date=February 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215114603/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/philadelphia-mid-atlantic-dialect-accent-democratic-national-convention-2016/ |url-status=live }} Philadelphia also has its own unique collection of neologisms and slang terms.{{cite web |url=http://phillytalk.com/philly-slang |title=Philly Slang |publisher=PhillyTalk.com |access-date=February 15, 2017 |archive-date=February 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215211047/http://phillytalk.com/philly-slang |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Music of Philadelphia}}

File:Curtisinstofmusic.JPG at 1726 Locust Street in Center City, one of the world's premier conservatories]]

The Philadelphia Orchestra is generally considered one of the top five orchestras in the United States. The orchestra performs at the Kimmel Center[https://www.philorch.org/kimmel-center#/ "The Kimmel Center: Home of The Philadelphia Orchestra"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709123409/https://www.philorch.org/kimmel-center#/ |date=July 9, 2018 }}. philorch.org. The Philadelphia Orchestra Association. Retrieved April 13, 2018. and has a summer concert series at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts.[https://www.philorch.org/mann-center-performing-arts#/ "Summer Home of The Philadelphia Orchestra: Mann Center for the Performing Arts"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709123401/https://www.philorch.org/mann-center-performing-arts#/ |date=July 9, 2018 }}. philorch.org. The Philadelphia Orchestra Association. Retrieved April 13, 2018. Opera Philadelphia performs at the nation's oldest continually operating opera house—the Academy of Music. The Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale has performed its music all over the world.{{cite web |title=About Us |url=http://www.phillyboyschoir.org/programs-choir |publisher=Philadelphia Boys Choir |access-date=March 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171218205841/http://www.phillyboyschoir.org/programs-choir |archive-date=December 18, 2017 |url-status=dead }} The Philly Pops plays orchestral versions of popular jazz, swing, Broadway, and blues songs at the Kimmel Center and other venues within the mid-Atlantic region.{{cite web |title=About The Philly POPS |url=http://www.phillypops.org/about-us.php |website=phillypops.org |date=January 13, 2015 |publisher=Encore Series, Inc. |access-date=March 2, 2018 |archive-date=February 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206004221/http://phillypops.org/about-us.php |url-status=dead }} The Curtis Institute of Music is one of the world's premier conservatories and among the most selective institutes of higher education in the nation.{{cite web |url=https://www.phillyvoice.com/curtis-institute-music-ranked-most-selective-college-us/ |title=Curtis Institute of Music ranked most selective college in U.S. |author=Michael Tanenbaum |date=January 29, 2016 |work=Philly Voice |access-date=January 28, 2020 |archive-date=March 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305224847/https://www.phillyvoice.com/curtis-institute-music-ranked-most-selective-college-us/ |url-status=live }}

Philadelphia has played a prominent role in the music of the United States. The culture of American popular music has been influenced by significant contributions of Philadelphia area musicians and producers, in both the recording and broadcasting industries. In 1952, the teen dance party program called Bandstand premiered on local television, hosted by Bob Horn. The show was renamed American Bandstand in 1957, when it began national syndication on ABC, hosted by Dick Clark and produced in Philadelphia until 1964 when it moved to Los Angeles.Rodney Buxton [http://www.museum.tv/eotv/americanband.htm "American Bandstand: U.S. Music Program"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803075751/http://www.museum.tv/eotv/americanband.htm |date=August 3, 2018 }}. museum.tv. Museum of Broadcast Communications. Retrieved April 9, 2018. Promoters marketed youthful musical artists known as teen idols to appeal to the young audience. Philadelphia-born singers, including Frankie Avalon, James Darren, Eddie Fisher, Fabian Forte, Bobby Rydell, and South Philly-raised Chubby Checker, topped the music charts, establishing a clean-cut rock and roll image.

Philly soul music of the late 1960s–1970s is a highly produced version of soul music which led to later forms of popular music such as disco and urban contemporary rhythm and blues.[https://www.allmusic.com/style/philly-soul-ma0000002776 "R&B » Soul » Philly Soul"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713161932/https://www.allmusic.com/style/philly-soul-ma0000002776 |date=July 13, 2020 }}. allmusic.com. Retrieved March 2, 2018. On July 13, 1985, John F. Kennedy Stadium was the American venue for the Live Aid concert.[http://edition.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/01/liveaid.memories/index.html "Live Aid 1985: A day of magic"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411235204/http://edition.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/01/liveaid.memories/index.html |date=April 11, 2020 }}. CNN. Retrieved March 2, 2018. The city also hosted the Live 8 concert, which attracted about 700,000 people to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on July 2, 2005.{{cite web |author=Rodney Kim |title=Live 8 Philadelphia Review |url=http://www.live8.us/philadelphia/blog.html |date=July 2, 2005 |access-date=April 24, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214110945/http://www.live8.us/philadelphia/blog.html |archive-date=December 14, 2006 }}

Notable rock and pop musicians from Philadelphia and its suburbs include Bill Haley & His Comets, Nazz, Todd Rundgren, Hall & Oates, the Hooters, Cinderella, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Ween, Schoolly D, Pink, the Roots, Beanie Sigel, State Property, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Meek Mill, Lil Uzi Vert, and others.

{{Main|Sports in Philadelphia}}

{{See also|Philadelphia 76ers|Philadelphia Flyers|Philadelphia Eagles|Philadelphia Phillies|Philadelphia Union}}

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File:Super Bowl 402EF3AA.jpg are awarded the Vince Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl LII, on February 4, 2018]]

File:WellsFargoCenterPhila 29.JPG in South Philadelphia, home of the two-time Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL) and three-time champion Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA)]]

File:A358, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Boathouse Row at night, 2009.JPG at night on the Schuylkill River, a symbol of the city's rich history in competitive rowing]]

Philadelphia has one of the nation's richest histories in professional sports, dating back to the mid-19th century. Its first professional sports team, the Philadelphia Athletics, a professional baseball team, was founded in 1860.Jordan, David M (1999). The Athletics of Philadelphia: Connie Mack's White Elephants, 1901–1954. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. {{ISBN|0-7864-0620-8 }} The Athletics were initially an amateur league team that turned professional in 1871. In 1876, the Athletics joined with seven other teams in founding the National League, now the longest continuously operating league in world sports.[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/P/FR_PHN.htm "Athletics (Philadelphia) (1871–1876)"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628074009/http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/P/FR_PHN.htm |date=June 28, 2017 }}. retrosheet.org. Retrieved March 6, 2018.

Philadelphia is one of 12 U.S. cities to have teams in all four major league sports: the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB), the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL), the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL), and the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).{{Cite web |url=https://www.nba.com/sixers/76ers-team-history |title=76ers Team History |website=Philadelphia 76ers |access-date=May 14, 2022 |archive-date=May 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514230231/https://www.nba.com/sixers/76ers-team-history |url-status=live }} The Phillies, formed in 1883 as the Quakers and renamed in 1884,{{cite book |title=The Team-by-Team Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball |last=Purdy |first=Dennis |year=2006 |publisher=Workman |location=New York City |isbn=0-7611-3943-5 }} are the oldest team continuously playing under the same name in the same city in the history of American professional sports.{{cite web |title=History: Phillies Timeline (1800s) |publisher=Philadelphia Phillies |url=http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/phi/history/timeline01.jsp |access-date=March 6, 2018 |archive-date=October 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014020847/http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/phi/history/timeline01.jsp |url-status=dead }}

The Philadelphia metro area is also home to the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer (MLS), plays their home games at Subaru Park, a soccer-specific stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania.{{cite web |url=http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20080228&content_id=140965&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp |title=MLS awards Philadelphia 2010 expansion team |date=February 28, 2008 |access-date=February 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080302202651/http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20080228&content_id=140965&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp |archive-date=March 2, 2008 }}{{cite web |title=Talen Energy Assumes Stadium Naming Rights |work=Philadelphia Union |date=November 30, 2015 |url=http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/post/2015/11/30/talen-energy-assumes-stadium-naming-rights |access-date=December 1, 2015 |archive-date=December 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208061627/http://www.philadelphiaunion.com/post/2015/11/30/talen-energy-assumes-stadium-naming-rights |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://njbiz.com/subaru-of-america-philly-metro-area-mls-stadium-naming-rights/ |title=Subaru scores naming rights to Philly metro area MLS stadium |website=njbiz.com |date=February 18, 2020 |access-date=February 19, 2020 |archive-date=February 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219023207/https://njbiz.com/subaru-of-america-philly-metro-area-mls-stadium-naming-rights/ |url-status=live }}

Philadelphia was the second of eight U.S. cities to win titles in all four major leagues, the MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA. It won a title in soccer in the now-defunct North American Soccer League in 1973. Following the 76ers' victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1983 NBA Finals, however, the city's professional teams and their fans endured 25 years without a championship in any professional sport[https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1983-nba-finals-lakers-vs-76ers.html "1983 NBA Finals: Lakers vs. 76ers"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021203847/https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1983-nba-finals-lakers-vs-76ers.html |date=October 21, 2021 }}. basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018. until the Phillies won the 2008 World Series, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays.[https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2008_WS.shtml "2008 World Series: Philadelphia Phillies over Tampa Bay Rays (4–1)"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220606135647/https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/2008_WS.shtml |date=June 6, 2022 }}. baseball-reference.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018.{{cite news |title=Does the Curse of Billy Penn Continue to Haunt Philadelphia? |date=June 12, 2007 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB118165107120832442 |first=Jim |last=Chairusmi |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=March 6, 2018 |archive-date=March 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306083502/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB118165107120832442 |url-status=live }} This quarter century without a championship for any Philadelphia sports team is sometimes described as the Curse of Billy Penn, a reference to a 1987 decision that permitted One Liberty Place to become the first building in city history to surpass the height of William Penn, a statue installed in 1894 atop City Hall.{{cite web |last=Matza |first=Michael |title=Lifting the curse of William Penn |date=October 22, 2008 |work=philly.com |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20081022_Lifting_the_curse_of_William_Penn.html |access-date=March 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203105408/http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20081022_Lifting_the_curse_of_William_Penn.html |archive-date=December 3, 2008 }} In 2004, during the city's championship drought, ESPN placed Philadelphia second on its list of "The Fifteen Most Tortured Sports Cities".Sal Paolantonio. [http://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=paolantonio/tortured_philadelphia "The 15 Most Tortured Sports Cities"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306011610/http://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=paolantonio/tortured_philadelphia |date=March 6, 2018 }}. espn.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved March 5, 2018.{{cite web |url=https://abc7chicago.com/archive/7489419/ |title=Philly reels from loss to Blackhawks |publisher=abclocal.go.com |work=WLS |first=Ravi |last=Baichwal |date=June 10, 2010 |access-date=February 25, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628225840/http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news%2Flocal&id=7489419 |archive-date=June 28, 2011 |url-status=live }} The city's sports fans are often both praised and sometimes derided. In 2011, for instance, GQ magazine named Eagles and Phillies fans the nation's worst professional sports fans, describing them as the "Meanest Fans in America" in summarizing repeated incidents of their drunken behavior and long history of booing.Adam Winer (March 17, 2011). [https://www.gq.com/gallery/worst-sports-fans-in-america "The Worst Sports Fans in America"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306082919/https://www.gq.com/gallery/worst-sports-fans-in-america |date=March 6, 2018 }}. gq.com. Retrieved March 5, 2018.{{cite web |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/dneagles/Eagles-Phillies-top-GQ-list-of-Worst-Fans-in-America.html |title=Eagles, Phillies top GQ list of 'Worst Fans in America' |date=March 17, 2011 |access-date=June 13, 2015 |archive-date=April 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410141719/https://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/dneagles/Eagles-Phillies-top-GQ-list-of-Worst-Fans-in-America.html |url-status=live }}

After the Phillies won the 2008 World Series, nine years passed without a championship until the Eagles won their first Super Bowl following the 2017 season, defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII. Seven seasons later, following the 2024 season, the Eagles won their second Super Bowl, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.{{cite news |last=Bergman |first=Jeremy |title=Eagles QB Nick Foles wins Super Bowl LII MVP |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/eagles-quarterback-nick-foles-wins-super-bowl-lii-mvp-0ap3000000914463 |publisher=National Football League |date=February 4, 2018 |access-date=February 4, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205084920/http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000914463/article/eagles-qb-nick-foles-wins-super-bowl-lii-mvp |archive-date=February 5, 2018 }}

Major professional sports teams that originated in Philadelphia, which later moved to other cities, include the Golden State Warriors basketball team, which played in Philadelphia from 1946 to 1962{{cite web |title=Behind The Name – Warriors |url=http://www.nba.com/warriors/news/behind_the_name.html |publisher=National Basketball Association |date=May 10, 2015 |access-date=May 11, 2015 |archive-date=November 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104003905/http://www.nba.com/warriors/news/behind_the_name.html |url-status=live }} and the Oakland Athletics baseball team, which was originally the Philadelphia Athletics and played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954.{{cite book |title=Movin' on Up: Baseball and Phialdephia Then, Now, and Always |last=Burgoyne |first=Tom |year=2004 |publisher=B B& A Publishers |isbn=0-9754419-3-0 |page=128 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yba-wMVloosC&q=Phillies+Athletics+city+series&pg=PA128 |access-date=November 18, 2020 |archive-date=October 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027140845/https://books.google.com/books?id=yba-wMVloosC&q=Phillies+Athletics+city+series&pg=PA128#v=snippet&q=Phillies%20Athletics%20city%20series&f=false |url-status=live }}

Philadelphia is home to professional, semi-professional, and elite amateur teams in multiple other sports, including cricket, rugby league, and rugby union. Major running events in the city include the Penn Relays, the Philadelphia Marathon, and the Broad Street Run. The Collegiate Rugby Championship is played annually each June at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester.[https://www.usasevenscrc.com/ "Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926080111/https://www.usasevenscrc.com/ |date=September 26, 2017 }}. usasevenscrc.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018.

The city also has a rich history in rowing, which has been popular in Philadelphia since the 18th century.{{cite web |last1=Westcott |first1=Rich |title=The Early Years of Philadelphia Baseball |url=http://sabr.org/research/early-years-philadelphia-baseball |website=SABR |access-date=November 7, 2014 |archive-date=November 7, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107093207/http://sabr.org/research/early-years-philadelphia-baseball |url-status=dead }} On Boathouse Row, a symbol of Philadelphia's rich rowing history, each Big Five member has its own boathouse.{{cite web |title=Boathouse Row |publisher=A View on Cities |url=http://www.aviewoncities.com/philadelphia/boathouserow.htm |access-date=June 26, 2015 |archive-date=June 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626133136/http://www.aviewoncities.com/philadelphia/boathouserow.htm |url-status=dead }} Philadelphia hosts numerous local and collegiate rowing clubs and competitions, including the annual Dad Vail Regatta, the largest intercollegiate rowing event in North America with more than 100 participating U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities;{{cite web |url=http://www.dadvail.org/?About |title=About the Dad Vail Regatta |publisher=Dad Vail Regatta Organizing Committee |access-date=January 24, 2017 |archive-date=June 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626153109/http://www.dadvail.org/?About |url-status=live }} the annual Stotesbury Cup Regatta, which is billed as the world's oldest and largest rowing event for high school students;Staff (May. 13, 2007). [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929122407/http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/high_school/20070513_Stotesbury_expecting_record_field.html "Stotesbury expecting record field"] (archive). philly.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018.{{cite web |title=About The Stotesbury Cup Regatta |url=http://stotesburycupregatta.com/about/ |access-date=June 26, 2015 |date=January 7, 2015 |archive-date=June 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626162638/http://stotesburycupregatta.com/about/ |url-status=live }} and the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta.{{cite web |title=Head of the Schuylkill Regatta History and Growth |publisher=Head of the Schuylkill Regatta |url=http://hosr.org/about/ |access-date=March 6, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306090856/http://hosr.org/about/ |archive-date=March 6, 2018 }} The regattas are held on the Schuylkill River and organized by Schuylkill Navy, an association of area rowing clubs that has produced numerous Olympic rowers.{{cite web |title=Boathouse Row Clubs |publisher=Schuylkill Navy & Boathouse Row |url=http://www.boathouserow.org/index.php/clubs/boathouse-row-clubs |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626152303/http://www.boathouserow.org/index.php/clubs/boathouse-row-clubs |archive-date=June 26, 2015 |url-status=unfit |access-date=June 26, 2015 }}

The Philadelphia Spinners were a professional ultimate team in Major League Ultimate (MLU) until 2016. The Spinners were one of the original eight teams of the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL), which was founded in 2012. They played at Franklin Field and won the inaugural AUDL championship and the final MLU championship in 2016.Charlie Eisenhood (December 8, 2016). [https://ultiworld.com/2016/12/08/philly-talent-skirmish-highlights-waning-battle-audl-mlu/ "A Philly Talent Skirmish Highlights Waning Battle Between AUDL, MLU"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306090336/https://ultiworld.com/2016/12/08/philly-talent-skirmish-highlights-waning-battle-audl-mlu/ |date=March 6, 2018 }}. ultiworld.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018. The MLU was suspended indefinitely by its investors in December 2016.Charlie Eisenhood (December 21, 2016). [https://ultiworld.com/2016/12/21/breaking-major-league-ultimate-suspends-operations/ "Major League Ultimate Suspends Operations: The league's investors pulled funding"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306090313/https://ultiworld.com/2016/12/21/breaking-major-league-ultimate-suspends-operations/ |date=March 6, 2018 }}. ultiworld.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018. {{As of|2018}}, the Philadelphia Phoenix continue to play in the AUDL.[http://theaudl.com/phoenix/history "Philadelphia Phoenix history"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306090353/http://theaudl.com/phoenix/history |date=March 6, 2018 }}. theaudl.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018.

Philadelphia is home to the Philadelphia Big 5, a group of five NCAA Division I college basketball programs, including La Salle, Penn, Saint Joseph's, Temple, and Villanova universities.[http://www.philadelphiabig5.org/ "History: A Family of Philadelphia Rivals"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408172224/http://www.philadelphiabig5.org/ |date=April 8, 2018 }}. philadelphiabig5.org. Philadelphia Big 5. Retrieved April 9, 2018. The sixth NCAA Division I school in Philadelphia is Drexel University. La Salle won the 1954 championship of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.{{Cite web |title=1954 NCAA Champions (1984) - Hall of Athletes |url=https://goexplorers.com/honors/hall-of-athletes/1954-ncaa-champions/27 |access-date=November 28, 2024 |website=La Salle University Athletics |language=en |archive-date=December 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241201102159/https://goexplorers.com/honors/hall-of-athletes/1954-ncaa-champions/27 |url-status=live }} Villanova won the 1985,{{cite news |last=Red |first=Christian |title=30 years ago Villanova shocked Georgetown to win NCAA title |work=New York Daily News |date=March 28, 2015 |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/heaven-hell-story-behind-villanova-upset-georgetown-article-1.2165574 |access-date=February 5, 2022 |archive-date=February 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205053133/https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/heaven-hell-story-behind-villanova-upset-georgetown-article-1.2165574 |url-status=live }} 2016,Mike DeCourcy (April 5, 2016). [http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/news/villanova-vs-north-carolina-unc-greatest-national-championship-game-ever/1tur69z83podb11ys3dk0z34xg "Villanova beating UNC was the greatest NCAA championship game ever, period"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306102226/http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/news/villanova-vs-north-carolina-unc-greatest-national-championship-game-ever/1tur69z83podb11ys3dk0z34xg |date=March 6, 2018 }}. sportingnews.com. Retrieved March 6, 2018. and 2018{{cite web |first=Zach |last=Schonbrun |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/02/sports/ncaa-championship-villanova-michigan.html |title=Juggernaut Villanova Crushes Michigan for N.C.A.A. Championship |work=The New York Times |date=April 2, 2018 |access-date=April 9, 2018 |archive-date=April 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408064309/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/02/sports/ncaa-championship-villanova-michigan.html |url-status=live }} NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments. Philadelphia will be one of the eleven US host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.{{Cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/articles/fifa-to-announce-host-cities-for-fifa-world-cup-2026 |title=FIFA announces hosts cities for FIFA World Cup 2026™ |access-date=December 28, 2022 |archive-date=December 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228153555/https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/articles/fifa-to-announce-host-cities-for-fifa-world-cup-2026 |url-status=live }}

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! scope="col" | Team

! scope="col" | League

! scope="col" | Sport

! scope="col" | Venue

! scope="col" | Capacity

! scope="col" | Founded

! scope="col" | Championships

|-

! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;" | Philadelphia Phillies

| align=center | MLB

| Baseball

| Citizens Bank Park

| align=center | 46,528

| align=center | 1883

| 1980, 2008

|-

! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;" | Philadelphia Eagles

| align=center | NFL

| American football

| Lincoln Financial Field

| align=center | 69,176

| align=center | 1933

| 1948, 1949, 1960, 2017, 2024

|-

! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;" | Philadelphia 76ers

| align=center | NBA

| Basketball

| Wells Fargo Center

| align=center | 21,600

| align=center | 1963

| 1966–67, 1982–83

|-

! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;" | Philadelphia Flyers

| align=center | NHL

| Ice hockey

| Wells Fargo Center

| align=center | 19,786

| align=center | 1967

| 1973–74, 1974–75

|-

! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;" | Philadelphia Union

| align=center | MLS

| Soccer

| Subaru Park

| align=center | 18,500

| align=center | 2010

| none

|-

! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;" | Philadelphia Wings

| align=center | NLL

| Lacrosse

| Wells Fargo Center

| align=center | 19,786

| align=center | 2018

|none

|}

{{See also|Philadelphia City Hall}}

File:Independence Hall 4.jpg at 5th and Chestnut Street, Philadelphia's town hall from 1800 to 1854]]

Philadelphia County is a legal nullity. All county functions were assumed by the city in 1952. The city has been coterminous with the county since 1854.

Philadelphia's 1952 Home Rule Charter was written by the City Charter Commission, which was created by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in an act of April 1949, and a city ordinance of June 1949. The existing city council received a proposed draft in February 1951, and the electors approved it in an election held in April 1951.{{cite web |url=http://www.seventy.org/Files/Philadelphia_Home_Rule_Charter.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525001736/http://www.seventy.org/Files/Philadelphia_Home_Rule_Charter.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 25, 2010 |title=Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, Annotated |access-date=January 31, 2010 |author=Charter Commission |orig-year=1951 |year=1967 |publisher=City of Philadelphia }} The first elections under the new Home Rule Charter were held in November 1951, and the newly elected officials took office in January 1952.{{cite web |title=City Charter Commission |work=Agency History |publisher=City of Philadelphia, Department of Records |date=November 8, 2000 |url=http://www.phila.gov/phils/Docs/Inventor/graphics/agencies/A142.htm |access-date=April 18, 2009 |archive-date=June 29, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090629015203/http://www.phila.gov/phils/Docs/Inventor/graphics/agencies/A142.htm |url-status=live }}

The city uses the strong-mayor version of the mayor–council form of government, which is led by one mayor in whom executive authority is vested. The mayor has the authority to appoint and dismiss members of all boards and commissions without the approval of the city council. Elected at-large, the mayor is limited to two consecutive four-year terms, but can run for the position again after an intervening term.

{{See also|District Attorney of Philadelphia|United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit|United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania}}

Philadelphia County is coterminous with the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas is the trial court of general jurisdiction for the city, hearing felony-level criminal cases and civil suits above the minimum jurisdictional limit of $10,000. The court has appellate jurisdiction over rulings from the Municipal and Traffic Courts, and some administrative agencies and boards. The trial division has 70 commissioned judges elected by the voters, along with about one thousand other employees.[http://www.courts.phila.gov/common-pleas/trial/ "Trial Division"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131051555/http://www.courts.phila.gov/common-pleas/trial/ |date=January 31, 2018 }}. courts.phila.gov. First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Retrieved February 6, 2018. The court has a family division with 25 judges[http://www.courts.phila.gov/common-pleas/family/ "Family Division"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225093508/http://courts.phila.gov/common-pleas/family/ |date=February 25, 2018 }}. courts.phila.gov. First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Retrieved February 6, 2018. and an orphans' court with three judges.[http://www.courts.phila.gov/common-pleas/orphans/ "Orphans' Court"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131180843/http://www.courts.phila.gov/common-pleas/orphans/ |date=January 31, 2018 }}. courts.phila.gov. First Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Retrieved February 6, 2018.

{{As of|2018}}, the city's District Attorney is Larry Krasner, a Democrat.Chris Brennan & Aubrey Whelan (November 7, 2017). [http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/city/larry-krasner-wins-race-for-philly-da-20171107.html "Larry Krasner wins race for Philly DA"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202022648/http://www.philly.com/philly/news/politics/city/larry-krasner-wins-race-for-philly-da-20171107.html |date=February 2, 2018 }}. philly.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 6, 2018. The last Republican to hold the office is Ronald D. Castille, who left in 1991 and later served as the Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court from 2008 to 2014.Peter Hall (January 10, 2015). [http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-supreme-court-castille-20150110-story.html "Retiring Chief Justice Castille says he kept faith in fellow jurists"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207005104/http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-supreme-court-castille-20150110-story.html |date=February 7, 2018 }}. mcall.com. The Morning Call. Retrieved February 6, 2018.

The Philadelphia Municipal Court handles traffic cases, misdemeanor and felony criminal cases with maximum incarceration of five years, and civil cases involving $12,000 or less ($15,000 in real estate and school tax cases), and all landlord-tenant disputes. The municipal court has 27 judges elected by the voters.{{cite web |url=http://www.courts.phila.gov/municipal/ |title=MunicipalCourt |access-date=February 11, 2010 |date=February 11, 2010 |work=The Philadelphia Courts, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania |archive-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100427033913/http://courts.phila.gov/municipal/ |url-status=live }}

Pennsylvania's three appellate courts also have sittings in Philadelphia. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the court of last resort in the state, regularly hears arguments in Philadelphia City Hall.[http://www.pacourts.us/courts/supreme-court/calendar "Courts>Supreme Court>Calendar"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206092038/http://www.pacourts.us/courts/supreme-court/calendar |date=February 6, 2018 }}. pacourts.us. The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Retrieved February 6, 2018. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania and the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania also sit in Philadelphia several times a year.[http://www.pacourts.us/courts/superior-court/calendar "Courts>Superior Court>Calendar"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206190233/http://www.pacourts.us/courts/superior-court/calendar |date=February 6, 2018 }}. pacourts.us. The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Retrieved February 6, 2018.[http://www.pacourts.us/courts/commonwealth-court/calendar "Courts>Commonwealth Court>Calendar"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206070055/http://www.pacourts.us/courts/commonwealth-court/calendar |date=February 6, 2018 }}. pacourts.us. The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Retrieved February 6, 2018. Judges for these courts are elected at large.[http://www.pacourts.us/learn/how-judges-are-elected "How Judges Are Elected"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206090751/http://www.pacourts.us/learn/how-judges-are-elected |date=February 6, 2018 }}. pacourts.us. The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Retrieved February 6, 2018. The state Supreme Court and Superior Court have deputy prothonotary offices in Philadelphia.[http://www.pacourts.us/courts/supreme-court/prothonotarys-addresses "Supreme Court Prothonotary's Addresses"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206094413/http://www.pacourts.us/courts/supreme-court/prothonotarys-addresses |date=February 6, 2018 }}. pacourts.us. The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Retrieved February 6, 2018.[http://www.pacourts.us/courts/superior-court/prothonotarys-addresses "Superior Court Prothonotary's Addresses"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180206190258/http://www.pacourts.us/courts/superior-court/prothonotarys-addresses |date=February 6, 2018 }}. pacourts.us. The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Retrieved February 6, 2018.

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.[http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/court-info/court-locations/philadelphia "Court Info » Court Locations – Philadelphia"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131043206/http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/court-info/court-locations/philadelphia |date=January 31, 2018 }}. uscourts.gov. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Retrieved February 6, 2018.[http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/court-info/court-location "About the Court » Court Location – Philadelphia"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115120827/http://www.ca3.uscourts.gov/court-info/court-location |date=January 15, 2018 }}. uscourts.gov. United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Retrieved February 6, 2018.

{{See also|List of mayors of Philadelphia|Philadelphia City Council|Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania#Politics}}

File:Musical Fund Hall Philly.jpg at 808 Locust Street hosted the first nominating Republican National Convention in 1856]]

File:Councilmember Cherelle Parker.jpg, (D), the 100th and current Mayor of Philadelphia]]

The current mayor is Cherelle Parker who won the election in November 2023.{{Cite web |date=November 8, 2023 |title=Democrat Cherelle Parker elected first female mayor of Philadelphia |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/cherelle-parker-become-first-female-philadelphia-mayor-election-win-rcna122107 |access-date=January 1, 2024 |website=NBC News |language=en |archive-date=January 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101051442/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/cherelle-parker-become-first-female-philadelphia-mayor-election-win-rcna122107 |url-status=live }} Parker's predecessor, Jim Kenney, served two terms from 2016 to January 2024.{{cite news |url=http://www.economist.com/node/21538192 |newspaper=The Economist |title=Michael Nutter easily wins a second term in City Hall |date=November 12, 2011 |access-date=February 28, 2018 |archive-date=November 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111180025/http://www.economist.com/node/21538192 |url-status=live }} Parker is a member of the Democratic Party. For over seven decades, since 1952, every Philadelphia mayor has been a Democrat.

Philadelphia City Council is the legislative branch which consists of ten council members representing individual districts and seven members elected at-large, all of whom are elected to four-year terms.[http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/Pennsylvania/philadelphia_pa/thephiladelphiacode?f=templates$fn=default.htm$3.0$vid=amlegal:philadelphia_pa "The Philadelphia Code {{!}} Philadelphia Home Rule Charter {{!}} Article II Legislative Branch The Council – Its Election, Organization, Powers and Duties {{!}} Chapter 1 The Council {{!}} § 2–100. Number, Terms and Salaries of Councilmen"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305040633/http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll/Pennsylvania/philadelphia_pa/thephiladelphiacode?f=templates$fn=default.htm$3.0$vid=amlegal:philadelphia_pa |date=March 5, 2018 }}. library.amlegal.com. American Legal Publishing Corp. Retrieved February 28, 2018. Democrats are currently the majority and hold 14 seats including nine of the ten districts and five at-large seats. Republicans hold one seat: the Northeast-based Tenth District. The Working Families Party holds two at-large seats making them the council's minority party. The current council president is Kenyatta Johnson.{{cite web |url=http://phlcouncil.com/council-members/ |title=Council Members |website=Philadelphia City Council |date=November 17, 2015 |access-date=April 13, 2024 |archive-date=March 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301164446/http://phlcouncil.com/council-members/ |url-status=live }}

Philadelphia's political structure consists of a system of wards and divisions. There are 66 wards with 11 to 51 divisions each for a total of 1703 divisions. Each division elects two committee people who are supposed to live within the division boundaries, and committee people select a leader for their ward.{{cite web |url=https://seventy.org/political-maps-of-philadelphia/city-wards-and-divisions |title=City Wards and Divisions |access-date=April 13, 2024 |website=Committee of Seventy |archive-date=May 10, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240510005729/https://seventy.org/political-maps-of-philadelphia/city-wards-and-divisions |url-status=live }} Democrats and Republicans elect their own committee people every four years. The committee person's role is to serve as a point of contact between voters and party officials and help get out the vote.{{cite web |url=https://seventy.org/uploads/attachments/ckyufrip62b7d5onp7as62k90-how-to-run-for-committee-person-handbook-last-updated-01-24-22.pdf |title=How to Run for Committee Person |access-date=April 13, 2024 |website=Committee of Seventy |archive-date=January 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106074745/https://seventy.org/uploads/attachments/ckyufrip62b7d5onp7as62k90-how-to-run-for-committee-person-handbook-last-updated-01-24-22.pdf |url-status=live }} Most wards are closed which means the ward leader makes sole endorsement decisions; open wards allow committee people to weigh in on these decisions.{{cite web |url=https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/open-wards-for-all/ |title=Open Wards for All |last=Geeting |first=Jon |date=August 18, 2018 |website=The Philadelphia Citizen }} There are groups such as [https://www.openwardsphilly.com Open Wards Philadelphia] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240402232455/https://www.openwardsphilly.com/ |date=April 2, 2024 }} and individuals who are working to elect ward leaders who promote an open ward system.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CW8iDQAAQBAJ |title=Green Shoots of Democracy |last=Bojar |first=Karen |date=2016 |publisher=She Writes Press |isbn=9781631521416 }}

{{Pie chart|thumb=right|value1=75.16|value2=11.29|value3=11.04|value4=2.50|color4={{party color|Green Party (United States)}}|color3={{party color|Independent (United States)}}|color2={{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}|color1={{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}|caption=Chart of voter registration|label1=Democratic|label2=Republican|label3=Independent|label4=Other Parties}}

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="6" | Philadelphia County voter registration statistics as of March 4, 2024{{cite web |author=Pennsylvania Department of State |date=December 18, 2023 |title=Voter registration statistics by county |url=https://www.dos.pa.gov/VotingElections/OtherServicesEvents/VotingElectionStatistics/Documents/currentvotestats.xls |access-date=December 20, 2023 |website=dos.pa.gov |format=XLS |archive-date=April 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411021457/https://www.dos.pa.gov/VotingElections/OtherServicesEvents/VotingElectionStatistics/Documents/currentvotestats.xls |url-status=live }}

|-

! colspan="2" | Political Party

! Total Voters

! Percentage

|-

| {{party color cell|Democratic Party (United States)}}

| Democratic

| align="center" | 775,851

| align="center" | 75.00%

|-

| {{party color cell|Republican Party (United States)}}

| Republican

| align="center" | 117,639

| align="center" | 11.37%

|-

| {{party color cell|Independent Party (United States)}}

| No Party Affiliation

| align="center" | 114,990

| align="center" | 11.11%

|-

| {{party color cell|Green Party (United States)}}

| Minor parties

| align="center" | 25,924

| align="center" | 2.50%

|-

! colspan="2" | Total

! align="center" | 1,034,404

! align="center" | 100.00%

|}

Philadelphia had historically been a bastion of the Republican Party from the American Civil War until the mid-1930s.Keels, Thomas H. (2016). [http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/contractor-bosses-1880s-to-1930s/ "Contractor Bosses (1880s to 1930s)"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301164551/http://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/contractor-bosses-1880s-to-1930s/ |date=March 1, 2018 }}. philadelphiaencyclopedia.org. The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Retrieved March 1, 2018.[http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20160925_Long_before_2016_craziness__there_was_Philadelphia_1935.html "Long before 2016 craziness, there was Philadelphia 1935"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301225056/http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20160925_Long_before_2016_craziness__there_was_Philadelphia_1935.html |date=March 1, 2018 }}. philly.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 25, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2018. In 1856, the first Republican National Convention was held at Musical Fund Hall at 808 Locust Street in Philadelphia.[https://www.republicanviews.org/the-birth-of-the-republican-party/ "The Birth Of The Republican Party"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301224836/https://www.republicanviews.org/the-birth-of-the-republican-party/ |date=March 1, 2018 }}. republicanviews.org. Republican Views. August 29, 2015. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

Democratic registrations increased after the Great Depression; however, the city was not carried by Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt in his landslide victory of 1932, as Pennsylvania was one of only six states won by Republican Herbert Hoover. Voter turnout surged from 600,000 in 1932 to nearly 900,000 in 1936 and Roosevelt carried Philadelphia with over 60% of the vote. Philadelphia has voted Democratic in every presidential election since 1936. In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama drew 83% of the city's vote. Obama's win was even larger in 2012, capturing 85% of the vote. In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton won 82% of the vote.

As a result of the previously declining population in the city and state,{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-08.pdf |title=Congressional Apportionment 2010 Census Briefs |publisher=United States Census Bureau |author=Kristin D. Burnett |date=November 2011 |access-date=March 1, 2018 |archive-date=November 19, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119155913/http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-08.pdf |url-status=live }} Philadelphia has only three congressional districts of the 18 districts in Pennsylvania, based on the 2010 census apportionment:[https://www.seventy.org/tools/political-maps-of-philadelphia/congressional-districts "Pennsylvania is currently represented by 18 individuals in the 435-member United States House of Representatives. Three districts cover parts of Philadelphia."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301225119/https://www.seventy.org/tools/political-maps-of-philadelphia/congressional-districts |date=March 1, 2018 }}. seventy.org. Committee of Seventy. Retrieved March 1, 2018. the 2nd district, represented by Brendan Boyle; the 3rd, represented by Dwight Evans; and the 5th, represented by Mary Gay Scanlon.[https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/PA#representatives "Congress / Members of Congress / Pennsylvania"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301164756/https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/PA#representatives |date=March 1, 2018 }}. govtrack.us. Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2018. All three representatives are Democrats, though Republicans still have some support in the city, primarily in the Northeast.[http://phlcouncil.com/BrianONeill "Councilman Brian J. O'Neill {{!}} District 10 {{!}} Minority Leader"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301164807/http://phlcouncil.com/BrianONeill |date=March 1, 2018 }}. phlcouncil.com. The Council of the City of Philadelphia. Retrieved February 28, 2018. Sam Katz ran competitive mayoral races as the Republican nominee in 1999 and 2003, losing to Democrat John Street both times.Clines, Francis X. (November 4, 1999). [https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/04/us/democrat-wins-in-a-squeaker-election-for-mayor-of-philadelphia.html "Democrat Wins in a Squeaker Election for Mayor of Philadelphia"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301164906/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/04/us/democrat-wins-in-a-squeaker-election-for-mayor-of-philadelphia.html |date=March 1, 2018 }}. The New York Times. Retrieved February 28, 2018.Clemetson, Lynette (November 5, 2003). [https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/05/us/philadelphia-easily-gives-second-term-to-its-mayor.html "Philadelphia Easily Gives Second Term to Its Mayor"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301164914/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/05/us/philadelphia-easily-gives-second-term-to-its-mayor.html |date=March 1, 2018 }}. The New York Times. Retrieved February 28, 2018.

Pennsylvania's longest-serving Senator, Arlen Specter,{{cite web |title=Senator Arlen Specter to Teach At Penn Law |url=http://www.law.upenn.edu/blogs/news/archives/2011/01/senator_arlen_specter_to_teach_at_penn_law.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110702225529/http://www.law.upenn.edu/blogs/news/archives/2011/01/senator_arlen_specter_to_teach_at_penn_law.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 2, 2011 |work=News and Stories |publisher=The University of Pennsylvania School of Law |access-date=February 24, 2012 }} was an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania who opened his first law practice in Philadelphia.[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=s000709 "Specter, Arlen, (1930–2012)"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121211233147/http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000709 |date=December 11, 2012 }}. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved March 1, 2018. Specter served as a Republican from 1981 and as a Democrat from 2009, losing that party's primary in 2010 and leaving office in January 2011.Toeplitz, Shira (May 18, 2010). [http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37464.html "The admiral sinks Arlen Specter"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018044009/http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37464.html |date=October 18, 2012 }}. Politico. Retrieved March 1, 2018. He was assistant counsel on the Warren Commission in 1964 and the city's district attorney from 1966 to 1974.

Philadelphia has hosted various national conventions, including in 1848 (Whig), 1856 (Republican), 1872 (Republican), 1900 (Republican), 1936 (Democratic), 1940 (Republican), 1948 (Republican), 1948 (Progressive), 2000 (Republican), and 2016 (Democratic).{{cite news |last1=Madonna |first1=G. Terry |title=Politically Uncorrected: Presidential nominees and Philadelphia conventions |url=http://www.dailylocal.com/article/DL/20150213/LOCAL1/150219881 |access-date=March 30, 2016 |publisher=Daily Local News |date=February 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414222037/http://www.dailylocal.com/article/DL/20150213/LOCAL1/150219881 |archive-date=April 14, 2016 |url-status=dead }} Philadelphia has been home to one vice president, George M. Dallas,{{cite web |url=https://millercenter.org/president/polk/essays/dallas-1845-vicepresident |title=George M. Dallas (1845–1849) – Vice President |website=millercenter.org |date=October 4, 2016 |publisher=Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia |access-date=March 1, 2018 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225140523/https://millercenter.org/president/polk/essays/dallas-1845-vicepresident |url-status=live }} and one general of the American Civil War, George B. McClellan, who won his party's nomination for president but lost in the general election to Abraham Lincoln in 1864.[https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/scores.html#1864 "Historical Election Results: Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722013143/https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/electoral-college/scores.html#1864 |date=July 22, 2019 }}. archives.gov. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved March 1, 2018. In May 2019, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden chose Philadelphia to be his 2020 U.S. presidential campaign headquarters.{{cite news |url=https://www.philly.com/news/joe-biden-2020-presidential-campaign-philadelphia-headquarters-20190516.html |title=Joe Biden chooses Philadelphia for 2020 presidential campaign headquarters |author=Jonathan Tamari |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=May 16, 2019 |access-date=May 17, 2019 |archive-date=May 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520221215/https://www.philly.com/news/joe-biden-2020-presidential-campaign-philadelphia-headquarters-20190516.html |url-status=live }}

"Green Cities, Clean Water" is an environmental policy initiative based in Philadelphia that has shown promising results in mitigating the effects of climate change.{{Cite journal |last1=Shade |first1=Charlotte |last2=Kremer |first2=Peleg |last3=Rockwell |first3=Julia S. |last4=Henderson |first4=Keith G. |date=2020 |title=The effects of urban development and current green infrastructure policy on future climate change resilience |url=https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol25/iss4/art37/ |journal=Ecology and Society |language=en |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=art37 |doi=10.5751/ES-12076-250437 |issn=1708-3087 |doi-access=free |access-date=May 21, 2021 |archive-date=May 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509051304/https://ecologyandsociety.org/vol25/iss4/art37/ |url-status=live }} The researchers on the policy have stated that despite such promising plans of green infrastructure building, "the city is forecasted to grow warmer, wetter, and more urbanized over the century, runoff and local temperatures will increase on average throughout the city". Even though landcover predictive models on the effects of the policy initiative have indicated that green infrastructure could be useful at decreasing the amount of runoff in the city over time, the city government would have to expand its current plans and "consider the cobenefit of climate change adaptation when planning new projects" in limiting the scope of city-wide temperature increase.

{{Further|Crime in Philadelphia|Philadelphia crime family}}

{{Main|Philadelphia Police Department}}

File:Philadelphia Police Headquarters.jpg administration building, known as the Roundhouse, in Center City east of Chinatown]]

File:Philadelphia Police - cruiser on Ben Franklin Parkway.jpeg]]

In a 2015 report by Pew Charitable Trusts, the police districts with the highest rates of violent crime were Frankford (15th district) and Kensington (24th district) in the Near Northeast, and districts to the North (22nd, 25th, and 35th districts), West (19th district) and Southwest (12th district) of Center City. Each of those seven districts recorded more than a thousand violent crimes in 2014. The lowest rates of violent crime occurred in Center City, South Philadelphia, the Far Northeast, and Roxborough districts, the latter of which includes Manayunk.{{cite web |url=http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/Assets/2015/04/2015-State-of-the-City-Report_Web.pdf |title=Philadelphia 2015: The State of the City |website=pewtrusts.org |publisher=The Pew Charitable Trusts |date=March 2015 |access-date=April 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606054538/http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/Assets/2015/04/2015-State-of-the-City-Report_Web.pdf |archive-date=June 6, 2017 |url-status=dead }}

Philadelphia had 500, 503 according to some sources, murders in 1990, a rate of 31.5 per 100,000. An average of about 400 murders occurred each year for most of the 1990s. The murder count dropped in 2002 to 288, then rose to 406 by 2006, before dropping slightly to 392 in 2007.{{cite web |url=https://mikenutterllc.com/news/news-item/philadelphia-homicides-1960-2020 |title=Philadelphia Homicides 1960-2020 |website=mikenutterllc.com |date=February 10, 2021 |access-date=December 22, 2021 |archive-date=December 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202170544/https://mikenutterllc.com/news/news-item/philadelphia-homicides-1960-2020 |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal |last1=Bewley |first1=Joel |first2=Jan |last2=Hefler |date=December 11, 2006 |title=Four killings put 2006 total over '05 top |journal=The Philadelphia Inquirer |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmtpi/is_200612/ai_n16975780 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071209122227/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmtpi/is_200612/ai_n16975780 |archive-date=December 9, 2007 }} A few years later, Philadelphia began to see a rapid decline in homicides and violent crime. In 2013, the city had 246 murders, which is a decrease of nearly 40% since 2006.{{cite news |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/01/the-year-in-murder-2013-marks-a-historic-low-for-many-cities.html |title=The Year in Murder: 2013 Marks a Historic Low for Many Cities |newspaper=The Daily Beast |date=January 2014 |access-date=February 25, 2014 |last1=Zadrozny |first1=Brandy |author-link1=Brandy Zadrozny |archive-date=February 16, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140216133414/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/01/the-year-in-murder-2013-marks-a-historic-low-for-many-cities.html |url-status=live }}

In 2014, 248 homicides were committed. The homicide rate rose to 280 in 2015, then fell slightly to 277 in 2016, before rising again to 317 in 2017.{{cite web |url=http://www.phillypolice.com/crime-maps-stats/ |title=Crime Maps & Stats – Philadelphia Police Department |access-date=January 24, 2017 |archive-date=January 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126201348/https://www.phillypolice.com/crime-maps-stats/ |url-status=live }} Homicides increased dramatically in the late 2010s/early 2020s, reaching 499 homicides in 2020 and surpassing the 1990 "record" in 2021, with 501st murder on November 27 and 510 by the end of the month.{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/sense-of-lawlessness-with-500-killings-2021-is-deadliest-in-philly-history/3057586/ |title='Sense of Lawlessness': With 500 Killings, 2021 Is Deadliest in Philly History |work=NBC10 Philadelphia |first1=Brian X. |last1=McCrone |first2=Rudy |last2=Chinchilla |date=November 25, 2021 |access-date=December 22, 2021 |archive-date=December 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222160707/https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/sense-of-lawlessness-with-500-killings-2021-is-deadliest-in-philly-history/3057586/ |url-status=live }} Phillie ended the year with 562 murders, an all-time record. It dropped in 2022 to 514, and significantly further again in 2023, to 410.

{{cite web |url=https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-homicides-down-20-percent-2023-da-larry-krasner/ |title=Philly homicides down 20% in 2023, DA Larry Krasner says end of COVID restrictions helped |work=WHYY |last=MacDonald |first=Tom |date=January 4, 2024 |access-date=May 16, 2024 |archive-date=May 17, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517084430/https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-homicides-down-20-percent-2023-da-larry-krasner/ |url-status=live }}

In 2006, Philadelphia's homicide rate of 27.7 per 100,000 people was the highest of the country's 10 most populous cities.{{cite web |url=http://inquirer.philly.com/graphics/homicide_map_2007/ |title=Philadelphia Homicides in 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420104106/http://inquirer.philly.com/graphics/homicide_map_2007/ |archive-date=April 20, 2008 }} In 2012, Philadelphia had the fourth-highest homicide rate among the country's most populous cities. The rate dropped to 16 homicides per 100,000 residents by 2014 placing Philadelphia as the sixth-highest city in the country.

The number of shootings in the city has declined significantly since the early years of the 21st century. Shooting incidents peaked at 1,857 in 2006 before declining nearly 44 percent to 1,047 shootings in 2014. Major crimes have decreased gradually since a peak in 2006 when 85,498 major crimes were reported. The number of reported major crimes fell 11 percent in three years to 68,815 occurrences in 2014. Violent crimes, which include homicide, rape, aggravated assault, and robbery, decreased 14 percent in three years to 15,771 occurrences in 2014.

In 2014, Philadelphia enacted an ordinance decriminalizing the possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana or eight 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.{{cite web |url=https://whyy.org/articles/activists-to-celebrate-4-years-of-marijuana-decriminalization-in-philadelphia/ |publisher=WHYY |title=Activists to celebrate 4 years of marijuana decriminalization in Philadelphia |first=Trenae |last=Nuri |date=October 19, 2018 |access-date=January 20, 2019 |archive-date=January 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121064229/https://whyy.org/articles/activists-to-celebrate-4-years-of-marijuana-decriminalization-in-philadelphia/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/business/cannabis/3-years-after-decriminalization-philly-police-still-hooked-on-marijuana-arrests-20170602.html |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |first=Chris |last=Goldstein |title=3 years after decriminalization, Philly police still hooked on marijuana arrests |date=June 5, 2017 |access-date=January 20, 2019 |archive-date=January 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121010908/http://www.philly.com/philly/business/cannabis/3-years-after-decriminalization-philly-police-still-hooked-on-marijuana-arrests-20170602.html |url-status=live }} At the time, Philadelphia was at the largest city in the nation to decriminalize the possession of marijuana. From 2013 to 2018, marijuana arrests in the city dropped by more than 85%. The purchase or sale of marijuana remains a criminal offense in Philadelphia.

{{main|Philadelphia Fire Department}}

The Philadelphia Fire Department provides fire protection and emergency medical services (EMS). The department's official mission is to protect public safety by quick and professional response to emergencies and the promotion of sound emergency prevention measures. This mandate encompasses all traditional firefighting functions, including fire suppression, with 60 engine companies and 30 ladder companies{{Cite web |url=https://www.phila.gov/phils/docs/inventor/graphics/agencies/a074.htm |title=Fire Department |website=www.phila.gov |access-date=June 14, 2019 |archive-date=February 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217152637/https://www.phila.gov/phils/Docs/Inventor/graphics/agencies/A074.htm |url-status=live }} as well as specialty and support units deployed throughout the city; specialized firefighting units for Philadelphia International Airport and the Port of Philadelphia; investigations conducted by the fire marshal's office to determine the origins of fires and develop preventive strategies; prevention programs to educate the public; and support services including research and planning, management of the fire communications center within the city's 911 system, and operation of the Philadelphia Fire Academy.

{{See also|Media in Philadelphia}}

Philadelphia's two major daily newspapers are The Philadelphia Inquirer, first published in 1829—the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the country—and the Philadelphia Daily News, first published in 1925.{{cite web |last=Wilkinson |first=Gerry |url=http://www.phillyppa.com/inquirer.html |title=The History of the Philadelphia Inquirer |publisher=Philadelphia Press Association |access-date=May 27, 2006 |archive-date=March 31, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331032233/http://www.phillyppa.com/inquirer.html |url-status=live }} The Daily News has been published as an edition of the Inquirer since 2009.{{cite journal |first=Dave |last=Davies |date=March 2, 2009 |title=Daily News to be labeled edition of Inquirer; no change to content, staff |website=Philly.com }} Recent owners of the Inquirer and Daily News have included Knight Ridder, The McClatchy Company, and Philadelphia Media Holdings, with the latter organization declaring bankruptcy in 2010.{{cite web |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303816504577319640194855170 |title=Philadelphia Newspapers Sold Yet Again |website=The Wall Street Journal |date=April 2, 2012 |access-date=April 30, 2015 |author=Launder, William |archive-date=April 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429150059/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303816504577319640194855170 |url-status=live }} After two years of financial struggle, the newspapers were sold to Interstate General Media in 2012. The two newspapers had a combined daily circulation of 306,831 and a Sunday circulation of 477,313 {{as of|2013|alt=in 2013}}, the 18th-largest circulation in the country, and their collective website, Philly.com,[http://www.philly.com/ philly.com] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813051316/http://www.philly.com/ |date=August 13, 2011 }}. Philadelphia Media Network (Digital), LLC. Retrieved December 29, 2017. was ranked 13th in popularity among online U.S. newspapers by Alexa Internet the same year.{{cite web |url=http://www.burrellesluce.com/sites/default/files/Top_Media_June_2013_FNL%281%29.pdf |title=2013 Top Media Outlets: Newspapers, Blogs, Consumer Magazines, Social Networks, Websites, and Broadcast Media |publisher=BurrellesLuce |date=June 2013 |access-date=April 30, 2015 |archive-date=January 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104161511/http://www.burrellesluce.com/sites/default/files/Top_Media_June_2013_FNL%281%29.pdf |url-status=live }}

Smaller publications include the Philadelphia Tribune published five days each week for the African-American community;[http://www.phillytrib.com/ Philadelphia Tribune] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202071702/http://www.phillytrib.com/ |date=December 2, 2018 }}. phillytrib.com. Retrieved December 29, 2017. Philadelphia magazine, a monthly regional magazine;[http://www.phillymag.com/ Philadelphia magazine] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170208160659/http://www.phillymag.com/ |date=February 8, 2017 }}. phillymag.com. Retrieved December 29, 2017. Philadelphia Weekly, a weekly alternative newspaper;[http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/ Philadelphia Weekly] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060507223429/http://trouble.philadelphiaweekly.com/ |date=May 7, 2006 }}. philadelphiaweekly.com. Retrieved December 29, 2017. Philadelphia Gay News, a weekly newspaper for the LGBT community;[http://www.epgn.com/ Philadelphia Gay News] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227060529/http://www.epgn.com/ |date=December 27, 2017 }}. epgn.com. Retrieved December 29, 2017. The Jewish Exponent, a weekly newspaper for the Jewish community;[http://jewishexponent.com/ The Jewish Exponent]. jewishexponent.com. Retrieved December 29, 2017. Al Día, a weekly newspaper for the Latino community;[http://aldianews.com/ Al Día] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140919175654/http://aldianews.com/ |date=September 19, 2014 }}. aldianews.com. Retrieved December 29, 2017. and Philadelphia Metro, a free daily newspaper.[https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/philadelphia Philadelphia Metro]. metro.us. Retrieved December 29, 2017.

Student-run newspapers include the University of Pennsylvania's The Daily Pennsylvanian,[http://www.thedp.com/ The Daily Pennsylvanian]. thedp.com. Retrieved December 29, 2017. Temple University's The Temple News,[http://temple-news.com/ The Temple News]. temple-news.com. Retrieved December 29, 2017. and Drexel University's The Triangle.[https://thetriangle.org/ The Triangle] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918152229/https://thetriangle.org/ |date=September 18, 2017 }}. thetriangle.org. Retrieved December 29, 2017.

The first experimental radio license was issued in Philadelphia in August 1912 to St. Joseph's College. The first commercial AM radio stations began broadcasting in 1922: first WIP, then owned by Gimbels department store, followed by WFIL, then owned by Strawbridge & Clothier department store, and WOO, a defunct station owned by Wanamaker's department store, as well as WCAU and WDAS.{{Cite journal |first=Todd |last=Bishop |date=January 7, 2000 |title=The Media: One revolution after another |journal=Philadelphia Business Journal |url=http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2000/01/10/story3.html }}

{{As of|2018}}, the FCC lists 28 FM and 11 AM stations for Philadelphia.[https://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?size=12&state=PA&city=PHILADELPHIA&freq=87.9&fre2=107.9&list=1&ns=N&ew=W "FM Query Results"] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20180115040214/https://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?size=12&state=PA&city=PHILADELPHIA&freq=87.9&fre2=107.9&list=1&ns=N&ew=W archive]). FCC. Retrieved January 14, 2018.[https://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?call=&arn=&state=PA&city=Philadelphia&freq=530&fre2=1700&type=0&facid=&class=&list=1&ThisTab=Results+to+This+Page%2FTab&dist=&dlat2=&mlat2=&slat2=&NS=N&dlon2=&mlon2=&slon2=&EW=W "AM Query Results"] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20180115040313/https://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?size=12&state=PA&city=PHILADELPHIA&freq=530&fre2=1700&list=1&ns=N&ew=W archive]). FCC. Retrieved January 14, 2018. As of December 2017, the ten highest-rated stations in Philadelphia were adult contemporary WBEB-FM (101.1), sports talk WIP-FM (94.1), classic rock WMGK-FM (102.9), urban adult contemporary WDAS-FM (105.3), classic hits WOGL-FM (98.1), album-oriented rock WMMR-FM (93.3), country music WXTU-FM (92.5), all-news KYW-AM (1060), talk radio WHYY-FM (90.9), and urban adult contemporary WRNB-FM (100.3).[https://ratings.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb007 "#9 Philadelphia PA"] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20180115043734/https://ratings.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb007 archive]). radio-online.com. Radio Online. Retrieved January 15, 2018.Venta, Lance (October 6, 2016). [https://radioinsight.com/headlines/108592/wrnb-drops-old-school-100-3-branding/ "WRNB Drops Old School 100.3 Branding "]. radioinsight.com. RadioBB Networks. Retrieved January 15, 2018. "...the station's playlist had shifted back towards Urban AC." Philadelphia is served by three non-commercial public radio stations: WHYY-FM (NPR),[https://whyy.org/radio-podcasts/ "WHYY Radio & Podcasts"] whyy.org. WHYY Inc. Retrieved January 18, 2018. WRTI-FM (classical and jazz),[http://wrti.org/ "WRTI 90.1 Your Classical and Jazz Source"] wrti.org. WRTI-FM / Temple University. Retrieved January 18, 2018. and WXPN-FM (adult alternative music).[http://www.xpn.org/ "WXPN 88.5 FM :: Public Radio from the University of Pennsylvania"]. xpn.org. WXPN-FM / The Trustees of The University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved January 18, 2018.

{{Philly Radio}}

In the 1930s, W3XE, an experimental station owned by Philco, launched as Philadelphia's first television station. In 1939, the station became the nation's first NBC's first affiliate, and later became KYW-TV, the Philadelphia television market's CBS affiliate. In 1952, WFIL, later renamed WPVI, premiered the television show Bandstand, which later became the nationally broadcast American Bandstand hosted by Dick Clark.{{Cite book |last=Ogden |first=Christopher |year=1999 |title=Legacy: A Biography of Moses and Walter Annenberg |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |location=New York |isbn=0-316-63379-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/legacybiographyo00ogde }} In the 1960s, WCAU-TV, WFIL-TV, and WHYY-TV were founded.

Each of the nation's commercial networks has an affiliate in Philadelphia: KYW-TV 3 (CBS), WPVI-TV 6 (ABC), WCAU 10 (NBC), WPHL-TV 17 (The CW with MyNetworkTV on DT2), WFPA-CD 28 (UniMás), WTXF-TV 29 (Fox), WPSG 57 (Independent), WWSI 62 (Telemundo), and WUVP-DT 65 (Univision). The region is served also by public broadcasting stations WPPT-TV in Philadelphia, WHYY-TV in Wilmington, Delaware and Philadelphia, WLVT-TV in the Lehigh Valley, and NJTV in New Jersey.{{cite web |url=https://www.tvb.org/Public/MarketsStations/Markets/MarketProfile.aspx?@IP_IDENTITY_MCID=0000022835 |title=Market Name: Philadelphia, PA |website=tvb.org |publisher=Television Bureau of Advertising, Inc. |access-date=January 17, 2018 |archive-date=January 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180118181221/https://www.tvb.org/Public/MarketsStations/Markets/MarketProfile.aspx?@IP_IDENTITY_MCID=0000022835 |url-status=dead }}

Since September 2024, Philadelphia is the nation's largest television market where at least one of the six English networks are shown at a station not owned by a particular network's associated parent company. The major Spanish language networks are Univision (WUVP-DT), UniMás (WFPA-CD), and Telemundo (WWSI-TV).

As of 2023, the Philadelphia media market is the fifth-largest in North America with over 7.8 million viewers[https://www.statista.com/statistics/791926/leading-tv-markets-united-states/ "Leading TV markets in the United States in 2022/2023, by number of viewers"], Statista

{{Philly TV}}

{{Main|Transportation in Philadelphia}}

{{See also|30th Street Station|List of SEPTA Metro stations|Philadelphia International Airport}}

File:30th Street Station Philadelphia July 2016 002 (cropped).jpg serves both SEPTA regional and Amtrak national trains and is Amtrak's third-busiest train station in the nation.]]

File:Thirty St Station.jpg-style grand concourse at 30th Street Station, one of the nation's busiest passenger train stations, built between 1927 and 1933]]

File:MarketFrankfordLineTrain.jpg train departing 52nd Street station]]

Philadelphia is served by SEPTA, which operates buses, trains, rapid transit (as both subways and elevated trains), trolleys, and trackless trolleys (electric buses) throughout Philadelphia, the four Pennsylvania suburban counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery, in addition to service to Mercer County, New Jersey (Trenton) and New Castle County, Delaware (Wilmington and Newark, Delaware).[http://www.septa.org/maps/system/index.html "Clickable Regional Rail & Rail Transit Map"]. septa.org. SEPTA. Retrieved January 29, 2018. The city's subway system consists of two routes: the subway section of the Market–Frankford Line running east–west under Market Street which opened in 1905 to the west and 1908 to the east of City Hall,{{cite book |last=Cox |first=Harold E. |year=1967 |editor-last1=May |editor-first1=Jack |title=The Road from Upper Darby. The Story of the Market Street Subway-Elevated. |location=New York, NY |publisher=Electric Railroaders' Association |oclc=54770701 |page=16 }} and the Broad Street Line running north–south beneath Broad Street which opened in stages from 1928 to 1938.[http://septa.org/construction/projects/dilworth/history.html "Renovations to City Hall and 15th Street Stations {{!}} History"]. septa.org. SEPTA. Retrieved January 29, 2018.

Beginning in the 1980s, large sections of the SEPTA Regional Rail service to the far suburbs of Philadelphia were discontinued due to a lack of funding for equipment and infrastructure maintenance.{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Mitchell |title=SEPTA Budget for Fiscal 1993: Continued Rail Retrenchment |work=The Delaware Valley Association of Railroad Passengers |date=April 1992 }}{{Cite web |date=June 8, 1992 |title=The Delaware Valley Rail Passenger |url=http://dvarp.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/dvrp9206.txt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507113917/http://dvarp.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/dvrp9206.txt |archive-date=May 7, 2016 |access-date=May 1, 2016 |website=dvarp.org |publisher=Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.abandonedrails.com/Newtown_Branch |title=Abandoned Rails: The Newtown Branch |website=www.abandonedrails.com |access-date=May 1, 2016 }}

Philadelphia's 30th Street Station is a major railroad station on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor with 4.4 million passengers in 2017 making it the third-busiest station in the country after New York City's Pennsylvania Station and Washington's Union Station.{{cite web |url=https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/corporate/statefactsheets/PENNSYLVANIA17.pdf |title=Commonwealth of Pennsylvania FY2017 Fact Sheet |website=amtrak.com |publisher=Amtrak/National Railroad Passenger Corporation |date=November 2017 |access-date=January 28, 2018 }} 30th Street Station offers access to Amtrak,[https://www.amtrak.com/stations/phl "Amtrak: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 30th Street Station"]. amtrak.com. Amtrak/National Railroad Passenger Corporation. Retrieved January 29, 2018. SEPTA,[http://www.septa.org/connect/ "Connecting Transit Services"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131043719/http://septa.org/connect/ |date=January 31, 2018 }}. septa.org. SEPTA. Retrieved January 29, 2018. and NJ Transit lines.[http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TrainStationLookupFrom&selStation=1 "NJ Transit: Philadelphia 30th Street"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126071032/http://www.njtransit.com/rg/rg_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=TrainStationLookupFrom&selStation=1 |date=January 26, 2018 }}. njtransit.com. NJ Transit. Retrieved January 29, 2018. Over 12 million SEPTA and NJ Transit rail commuters use the station each year, and more than 100,000 people on an average weekday.

The PATCO Speedline provides rapid transit service to Camden, Collingswood, Westmont, Haddonfield, Woodcrest (Cherry Hill), Ashland (Voorhees), and Lindenwold, New Jersey, from stations on Locust Street between 16th and 15th, 13th and 12th, and 10th and 9th streets, on Market Street at 8th Street, and at 7th and Race at Franklin Square.[http://www.ridepatco.org/stations/routemap.html "PATCO Maps & Stations"]. ridepatco.org. Port Authority Transit Corporation. Retrieved January 29, 2018.

{{See also|Philadelphia International Airport}}

File:Philadelphia International Airport.jpg, the busiest airport in Pennsylvania and 21st-busiest in the nation with over 13.6 million passengers in 2023]]

Philadelphia is served by two airports. Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), the larger of the two, is {{cvt|7|mi|km}} south-southwest of Center City on the boundary with Delaware County, and provides scheduled domestic and international air service.[http://www.phl.org/Pages/AboutPHL/AboutPHLDefault.aspx "Philadelphia International Airport: About Us"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129195256/http://www.phl.org/Pages/AboutPHL/AboutPHLDefault.aspx |date=January 29, 2018 }}. phl.org. Philadelphia International Airport. Retrieved January 29, 2018. As of 2023, Philadelphia International Airport is the 21st-busiest airport in the nation with over 13.6 million passengers. It is also among the world's busiest airports measured by traffic movements, including takeoffs and landings.{{cite web |url=http://www.aci.aero/Data-Centre/Monthly-Traffic-Data/Aircraft-Movements/12-months |title=Aircraft Movements: Landing and take-off of an aircraft |website=aci.aero |publisher=Airports Council International |access-date=January 29, 2018 |archive-date=March 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180302164544/http://www.aci.aero/Data-Centre/Monthly-Traffic-Data/Aircraft-Movements/12-months |url-status=dead }} Over 30 million passengers pass through the airport annually on 25 airlines, including all major domestic carriers. The airport has nearly 500 daily departures to over 120 destinations worldwide. SEPTA's Airport Line provides direct service between Center City railroad stations and Philadelphia International Airport.[http://www.septa.org/schedules/rail/w/AIR_0.html "SEPTA Airport Line Regional Rail Schedule"]. septa.org. SEPTA. Retrieved January 29, 2018.

Philadelphia's second major airport, Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE), is a general aviation relief airport in Northeast Philadelphia, which provides general and corporate aviation.[http://www.phl.org/Pages/Business/PNE/PNE_default.aspx "Northeast Philadelphia Airport"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129195257/http://www.phl.org/Pages/Business/PNE/PNE_default.aspx |date=January 29, 2018 }}. phl.org. Philadelphia International Airport. Retrieved January 29, 2018.

File:BenjaminFranklinBridgeAtNight2.jpg spans the Delaware River, connecting Philadelphia and South Jersey]]

File:2022-10-09 13 33 59 View east along Interstate 76 and U.S. Route 30 (Schuylkill Expressway) from the overpass for Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.jpg) eastbound at I-676 and US 30, also known as the Vine Street Expressway, in Center City]]

William Penn planned Philadelphia with numbered streets traversing north and south, and streets named for trees, including Chestnut, Walnut, and Mulberry (since renamed Arch Streets, traversing east and west. The two main streets were named Broad Street, the north–south artery, later designated Pennsylvania Route 611, and High Street, the east–west artery, which was later renamed Market Street, converging at Centre Square which later became the site of City Hall.{{cite web |url=http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/penn/pnplan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970430105836/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/PENN/pnplan.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 30, 1997 |title=William Penn Plans the City |website=virginia.edu |publisher=The University of Virginia |access-date=January 29, 2018 }}

Interstate 95, also known as the Delaware Expressway, traverses the southern and eastern edges of the city along the Delaware River as the main north–south controlled-access highway, and connects Philadelphia with Newark, New Jersey and New York City to the north and Baltimore and Washington, D.C. to the south. The city is served by Interstate 76, also known as the Schuylkill Expressway, which runs along the Schuylkill River, intersecting the Pennsylvania Turnpike at King of Prussia and providing access to Harrisburg and points west. Interstate 676, also known as Vine Street Expressway, links I-95 and I-76 through Center City, running below street level between the eastbound and westbound lanes of Vine Street. Entrance and exit ramps for the Benjamin Franklin Bridge are near the eastern end of the expressway just west of the I-95 interchange.[https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=40.009376&mlon=-75.133346&zoom=12#map=11/40.0297/-75.1527 "OpenStreetMap"]. openstreetmap.org. Retrieved January 29, 2018.

Roosevelt Boulevard and Expressway, also known as U.S. 1, connects Northeast Philadelphia with Center City via I-76 through Fairmount Park. Woodhaven Road, also known as Route 63, and Cottman Avenue, also known as Route 73, serve the neighborhoods of Northeast Philadelphia, running between I-95 and the Roosevelt Boulevard. Fort Washington Expressway, also known as Route 309, extends north from the city's northern border, serving Montgomery and Bucks Counties. U.S. Route 30, also known as Lancaster Avenue, extends west from West Philadelphia to Lancaster.

Interstate 476, locally called the Blue Route,{{cite web |url=http://www.476blueroute.com/history.htm |title=History of the Blue Route |access-date=January 30, 2018 |work=I-476 Improvement Project |publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Transportation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070219184651/http://www.476blueroute.com/history.htm |archive-date=February 19, 2007 |url-status=dead }} traverses Delaware County, bypassing the city to the west and serving the city's western suburbs, providing a direct route to Allentown, the Poconos, and points north. Interstate 276, the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Delaware River extension, is a bypass and commuter route north of the city, which links to the New Jersey Turnpike and New York City.

Delaware River Port Authority operates four bridges in the Philadelphia area, each of which cross the Delaware River to South Jersey: Walt Whitman Bridge (I-76), the Benjamin Franklin Bridge (I-676 and U.S. 30), Betsy Ross Bridge (New Jersey Route 90), and Commodore Barry Bridge (U.S. 322 in Delaware County, south of the city.[http://www.drpa.org/ "Delaware River Port Authority: Our Bridges"]. drpa.org. Delaware River Port Authority. Retrieved January 29, 2018. The Burlington County Bridge Commission maintains two additional bridges that cross the Delaware River. Tacony–Palmyra Bridge connects PA Route 73 in the Tacony section of Northeast Philadelphia with New Jersey Route 73 in Palmyra in Burlington County. Burlington–Bristol Bridge connects NJ Route 413/U.S. Route 130 in Burlington, New Jersey with PA Route 413/U.S. 13 in Bristol Township, north of Philadelphia.[http://www.bcbridges.org/ "Burlington County Bridge Commission: About Our Bridges"]. bcbridges.org. Burlington County Bridge Commission. Retrieved January 29, 2018.

{{Further|Philadelphia Greyhound Terminal}}

The Greyhound terminal is at 1001 Filbert Street (at 10th Street) in Center City, southeast of the Pennsylvania Convention Center and south of Chinatown.[http://locations.greyhound.com/bus-stations/us/pennsylvania/philadelphia/bus-station-171127 "Philadelphia Bus Station"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130145523/http://locations.greyhound.com/bus-stations/us/pennsylvania/philadelphia/bus-station-171127 |date=January 30, 2018 }}. greyhound.com. Greyhound. Retrieved January 29, 2018. Several other bus operators provide service at the Greyhound terminal including Fullington Trailways,[https://www.trailways.com/destinations/philadelphia-pa/ "Trailways: Visit Philadelphia, PA"]. trailways.com. Retrieved January 29, 2018. Martz Trailways,[https://martztrailways.com/locations/ "Martz Group: Locations (enter Philadelphia, PA)"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130212733/https://martztrailways.com/locations/ |date=January 30, 2018 }}. martztrailways.com. Retrieved January 29, 2018. Peter Pan Bus Lines,[https://peterpanbus.com/locations/pennsylvania/philadelphia/ "Peter Pan: Philadelphia, PA Station"]. peterpanbus.com. Retrieved January 29, 2018. and NJ Transit buses.[http://www.njtransit.com/var/var_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=PhillyWhereToGoTo "NJ Transit: South Jersey to Philly (Market Street, Greyhound Bus Terminal and on weekdays at 30th Street Station)"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018154458/http://www.njtransit.com/var/var_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=PhillyWhereToGoTo |date=October 18, 2016 }}. njtransit.com. Retrieved January 29, 2018.

Other intercity bus services include Megabus with stops at 30th Street Station and the visitor center for Independence Hall,[https://us.megabus.com/stops "Megabus Stops: Philadelphia, PA"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191209062505/https://us.megabus.com/stops |date=December 9, 2019 }}. megabus.com. Retrieved January 29, 2018. BoltBus (operated by Greyhound) at 30th Street Station,[https://www.boltbus.com/default.aspx "BoltBus Buy Tickets"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090816195601/https://www.boltbus.com/default.aspx |date=August 16, 2009 }}. boltbus.com. Retrieved January 29, 2018. OurBus at various stops in the city.

{{Further|History of rail transport in Philadelphia}}

File:Suburban Station Facade.jpg with art deco architecture at 16th Street and JFK Boulevard]]

Since the early days of rail transportation in the United States, Philadelphia has served as a hub for several major rail companies, particularly the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Reading Railroad. The Pennsylvania Railroad first operated Broad Street Station, then 30th Street Station and Suburban Station, and the Reading Railroad operated Reading Terminal, now part of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The two companies also operated competing commuter rail systems in the area. The two systems now operate as a single system under the control of SEPTA, the regional transit authority. Additionally, the PATCO Speedline subway system and NJ Transit's Atlantic City Line operate successor services to South Jersey.{{cite web |url=http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/r0090.pdf |title=Atlantic City with service to ... |access-date=November 26, 2007 |archive-date=November 26, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126230014/http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/rail/r0090.pdf |url-status=dead}} {{small|(218 KB) }}

In 1911, Philadelphia had nearly 4,000 electric trolleys running on 86 lines.[https://web.archive.org/web/20080802010025/http://www.septa.org/inside/history/trolley.html "Trolley Lines"]. septa.org. SEPTA. Retrieved January 30, 2018. In 2005, SEPTA reintroduced trolley service to the Girard Avenue Line, Route 15."Philadelphia's PCCs Return to Service." Railway Age. Vol. 205, No. 10, p. 30. October 1, 2005. SEPTA operates six subway-surface trolleys that run on street-level tracks in West Philadelphia and subway tunnels in Center City, along with two surface trolleys in adjacent suburbs.[http://www.septa.org/schedules/trolley/index.html "Trolley Schedules"]. septa.org. SEPTA. Retrieved January 30, 2018.

Philadelphia 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. 30th Street also serves as a major station for services via the Pennsylvania Railroad's former Pennsylvania Main Line to Chicago. {{As of|2018}}, 30th Street is Amtrak's third-busiest station in the country, after New York City and Washington.

{{Further|Philadelphia Water Department}}

File:Fairmount Water Works LOC 314409cu.jpg, Philadelphia's second municipal waterworks, in December 1984]]

In 1815, Philadelphia began sourcing its water via the Fairmount Water Works on the Schuylkill River, the nation's first major urban water supply system. In 1909, the Water Works was decommissioned as the city transitioned to modern sand filtration methods.{{cite web |url=http://fairmountworks.com/our-story/ |title=Fairmount Water Works: Our Story |publisher=Fairmount Water Works |access-date=April 24, 2015 }} Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) provides drinking water, wastewater collection, and stormwater services for Philadelphia, as well as surrounding counties. PWD draws about 57 percent of its drinking water from the Delaware River and the balance from the Schuylkill River.{{cite web |url=http://www.phila.gov/water/aboutus/Pages/AboutPhiladelphiaWater.aspx |title=About Philadelphia Water |publisher=City of Philadelphia |access-date=April 24, 2015 }} The city has two filtration plants on the Schuylkill River and one on the Delaware River. The three plants can treat up to 546 million gallons of water per day, while the total storage capacity of the combined plant and distribution system exceeds one billion gallons. The wastewater system consists of three water pollution control plants, 21 pumping stations, and about {{convert|3657|mi|km}} of sewers.

{{Further|PECO Energy Company}}

Exelon subsidiary PECO Energy Company, founded as the Brush Electric Light Company of Philadelphia in 1881 and renamed Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO) in 1902, provides electricity to about 1.6 million customers and more than 500,000 natural gas customers in the southeastern Pennsylvania area including the city of Philadelphia and most of its suburbs.{{cite web |url=https://www.peco.com/AboutUs/Pages/CompanyInformation.aspx |title=PECO: Company Information |publisher=PECO Energy Company |access-date=January 29, 2017 }} PECO is the largest electric and natural gas utility in the state with 472 power substations and nearly {{convert|23000|mi|km}} of electric transmission and distribution lines and {{convert|12000|mi|km}} of natural gas transmission, distribution, and service lines.[https://www.peco.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PECO_Investing_in_our_Community_Booklet.pdf "PECO_Investing_in_our_Community_Booklet"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130204845/https://www.peco.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PECO_Investing_in_our_Community_Booklet.pdf |date=January 30, 2018 }}. page 2. peco.com. PECO Energy Company. Retrieved January 30, 2018.

{{Further|Philadelphia Gas Works}}

Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), overseen by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, is the nation's largest municipally-owned natural gas utility. PGW serves over 500,000 homes and businesses in the Philadelphia area.{{cite web |url=http://www.pgworks.com/residential/about-us/about-pgw |title=PGW: About Us |publisher=Philadelphia Gas Works |access-date=April 24, 2015 |archive-date=April 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418135502/http://www.pgworks.com/residential/about-us/about-pgw |url-status=dead }} Founded in 1836, the company came under city ownership in 1987 and has been providing the majority of gas distributed within city limits. In 2014, the City Council refused to conduct hearings on a $1.86 billion sale of PGW, part of a two-year effort that was proposed by the mayor. The refusal led to the prospective buyer terminating its offer.{{cite news |url=http://articles.philly.com/2014-10-28/news/55525996_1_concentric-energy-advisors-city-council-uil-holdings-corp |title=$1.86B sale of Philadelphia Gas Works is dead |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=October 28, 2014 |access-date=April 24, 2015 |author=Maykuth, Andrew |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512113604/http://articles.philly.com/2014-10-28/news/55525996_1_concentric-energy-advisors-city-council-uil-holdings-corp |archive-date=May 12, 2015 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |last1=Hepp |first1=Chris |title=PGW deal latest casualty in Philly's Nutter-and-Clarke soap opera |url=http://articles.philly.com/2014-12-08/news/56806983_1_uil-philadelphia-gas-works-community-meeting |access-date=May 25, 2015 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=December 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150516023824/http://articles.philly.com/2014-12-08/news/56806983_1_uil-philadelphia-gas-works-community-meeting |archive-date=May 16, 2015 |url-status=dead }}

{{See also|Area codes 215, 267, and 445}}

Southeastern Pennsylvania was assigned the 215 area code in 1947 when the North American Numbering Plan of the Bell System went into effect. The geographic area covered by the code was split nearly in half in 1994 when area code 610 was created, with the city and its northern suburbs retaining 215. Overlay area code 267 was added to the 215 service area in 1997, and 484 was added to the 610 area in 1999. A plan in 2001 to introduce a third overlay code to both service areas, area code 445 to 215 and area code 835 to 610, was delayed and later rescinded.{{cite web |url=http://www.nanpa.com/pdf/PL_332_v1.pdf |title=PA 445 Implementation for 215/267 NPA Rescinded – 445 NPA Code Reclaimed |access-date=January 31, 2007 |archive-date=February 11, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211153116/http://www.nanpa.com/pdf/PL_332_v1.pdf |url-status=dead}} {{small|(64.5 KB) }} Area code 445 was implemented as an overlay for area codes 215 and 267 starting on February 3, 2018.{{cite web |url=http://6abc.com/home/445-philadelphia-suburbs-getting-new-area-code/3011823/ |title=445: Philadelphia, suburbs getting new area code (Pennsylvania) |date=January 31, 2018}} {{small|(1.1 MiB) }}

{{Main|List of people from Philadelphia}}

File:Friendship Gate Chinatown Philadelphia from west.jpg paifang at 10th and Arch streets, a symbol of Philadelphia's sister city relationship with Tianjin]]

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! City

! Country

! Date

|-

| Florence{{cite web |title=Florence, Italy |publisher=Citizen Diplomacy International Philadelphia |url=http://cdiphila.org/florence__italy |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150203065503/http://cdiphila.org/florence__italy |url-status=usurped |archive-date=February 3, 2015 |access-date=February 2, 2015 }}

| Italy

| 1964

|-

| Tel Aviv{{cite web |title=Tel Aviv, Israel |publisher=Citizen Diplomacy International Philadelphia |url=http://cdiphila.org/tel_aviv___yafo__israel |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904051845/http://cdiphila.org/tel_aviv___yafo__israel |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |access-date=February 2, 2015 }}

|Israel

| 1966

|-

| Toruń{{cite web |title=Torun, Poland |publisher=Citizen Diplomacy International Philadelphia |url=http://cdiphila.org/torun__poland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904051846/http://cdiphila.org/torun__poland |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |access-date=February 2, 2015 }}

| Poland

| 1976

|-

| Tianjin{{cite web |title=Tianjin, China |publisher=Citizen Diplomacy International Philadelphia |url=http://cdiphila.org/tianjin__china |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904051845/http://cdiphila.org/tianjin__china |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |access-date=February 2, 2015 }}

| China

| 1979

|-

| Incheon{{cite web |title=Incheon, Korea |publisher=Citizen Diplomacy International Philadelphia |url=http://cdiphila.org/incheon__korea |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904051845/http://cdiphila.org/incheon__korea |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |access-date=February 2, 2015 }}

| South Korea

| 1984

|-

| Douala{{cite web |title=Douala, Cameroon |publisher=Citizen Diplomacy International Philadelphia |url=http://cdiphila.org/douala__cameroon |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904051845/http://cdiphila.org/douala__cameroon |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |access-date=February 2, 2015 }}

| Cameroon

| 1986

|-

| Nizhny Novgorod{{cite web |title=Nizhny Novgorod, Russia |publisher=Citizen Diplomacy International Philadelphia |url=http://cdiphila.org/nizhny_novgorod__russia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904051845/http://cdiphila.org/nizhny_novgorod__russia |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |access-date=February 2, 2015 }}

| Russia

| 1992

|-

| Frankfurt{{cite web |title=Frankfurt am Main, Germany |publisher=Citizen Diplomacy International Philadelphia |url=http://cdiphila.org/frankfurt_am_main__germany |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016081925/http://cdiphila.org/frankfurt_am_main__germany |url-status=usurped |archive-date=October 16, 2015 |access-date=September 11, 2015 }}

| Germany

| 2015

|}

Philadelphia also has three partnership cities or regions:

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! City

! Country

! Date

|-

| Kobe{{cite web |title=Kobe, Japan |publisher=Citizen Diplomacy International Philadelphia |url=http://cdiphila.org/kobe__japan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904051845/http://cdiphila.org/kobe__japan |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |access-date=February 2, 2015 }}

| Japan

| 1986

|-

| Abruzzo{{cite web |title=Abruzzo, Italy |publisher=International Visitors Council of Philadelphia |url=http://cdiphila.org/abruzzo__italy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904051845/http://cdiphila.org/abruzzo__italy |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |access-date=February 2, 2015 }}

| Italy

| 1997

|-

| Aix-en-Provence{{cite web |title=Aix-en-Provence, France |publisher=Citizen Diplomacy International Philadelphia |url=http://cdiphila.org/aix_en_provence__france |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904051845/http://cdiphila.org/aix_en_provence__france |url-status=usurped |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |access-date=February 2, 2015 }}

| France

| 1999

|}

Philadelphia has eight official sister cities as designated by the Citizen Diplomacy International (CDI) of Philadelphia:{{cite web |url=http://cdiphila.org/sister_cities_program |title=Citizen Diplomacy International Philadelphia Sister Cities Program |website=cdiphila.org |publisher=Citizen Diplomacy International Philadelphia |access-date=April 18, 2019 |archive-date=August 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815055807/http://cdiphila.org/sister_cities_program |url-status=usurped }} Philadelphia has dedicated landmarks to its sister cities. The Sister Cities Park, a site of {{convert|0.5|acre|ha}} at 18th and Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Logan Square, was dedicated in June 1976. The park was built to commemorate Philadelphia's first two sister city relationships, with Tel Aviv and Florence. Toruń Triangle, honoring the sister city relationship with Toruń, Poland, was constructed in 1976, west of the United Way building at 18th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Sister Cities Park was redesigned and reopened in 2012, featuring an interactive fountain honoring Philadelphia's sister and partnership cities, a café and visitor center, children's play area, outdoor garden, boat pond, and a pavilion built to environmentally friendly standards.{{cite web |url=http://www.ivc.org/sister_cities_park |title=Sister Cities Park |website=ivc.org |publisher=International Visitors Council of Philadelphia |access-date=June 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116194541/http://www.ivc.org/sister_cities_park |archive-date=January 16, 2013 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://centercityphila.org/parks/sister-cities-park/sister-cities-park-history |title=Sister Cities Park History |website=centercityphila.org |publisher=Center City District{{!}}Central Philadelphia Development Corporation{{!}}Center City District Foundation |access-date=December 16, 2017 }}

The Chinatown Gate, erected in 1984 and crafted by artisans from Tianjin, stands astride 10th Street, on the north side of its intersection with Arch Street, as a symbol of the sister city relationship. The CDI of Philadelphia has participated in the U.S. Department of State's "Partners for Peace" project with Mosul, Iraq,[http://www.ivc.org/mosul/ IVC of Philadelphia Partners with Mosul, Iraq in Groundbreaking Program] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511192358/http://www.ivc.org/mosul/ |date=May 11, 2011 }} Retrieved January 26, 2011. and in accepting visiting delegations from dozens of other countries.[http://www.ivc.org/inbound_delegations Inbound delegations visiting Philadelphia] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511192401/http://www.ivc.org/inbound_delegations |date=May 11, 2011 }} Retrieved January 26, 2011.

• List of Pennsylvania state historical markers in Philadelphia County
• Metropolitan areas in the Americas
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Philadelphia
• USS Philadelphia

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{main|Bibliography of Philadelphia}}

• Holli, Melvin G., and Jones, Peter d'A., eds. Biographical Dictionary of American Mayors, 1820–1980 (Greenwood Press, 1981) short scholarly biographies each of the city's mayors 1820 to 1980. [https://archive.org/details/biographicaldict0000unse_r8s1 online]; see index at p. 410 for list.

{{Sister project links|Philadelphia|voy=Philadelphia}}

• {{official website|https://www.phila.gov/}} of the City of Philadelphia government
• [https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/ Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia] – historical encyclopedia
• [https://www.phillyhistory.org/PhotoArchive/ Historic Philadelphia], over two million photographs dating back to the late 1800s
• [https://www.philageohistory.org/rdic-images Greater Philadelphia GeoHistory Network], historical maps and atlases
• {{cite book |last1=Daly |first1=John |last2=Weinberg |first2=Allen |title=Genealogy of Philadelphia County Subdivisions, 1687–1960 |date=October 1966 |publisher=Philadelphia Dept. of Records |edition=Second |url=https://archive.org/details/genealogy-of-philadelphia-county-political-subdivisions-1687-1960}}
• [https://www.philly.com/ philly.com], The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News
• {{official website|https://www.discoverphl.com/}} of Discover Philadelphia
• {{official website|https://www.paconvention.com/}} of Pennsylvania Convention Center
• [https://video.wttw.com/video/2365709534/ "10 Towns that Changed America"], a WTTW segment on Philadelphia (at 7:23–12:00 in 56-minute video)

{{Geographic location

|Centre = Philadelphia

|North = Cheltenham

|Northeast = Bensalem

|East = Camden, New Jersey

|Southeast = Cherry Hill, New Jersey

|South = West Deptford Township, New Jersey

|Southwest = Tinicum Township (Delco)

|West = Upper Darby

|Northwest = Philadelphia Main Line

}}

{{Philadelphia}}

{{Philadelphia cultural sites}}

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