Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Other cities
Philadelphia (population 1.45 million), Pittsburgh (population
313,000), Erie (population 102,000)
Sales tax
6%
Birthplace of
Writer Louisa May Alcott (1832−88), dancer Martha Graham
(1878−1948), artist Andy Warhol (1928−87), movie star Grace Kelly (1929−82),
comic Bill Cosby (b 1937)
Home of
US Constitution, the Liberty Bell, first daily newspaper (1784), first auto
service station (1913), first computer (1946)
Politics
'Swing state,' Republican governor, progressive Philly and blue-collar
Democrats elsewhere
Famous for
Soft pretzels, Amish people, Philadelphia cheesesteak, Pittsburgh
steel mills
Wildlife
Home of the largest herd of wild elk east of the Mississippi
Driving distances
Philadelphia to NYC 100 miles, Philadelphia to Pittsburgh 306
miles
TOP OF CHAPTER
Philadelphia
Although it may seem like a little sibling to NYC, which is less than 90 miles away, Phil-
adelphia is more representative of what East Coast city living is like. And in the minds of
many, it offers every upside of urban life: burgeoning food, music and art scenes, neigh-
borhoods with distinct personalities, copious parkland and, just as importantly, relatively
affordable real estate. The older, preserved buildings in historic Philadelphia provide a
picture of what colonial American cities once looked like - based on a grid with wide
streets and public squares.
For a time the second-largest city in the British Empire (after London), Philadelphia
became a center for opposition to British colonial policy. It was the new nation's capital
at the start of the Revolutionary War and again after the war until 1790, when Washing-
ton, DC, took over. By the 19th century, NYC had superseded Philadelphia as the na-
tion's cultural, commercial and industrial center. Though urban renewal has been going
on for decades, parts of the city formerly populated by industrial workers are blighted
and worlds away from the carefully manicured lawns and historic district around the
Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.
