History

Recent History

The city's population continued to decline in the 1990s, but that didn't stop the urban renewal. Philadelphia has indeed become a model of just how much can be achieved, largely through the efforts of its two-term mayor, Ed Rendell. While preserving a good deal of its architectural heritage, and remaining a national centre of science, medicine and higher education, Philadelphia now boasts new theatres (including the impressive glass-enclosed Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts), a convention centre, new museums, hotels, restaurants and clubs. Center City's gastronomic scene has exploded with hundreds of new restaurants, many of them first rate. Despite the many successes, huge tracts beyond Center City remain depressingly poor and dilapidated.

Modern Day History

During the mid-20th century, Philadelphia, like many American cities, watched much of its middle class forsake the city for the suburbs. The 1970s saw Philly grapple with inner-city tensions, typified by the firefights between the police and the paramilitary MOVE group. However, by 1976, lavish plans for the nation's bicentennial had inspired a citywide cleanup and renovation campaign.

Pre 20th Century History

In March 1681, England's King Charles II granted William Penn a charter to a parcel of land west of the Delaware River. Charles dubbed the area 'Penn' in honor of William's father, with Penn the Younger adding '-sylvania', meaning 'woodlands'. Brimming with pacifist Quaker idealism, Penn regarded his colony as a 'holy experiment' and ensured as its governor and proprietor that its laws respected religious freedom and liberal government. Penn chose Philadelphia as the capital of Pennsylvania in 1682, optimistically naming it after the Greek for 'brotherly love'. A survivor of London's Great Fire of 1666, he made sure the city's design included a grid system with wide streets, not the narrow, winding maze that had caused so much havoc in England's capital. This format was to become the inspiration for most American cities.

Philadelphia quickly grew to become the second largest city (after London) in the British empire, before ceding that title to New York City. Opposition to British policy in the colonies became seated in the city, where colonial leaders would meet to plan their course of action. The result was the Declaration of Independence, and in 1790 Philadelphia became the temporary capital of the new United States before Washington DC got the job in 1800. The US Constitution was drawn up and first read here in 1786. Often led by the multitalented Benjamin Franklin, Philadelphia became a centre for developments in the world of arts and science.

Between 1793 and 1820 Philadelphia suffered five yellow-fever epidemics, which killed thousands but led to the construction of the US's first city water system. Philadelphia's fortunes declined in the 19th century, as New York took over as the nation's cultural, commercial and industrial centre. Philly never regained the stature of its early years, despite continued cultural and educational innovation, commerce and shipbuilding, and a brief boomlet following WWII.