Portal:Philadelphia
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Philadelphia, commonly referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia is the nation's sixth-most populous city, with a population of 1,603,797 in the 2020 census and is the urban core of the larger Delaware Valley (or Philadelphia metropolitan area), the nation's seventh-largest and one of the world's largest metropolitan regions consisting of 6.245 million residents in the metropolitan statistical area and 7.366 million residents in its combined statistical area. Philadelphia is known for its extensive contributions to United States history, especially the American Revolution, and served as the nation's capital until 1800. It maintains contemporary influence in business and industry, culture, sports, and music.
Philadelphia is a national cultural center, hosting more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other city in the nation. Fairmount Park, when combined with adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the same watershed, is 2,052 acres (830 ha), representing one of the nation's largest and the world's 45th-largest urban park. The city is known for its arts, culture, cuisine, and colonial and Revolution-era history; in 2016, it attracted 42 million domestic tourists who spent $6.8 billion, representing $11 billion in economic impact to the city and its surrounding Pennsylvania counties. With five professional sports teams and one of the nation's most loyal fan bases, Philadelphia is often ranked as the nation's best city for professional sports fans. The city has a culturally and philanthropically active LGBTQ+ community. Philadelphia also has played an immensely influential historic and ongoing role in the development and evolution of American music, especially R&B, soul, and rock. (Full article...)
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The Rohm and Haas Corporate Headquarters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the headquarters for the chemical manufacturing company Rohm and Haas. Completed in 1964, the building was the first private investment for the urban renewal of the Independence Mall area. Only two blocks from Independence Hall, the building, designed by Pietro Belluschi and George M. Ewing Co., was lauded for its respect to the nearby park and historical buildings. Philadelphia's city planners praised the building as a standard for all redevelopment buildings. The nine-story edifice's most notable feature is its facade of translucent, corrugated sunscreens; held in place by aluminum lattices, the sunscreens are made of Rohm and Haas's principal product, Plexiglas. In 2007 the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is today considered one of the best examples of the International style.
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The Merchants' Exchange Building is a historic building located on the triangular site bounded by Dock Street, Third Street, and Walnut Street in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia. The building was designed by architect William Strickland, in the Greek Revival style, and built between 1832 and 1834. The exchange operated as a brokerage house in the nineteenth century, but by 1875 the Philadelphia Stock Exchange had taken its place. The building was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2001 due to its significance as the oldest extant stock exchange building in the country. Independence National Historical Park's headquarters are located in the building.
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Walter O'Malley was an American sports executive who owned the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers team in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1979. He served as Brooklyn Dodgers chief legal counsel when Jackie Robinson broke the racial color barrier in 1947. In 1958, as owner of the Dodgers, he brought major league baseball to the West Coast, moving the Dodgers from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and coordinating the move of the New York Giants to San Francisco at a time when there were no teams west of Missouri. For this, he was long vilified by Brooklyn Dodgers fans. However, neutral parties describe him as a visionary for the same business action, and many authorities cite him as one of the most influential sportsmen of the 20th century. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame for his contributions to and influence on the game of baseball. O'Malley's Irish father, Edwin Joseph O'Malley, was politically connected. Walter, a University of Pennsylvania Salutatorian, went on to obtain a Juris Doctor, and he used the combination of his family connections, his personal contacts, and both his educational and vocational skills to rise to prominence. First, he became an entrepreneur involved in public works contracting, and then he became an executive with the Dodgers. He progressed from being a team lawyer to being both the Dodgers' owner and president, and he eventually made the business decision to relocate the Dodgers franchise. Although he moved the franchise, O'Malley is known as a businessman whose major philosophy was stability through loyalty to and from his employees. O'Malley ceded the team presidency to his son, Peter, in 1970 but retained the titles of owner and chairman of the Dodgers until his death in 1979. During the 1975 season, the Dodgers' inability to negotiate a contract with Andy Messersmith led to the Seitz decision, which limited the baseball reserve clause and paved the way for modern free agency.
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that episodes of such game shows as Double Dare, Finders Keepers, and You Bet Your Life were filmed at the Philadelphia studios of a public TV station?
- ... that placekicker Lonny Calicchio was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles to the practice squad, promoted to the active roster, named starter, and released all within eight days?
- ... that the Octavius V. Catto Memorial, unveiled in 2017, contains the first statue on Philadelphia public property of a specific African American?
- ... that Fox bought a Philadelphia TV station started by a Fox?
- ... that in the 1932 baseball game in which pitcher Eddie Rommel won his last game, he pitched 17 innings in relief, an American League record?
- ... that Dom DiSandro, the Philadelphia Eagles' chief security officer, was ejected from a game for getting into a scuffle with an opposing player?
- ... that John Morin Scott, the mayor of Philadelphia, responded to the 1842 Lombard Street riot by mostly arresting black victims?
- ... that the 1834 Philadelphia race riot began at a carousel before spreading to other parts of the city?
Selected anniversaries - May
- May 6, 1844 - An anti-Catholic riot erupts in Kensington, the riots continue for three days.
- May 10, 1876 - the Centennial Exposition opens with a ceremony attended by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro and their wives.
- May 10, 1877 - Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art opens the museum which would eventually become the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
- May 12, 1985 - After a gun battle with members of MOVE, Philadelphia police drop a bomb on the MOVE compound starting a fire that destroys 61 houses and kills eleven MOVE members.
- May 16, 1957 - The Walt Whitman Bridge opens between Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey.
- May 18, 1778 - The Mischianza, an elaborate fête given in honor of British General Sir William Howe is held.
- May 28, 1755 - Construction of Pennsylvania Hospital, the first hospital in the United States, begins.
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"You are now fixed at the mercy of no governor that comes to make his fortune great; you shall be governed by laws of your own making and live a free, and if you will, a sober and industrious life."
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