So. Philadelphia. What to say about the nation’s fifth largest city that hasn’t already been said/mocked/celebrated? The Liberty Bell. Cheesesteaks. Soft pretzels. Ben Franklin. Rocky. Love it or hate it, visit Philly and you won’t be ambivalent. You just can’t. The city won’t let you. Go ahead and try. In the meantime, may I present a short history of the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection.
The city of Philadelphia, as laid out by its founder William Penn, originally consisted of the land between South and Vine Streets and the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. In November 1683, Penn signed a treaty with the local Lenape tribe (specifically the Unami or Turtle Clan) at their village of Shackamaxon (modern-day Kensington). [Of course, Swedish and Dutch settlements had been in the area for decades prior to Penn’s arrival in October 1682.] Penn’s original city consisted of 1,200 acres and, unlike the labyrinth that was (and still is) London, the streets in Penn’s city were laid out in a grid.
Except for the two widest streets, High (now Market) and Broad, the streets were named after prominent landowners who owned adjacent lots. The streets were later renamed in 1684; the ones running east-west were renamed after local trees and the north-south streets were numbered.
Within the city, four public squares (now named Rittenhouse, Logan, Washington, and Franklin) were established. Penn also designed a central square at the intersection of Broad and Market Streets, but in 1871, the site was chosen for City Hall which stands on that very spot to this day.
During the early years of the city’s history, it quickly became an important trading center and Penn’s Quaker roots guaranteed religious freedom for all, this making the city attractive for people of all faiths.
In the first half the 18th century, the city was dirty—though I don’t think anyone had coined the term Filthadelphia yet—with garbage and animals littering the streets. The roads were unpaved and in some cases impassable. Early attempts to improve quality of life were ineffective as laws were poorly enforced, however, by the 1750s, Philadelphia was turning into a major city with structures such as the Pennsylvania State House, (today better known as Independence Hall). Streets were paved and illuminated with gas lights, and Philadelphia's first newspaper the American Weekly Mercury, began publishing on December 22, 1719.
The city also developed culturally and scientifically during this time, with schools, libraries and theaters being founded. Benjamin Franklin arrived in Philadelphia in October 1723 and would play a large part in the city's development—fire department, postal service, public library, hospital, university. You name it, that lewd SOB did it. Franklin was also one of the fathers of the Revolution. [If you don’t know the enormous role Philadelphia played during the American Revolution, shame on you. Seriously. Get a book about it right now.]
During the 1800s, immigrants, mostly from Germany and Ireland, streamed into the city, swelling the population of Philadelphia and its suburbs. In Philadelphia, as the rich moved west of 7th Street, the poor moved into the upper class' former homes, now converted into tenements and boarding houses. Many row houses crowded alleyways and small streets, and these areas were filthy, filled with garbage and the smell of manure from animal pens. During the 1840s and 1850s, hundreds died each year in Philadelphia and the surrounding districts from diseases like malaria, smallpox, TB, and cholera, with—no surprise here—the poor being affected the worst.
Along with sanitation, violence was a serious problem. Sure, Marty made Gangs of New York but Philly had its share of gangs with awesome names like the Moyamensing Killers and the Blood Tubs. (The Blood Tubs!!) During the 1840s and early 1850s when volunteer fire companies, some of which were infiltrated by gangs, responded to a fire, fights with other fire companies would usually break out, which is pretty bad-ass, I must say. The 1840s and 50s also saw a lot of violence directed against immigrants, especially Irish Catholics and African Americans.
In the years following the Civil War, Philadelphia's population continued to grow. By the 1880s immigration from Russia, Eastern Europe and Italy started rivaling immigration from Western Europe. Philadelphia's Italian population grew from around 300 in 1870 to around 18,000 in 1900, with the majority settling in South Philly (as in “Yo, Adrian!” That’ll be my only Rocky reference. I promise. Maybe.) Along with foreign immigration, domestic immigration from African Americans gave Philadelphia the largest African American population of any Northern city. While immigrants and blacks moved into the city, Philadelphia's rich emptied out. During the 1880s much of Philadelphia's upper class moved into the growing suburbs along the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Main Line west of the city. [The Main Line is still mostly upper class, and with a few notable instances of gentrification, this early case of white flight set the stage for social class distinctions that exist today.]
One of the biggest projects of the time was the Centennial Exposition, a World's Fair that celebrated the United States Centennial. The Exposition was held in Fairmount Park and began on May 10, 1876. When the fair ended on November 10 over nine million people had visited the fair. Another project was the construction of a new city hall on that central public square Penn had laid out. The building was completed in 1884 and was the tallest building in Philadelphia until the 1980s. [Read on for William Penn’s curse on all sports teams.]
Philadelphia's major industries of the era were railroads and steam ships. Westward expansion of the Pennsylvania Railroad helped Philadelphia keep up with nearby New York City in domestic commerce as both cities fought for dominance in transporting iron and coal resources from Pennsylvania. There were also numerous iron and steel-related manufacturers, including Philadelphian-owned iron and steel works outside the city, most notably the Bethlehem Iron Company. The largest industry in Philadelphia was textiles. Philadelphia produced more textiles than any other U.S. city and in 1904 textiles employed more than 35 percent of the city's workers. The cigar, sugar, and oil industries also made an impact on the city. During this time the major department stores, Wanamaker's, Gimbels, Strawbridge and Clothier, and Lit Brothers, sprung up along Market Street.
Sadly, by the beginning of the 20th century, Philadelphia had gotten a bad rep. (Jerks.) People both inside and outside of the city commented that Philadelphia and its citizens were dull and contented with its lack of change. (Snooty jerks.) Harper's Magazine commented that "The one thing unforgivable in Philadelphia is to be new, to be different from what has been.” Along with the city's "dullness" Philadelphia was known for its corruption. The Republican-controlled political machine permeated all parts of city government. One official estimated that $5 million was wasted every year from graft in the city's infrastructure programs.
During this time Philadelphia continued to grow with immigrants coming from Eastern Europe and Italy and African Americans from the South. The rising popularity of automobiles led to widening of roads and creation of Northeast (Roosevelt) Boulevard in 1914, the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in 1918, (which was part of the City Beautiful movement), the changing of many existing streets to one-way streets in the early 1920s, and the Delaware River (Benjamin Franklin) Bridge in 1926. Philadelphia began to modernize with the ever more frequent construction of steel and concrete skyscrapers, the wiring of old buildings for electricity and the city's first commercial radio station. Other projects included the city's first subway constructed in 1907, the less than successful Sesqui-Centennial Exposition in South Philadelphia, and the opening of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1928.
For those of you who are still reading, thank you, and apologies for skipping over the Depression. It’s just so…depressing.
After World War II ended Philadelphia was experiencing a serious housing shortage. Around half of the city's housing had been built in the 19th Century, and many lacked proper facilities, were overcrowded, and in poor condition. Adding to the housing problem was a new wave of white flight as African Americans and Puerto Ricans moved into new neighborhoods resulting in racial tension. Manufacturing and other major Philadelphia businesses were also leaving or shutting down. Development projects included University City in West Philadelphia, the area around Temple University, the removal of the "Chinese Wall" elevated railway and development of Market Street East, specifically the construction the Gallery at Market East. There was gentrification of certain neighborhoods such as Society Hill, Rittenhouse Square, Queen Village, and the Fairmount area. The airport expanded, the Schuylkill Expressway and the Delaware Expressway (Interstate 95) were built, SEPTA was formed, and there was residential and industrial development of undeveloped land in Northeast Philadelphia.
As elsewhere in the United States, the 1960s was a turbulent decade for the city. There were numerous civil rights and anti-war protests. Crime was also a serious problem. Primarily drug related gang warfare plagued the city and in 1970 crime was rated the city's number one problem in a City Planning Commission survey. Despite the efforts of first police commissioner and then mayor Frank Rizzo, crime continued to be a problem in the 1980s. Deadly mafia warfare plagued South Philadelphia, drug gangs and crack houses invaded the slums of the city, and the murder rate skyrocketed.
During the Rendell and Street years, the city’s financial status and crime rates followed a roller-coaster track of highs and lows. Each administration had its share of successes and scandals. In 2008, Michael Nutter was elected mayor and, more importantly, the Phillies won the World Series, thus ending William Penn’s curse on Philadelphia Sports teams. Urban legend had it that no building was to be erected taller than the statue of Penn atop City Hall. When the city broke that gentleman’s agreement, ol’ Billy was miffed, and, to show his anger, he put a curse on all sports teams—Phillies, Eagles, Flyers, and Sixers. At the award ceremony, shortstop Chase Utley stepped up to the mic and, on live national television, simply declared, “World Champions. (pause) World Phuckin’ Champions” causing the 50,000 fans (including yours truly) in attendance at Citizens Bank Park to erupt with cheers and forever securing his place in the hearts of Phillies phans.
Over the past few years, the entire US economy took a nose-dive (did anyone miss that?) and Philly, like every other major US city, has been hit by Wall Street’s financial collapse. Nutter has tried to pull the city out of the red, but with lackluster results. Flash mobs dominated the local press last summer and the Kensington strangler (before being captured by police) captured headlines earlier this year. The Piazza here in Northern Liberties (or NoLibs if you want to be really hip) is the textbook definition of gentrification.
That was a lot of history, but I think it gives a good idea of where this city came from and what it’s been through. As I visit Philly’s many neighborhoods over the next few months, I’ll be on the lookout for vestiges of the past. I know they’re still here. The city’s a palimpsest; the past is never gone, you just have to know where to look.
History courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Philadelphia
For more on the City Beautiful movement: http://www.parkwaymuseumsdistrictphiladelphia.org/About-the-Parkway/Past/38/
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