Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
1906

Philadelphia, a port of entry, the third city in population of the United States, the metropolis of Pennsylvania, coextensive with the co. of Philadelphia, is situated on the W. bank of the Delaware River, 96 miles (by the ship- channel) from the open sea, 90 miles by rail SW. of New York, and 136 miles NE. of Washington, D.C. Lat. 39° 57' N. ; Lon. 75° 10' W. The Schuylkill River, which is here crossed by a number of railway and passenger bridges, traverses the city, dividing the part known as West Philadelphia from the older portion. Along the Delaware the water-front measures 23 miles, extending from the mouth of Poquessing Creek (which enters the Delaware near Torresdale on the NE.), southwestward and southward, to the embouchure of Bow Creek, at Tinicum Island. The area of the municipality is 130 sq. m., of which a considerable part, especially in the N., is rural in character, while other portions are occupied by suburban districts, embracing several places which have almost the character of separate towns, — such as German town, Chestnut Hill, Frankford, Manayunk, Falls of Schuylkill, Wissahickon, Bridesburg, and Holmesburg, — with many minor villages, hamlets, and stations, the principal of which are Tacony, Torresdale, Byberry, Somerton, Bustleton, Olney, Oxford Church, Roxboro, Milestown, Logan, Tabor, Fox Chase, etc. A number of the former independent towns or districts, such as Tioga, Nicetown, Kensington, and Richmond, still retain their names to indicate sections of the city. The natural features of the site occupied by Philadelphia are varied. Much of the land near the rivers, especially southward, is flat and low, but in the N., W., and central districts the ground is high and easily drained, the deep subsoil being mostly a dry gravel, resting upon gneiss and schist, although it is in part com posed of a tough clay. In tho highest parts of Germantown and Chestnut Hill the elevation exceeds 400 feet above sea- level. The city is remarkable for the regularity of its plan, the streets mostly crossing one another at right angles and dividing the town into uniform squares, — those running N. and S. being named by the ordinal numbers from the Delaware westward. A groat part of the city is built of the excellent bricks for which Philadelphia is noted. The older parts present many streets of very uniform and somewhat monotonous aspect, but latterly this uniformity has been much broken by the construction of buildings in every variety of style. Especially is this noticeable in the newer northern and western sections of the city and in the heart of the business quarter, where an imposing massive architecture has been introduced. Philadelphia, known as the " city of homes," perhaps surpasses every other large city of the world in the home comforts which it affords to the people of the middle class. The suburban sections, such as Germantown and Chestnut Hill, are unsurpassed for their charms. In 1905 there were 282,117 dwellings. The main business thoroughfares are Market Street, a broad avenue, and Chestnut Street, with elegant shops, the seat of the principal financial institutions of the city. Walnut Street, in its western part, is the most exclusive of the residence streets, but is not distinguished by any very notable architectural features. Somewhat more imposing in this respect is the capacious avenue known as Broad Street, which traverses the greater part of the built-up portion of the city in a N. and S. line and at whose intersection with Market Street is the new city-hall. This vast granitic and marble pile, commonly known as the Public Buildings, whose construction was begun in 1874, covers an area of 4 1/ 2 acres and cost, inclusive of its furnishings, about $27,000,- 000. It measures 4861 ft- by 470 ft. and rises to a height of 547 ft., its huge tower being capped by a colossal statue of William Penn.

Philadelphia has numerous parks and public squares, one of which, Fairmount Park, contains about 2900 acres and takes rank, for extent, natural attractions, and artificial improvements, among the foremost in the world. It is traversed in part by the Schuylkill River and by Wissahickon Creek, the latter being noted for the romantic wildness of the deep glen through which it flows. Among the noted squares are Independence, Franklin, Washington, Logan, and Rit- tenhouse, the last-named representing perhaps the most fashionable quarter of the city. Several of the cemeteries are distinguished for excellent landscape effects and costly monumental decoration, notably that of Laurel Hill, on the E. bank of the Schuylkill. The streets of the city are provided with a vast system of electric surface railways, and an extensive "subway" approach from the more distant outlying quarters is now, 1905, nearing completion...

Lippincott's New Gazetteer: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World, Containing the Most Recent and Authentic Information Respecting the Countries, Cities, Towns ... in Every Portion of the Globe Publisher J.B. Lippincott Company, 1906

Visit Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Discover the people who lived there, the places they visited and the stories they shared.