Philadelphia

Philadelphia, the third city of the United States and capital of Pennsylvania, is on the west bank of the Delaware (upon which it has a frontage of 25 miles), and 85 miles S.W. of New York. The old city was small in area, and situate between the Delaware and its tributary the Schuylkill; but now many surrounding towns, which still retain their old' names, are included, and the main roads to these towns are now avenues within the city. The streets are, for the most part, at right angles to the Delaware, with intersecting streets, and are often lined with trees. Of the principal streets, Broad Street, running N. and S., is 6 miles long and 113 feet wide; and Market Street, E. and W., is i miles long and 100 feet wide. There are many squares, ornamented with trees and fountains, and ferries connect the city with New Jersey. The bridges are handsome; and there is an Old Hall, in which the Declaration of Independence was made in 1776, and a City Hall, with lofty tower (530 feet high) surmounted bya 36-ft. statue of Penn. Other buildings are the Custom-house, United States Mint, United States Arsenal, post-office, Pennsylvania University, Jefferson Medical College and Hospital, and count less churches. Philadelphia is a great art centre, and contains some good pictures. Fairmount Park, of 2,740 acres, is well-wooded and diversified. The city, being open to vessels, a railway centre, and in close connection with the coalfields, has a large foreign, inland, and export trade. The chief objects of manufacture are woollen and cotton goods, especially carpets (in which 30,000 hands are employed); locomotives (in which 5,000 men are employed), sugar (employing 2,500 hands), petroleum, upholstery goods, iron and steel products; while there are many breweries and chemical works. Philadelphia was founded by Penn in 1682, and the next year it received a colony of Friends from Germany, Holland, and Great Britain. It had stirring times in the Revolutionary Wars, and was the scene of Abolition Riots. In 1876 the Centennial Exhibition was held here. Benjamin Franklin took up his abode in this city.