The Philadelphia Portal
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Philadelphia, commonly referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the sixth-most populous city in the nation, with a population of 1,603,797 in the 2020 census. The city is the urban core of the larger Delaware Valley, also known as the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the nation's seventh-largest and one of the world's largest metropolitan regions with 6.245 million residents in its metropolitan statistical area and 7.366 million residents in its combined statistical area.
With 18 four-year universities and colleges, Philadelphia is one of the nation's leading centers for higher education and academic research. , the Philadelphia metropolitan area was the state's largest and nation's ninth-largest metropolitan economy with a gross metropolitan product of US$444.1 billion. The city is home to five Fortune 500 corporate headquarters as of 2022. As of 2023, metropolitan Philadelphia ranks among the top five U.S. venture capital centers, facilitated by its proximity to New York City's entrepreneurial and financial ecosystems. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange, owned by Nasdaq since 2008, is the nation's oldest stock exchange and a global leader in options trading. 30th Street Station, the city's primary rail station, is the third-busiest Amtrak hub in the nation, and the city's multimodal transport and logistics infrastructure also includes Philadelphia International Airport and the rapidly-growing PhilaPort seaport. (Full article...)
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The Schuylkill Expressway is a freeway through southeastern Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and the city of Philadelphia, and the easternmost segment of Interstate 76 in the state of Pennsylvania. It extends from the Valley Forge exit of the Pennsylvania Turnpike in King of Prussia, paralleling its namesake Schuylkill River for most of the route, to the Walt Whitman Bridge in South Philadelphia. It serves as the primary corridor into Philadelphia from points west. Constructed over a period of ten years from 1949 to 1959, a large portion of the expressway predates the 1956 introduction of Interstate Highway System; many of these portions were not built to contemporary standards. The rugged terrain and limited riverfront space covered by the route has largely stymied later attempts to upgrade or widen the highway, despite the road being highly over-capacity; it has become notorious for its chronic congestion. The Schuylkill Expressway is the busiest road in Philadelphia, as well as in the entire state of Pennsylvania.
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Elfreth's Alley is a colonial-era street located in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia which is referred to as "Our nation's oldest residential street." The street dates to 1702 while the 32 extant brick rowhouses lining it were built between 1728 and 1836. A historical museum is located at #124 and 126. The narrow one lane street is one-way westbound between Front and 2nd Street, in the block between Arch and Race Street. Elfreth's Alley has been a designated National Historic Landmark since 1960.
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Wilt Chamberlain was an American professional NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; and also played for the Harlem Globetrotters. The 7 foot 1 inch Chamberlain, who weighed 250 lbs as a rookie before bulking up to 275 lb and eventually over 300 lb with the Lakers, played the center position and is considered by his contemporaries as one of the greatest and most dominant players in the history of the NBA. Chamberlain holds numerous official NBA all-time records, setting records in many scoring, rebounding and durability categories. Among other notable accomplishments, he is the only player in NBA history to average more than 40 and 50 points in a season or score 100 points in a single NBA game. He also won seven scoring, nine field goal percentage, and eleven rebounding titles, and once even led the league in assists. Although suffering a long string of professional losses, Chamberlain had a successful career, winning two NBA titles, earning four regular-season Most Valuable Player awards, the Rookie of the Year award, one NBA Finals MVP award, and being selected to 13 All-Star Games and ten All-NBA First and Second teams. Chamberlain was subsequently enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978, elected into the NBA's 35th Anniversary Team of 1980, and chosen as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History of 1996. After his basketball career, Chamberlain played volleyball in the short-lived International Volleyball Association, was president of this organization and enshrined in the IVA Hall of Fame for his contributions. Chamberlain was also a successful businessman, authored several books and appeared in the movie Conan the Destroyer. He was a lifelong bachelor, but became notorious for his claim to have had sex with 20,000 women, a statement which has entered popular culture.
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 Leverington Cemetery has the most orbs and apparitions in Philadelphia?
- ... that Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Britain Covey played quarterback in high school and led his team to 26 consecutive wins?
- ... that exhibits at Peale's Philadelphia Museum included the first nearly complete skeleton of a mastodon?
- ... 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 Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia, established in 1784, was the first national parish in the United States?
- ... that John Morin Scott, the mayor of Philadelphia, responded to the 1842 Lombard Street riot by mostly arresting black victims?
- ... that a rabbit played for the Philadelphia Eagles – as there's a drive into deep left field by Castellanos, that will be a home run. And so that will make it a 4–0 ballgame?
Selected anniversaries - June
- June 1, 1829 - The Pennsylvania Inquirer, now called The Philadelphia Inquirer, is founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell.
- June 6, 2008 - The Comcast Center, the tallest building in Philadelphia from 2008–2017, is officially opened.
- June 18, 1778 - American Revolutionary War: British soldiers, under General Clinton, evacuate Philadelphia.
- June 23, 1866 - The Chestnut Street Bridge, the second bridge to connect Center City Philadelphia and West Philadelphia, is opened.
Quotes -
"We can only solve our biggest problems if we come together and embrace the freedoms that our Founding Fathers established right here in Philadelphia, which permitted our ancestors to create the great American exceptionalism that all of us now enjoy."*
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