PHILADELPHIA, PA

City Hall
1401 JFK Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA
215-686-1776
www.phila.gov

Chamber of Commerce
200 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA
215-545-1234
http://chamberphl.com

 

Major Highways
Interstates 96, 295, 76, 676; US Routes 1, 13

 

Services
Known as the “The City of Brotherly Love,” Philadelphia is the one of the nation’s largest metropolitan centers and the second largest on the East Coast. Alive with historical heritage, Philadelphia is the birthplace of our country, where the Constitutional Convention gathered behind closed doors to revise the Articles of Confederation and write the Constitution. Life in Philadelphia is eased by an efficient network of buses, trolleys, subways, rail commuter, and high-speed lines that guarantee rapid and efficient transportation. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority or SEPTA offers commuter rail service between the city and the suburbs. Both the Suburban Station and the Market East Station are in the heart of the business, shopping, and hotel districts. Although all stations connect to the airport rail line, the 30th Street Station also offers a quick and easy connection to Amtrak. Philadelphia serves as a hub in Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, providing excellent regional service. SEPTA operates a fleet of buses and street cars throughout the city and suburbs, while the Market-Frankford and Broad Street subway lines criss-cross the city. It is often said of Philadelphia, “There is no such thing as not being able to get there from here.” Philadelphia International Airport, located just eight miles from Center City, is served by most major airlines. The city is also accessible via major highways.

In the fields of education and new technology, the region boasts nearly 90 degree-granting institutions, several medical schools, dental schools, pharmaceutical companies, a myriad of producers of medical equipment, and more than 115 hospitals. Advanced research institutions account for nearly $200 million each year in research grants. In recent years, the region has also become increasingly attractive to new business, driven by the availability of start-up funding and exceptional entrepreneurial support.

 

Parents will be pleased at the exceptional educational choices available in Philadelphia. In addition to its standard curriculum, the Philadelphia Public School District offers special education courses as well as magnet programs for gifted students. These programs serve to intensify student involvement by offering a specialized curriculum that focuses on specific interests and talents. A number of outstanding parochial and private schools are available in the Greater Philadelphia area, providing parents with alternatives for religion-based and innovative learning environments.

It is unlikely that any other city in the United States offers the quality and quantity of educational alternatives that are so readily available in Philadelphia. More than 20 outstanding institutions of higher learning are located within the city limits, and the outlying areas offer 50 additional choices. Scores of specialized schools complement Philadelphia’s notable colleges and universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Temple, Drexel, and St. Joseph’s University. Other prestigious institutions of higher education in this region are Rutgers, Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, Villanova, and Princeton.

Fine medical schools and teaching hospitals further guarantee a high quality of medical care and state-of-the-art facilities to area residents. Among the academic degrees awarded annually by area institutions are tens of thousands in such leading fields as the sciences, healthcare and medical technology, engineering, computer sciences, and Master’s of Business Administration. The excellence of education is unparalleled in the Philadelphia region, evidenced by the number of Nobel Prize winning faculty and graduates.

Greater Philadelphia boasts one of the nation’s largest concentrations of healthcare resources. The region is home to schools for medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, and podiatry. No less than 10 universities offer advanced degrees in the biological sciences. Add to this impressive list is a cluster of pharmaceutical firms and manufacturers of medical and biological products, institutions involved in biomedical research, and manufacturers of advanced supplies and instruments.

Residents can choose from more than 120 hospitals — many boasting famous Centers of Excellence or specialized institutions like Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Scheie Eye Institute, and Wills Eye Hospital. State-of-the-art medical research facilities include the renowned Wistar Institute and Fox Chase Cancer Center. At this level of leadership and activity, it is little surprise that an impressive percentage of the population are employed within the healthcare industry.

 

Lifestyle
New residents find the affordability of housing in Philadelphia to be a pleasant surprise when compared to similar real estate along the East and West coasts. Architectural styles range from luxurious Victorian mansions on Society Hill to sleek high-rise apartments in Center City. Charming colonials on cobblestone streets and elegant Victorian townhouses blend with gracious detached stone, brick, or frame houses that reflect every development era. An abundance of more contemporary construction is also available. Philadelphia features exceptionally beautiful multi-family developments, particularly the luxury condominium complexes in Center City.

Philadelphia offers a world-class culture scene that is sure to impress the most discriminating aesthete. The Academy of Music on the Avenue of the Arts, modeled after Milan’s famed La Scala, is home to four well-known and beloved Philadelphia institutions. Among them are the Philadelphia Orchestra — known worldwide for its musical excellence — the Philly Pops, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and the Pennsylvania Ballet. The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia is renowned as one of the world’s finest.

Theatre continues to play a starring role in Philadelphia’s nightlife. Several downtown playhouses operate year-round, and a fine selection of musicals and dramas are always testing their mettle and public appeal before heading for Broadway or other metropolitan centers. Throughout the city, many new restaurants have opened their doors, encouraging the birth of more nightclubs and cabarets. Selections for an evening’s entertainment can range from toe-tapping to the beat of live jazz, unwinding to the gentle melody of a cozy piano bar, or roaring with laughter at an offbeat comedy act.

Some of the nation’s most popular professional sports teams call the city home, offering spectators and avid fans a diversion in every season. Theatres, playhouses, dramas, musicals, Broadway shows, ballets, symphonies, art museums, and historical sites attract millions of tourist dollars each year. Philadelphia has developed its own style and flair in almost every category of economic activity, continuing the leadership role it has played in American life since William Penn’s first idealistic vision.

The cultural hub of Philadelphia is the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, a tree-lined boulevard slicing diagonally through Center City from the Philadelphia Visitors Center. Bordering what has been America’s Champs-Elysees are the Franklin Institute Science Museum, the Academy of Natural Sciences Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Just a short walk from the Parkway is the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, an ornate Victorian treasure chest containing more than 200 years of American art. Museums are as abundant as historical sites in Philadelphia, each one exploring subjects that range from the arts and folklore to the esoteric. More than 100 venues are housed in monuments to Greek Revival architecture or tucked away in 200-year old townhouses nestled along shady lanes.

Philadelphia is a shopper’s paradise. From antique malls and galleries to ultramodern shopping centers, the city offers an impressive collection of the latest fashions, fine food, art galleries, and extraordinary shops. If you desire exciting merchandise and the most personalized of service, Philadelphia features exclusive retail establishments and specialty boutiques that are sure to please the most discriminating taste.

Bohemian enchantment is waiting along South Street, well known as the entertainment and nightlife capital of the East Coast. This eclectic district offers more than 150 colorful SoHo style boutiques, galleries, theaters, nightclubs, and restaurants. The Gallery at Market East carries the distinction of being one of the nation’s largest urban enclosed shopping centers. Spanning four city blocks and towering four levels high, this center adds eclectic push-cart displays that add significantly to the vast array of available merchandise.

When only the finest will do, The Shops at The Bellevue offer several of the world’s most elegant boutiques within the magnificently restored, historic Bellevue-Stratford Hotel. Diamond lovers can easily spend the day at Jewelers’ Row. Established in 1851, this magnificent establishment was the nation’s first and remains one of the largest diamond districts, featuring showrooms with a virtually unlimited selection of diamonds, precious stones, and fine gold — all at greatly discounted prices.

In addition to shopping opportunities that are unequaled in the continental Unites States, Philadelphia is also ranked among the best restaurant cities in the nation. Every corner of the city seems to boast a list of five-star or award-winning restaurants. Taking a culinary trip around the world without ever leaving the city is easy in Philadelphia. With more than 7,000 dining possibilities to choose from, the choices are virtually endless.

Fairmount Park, the world’s largest landscaped city park, offers Philadelphia residents nearly 9,000 acres of winding creeks, rustic trails, and lush meadows. The remainder of the park’s amenities and facilities is slightly longer. Visitors will find more than 100 tennis courts as well as soccer fields, football fields, cricket fields, a rugby field, a bowling green, an archery range, bocce courts, and indoor recreation centers. The list includes golf courses, baseball diamonds, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, 75 miles of bridle paths and hiking trails, 25 miles of paved bikeways, the nation’s finest rowing course, and a fishing stream stocked each season with trout.

Park visitors can rent sailboats, canoes and bicycles; play tennis and golf; swim; or enjoy free symphony concerts on balmy, starlit summer nights. Meandering through the park is the Schuylkill River, which forms the perfect natural playground for canoeists, kayakers and scullers. Boat House Row is home of the “Schuylkill Navy” of Philadelphia and its member rowing clubs. The park also hosts a number of famous competitive sporting events. Wildlife lovers will enjoy a trip to the renowned Philadelphia Zoo, the oldest such facility in the nation, featuring more than 1,500 animals from all over the world and 42 acres of Victorian Gardens.

Many other beautiful parks and nature centers grace the Philadelphia area, including Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary, Morris Arboretum, Penn’s Landing, and Valley Forge National Park. Penn’s Landing is the chosen site of many concerts and festivals in the summer months, including such favorites as the Jambalaya Jam, Mellon Jazz Festival, and River Blues. Philadelphia hosts special events and parades nearly every weekend throughout the year. The Mummer’s Day Parade is a day long extravaganza celebrated on South Broad Street to usher in the New Year. Residents flock to the Philadelphia Flower and Antique Show in the spring, while the start of the holiday season is marked by the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Like the concept of liberty, professional sports enjoys a long and colorful history in Philadelphia. In fact, the original Phillies were transplanted to town from Worcester, Massachusetts in 1883. Today, Philadelphia offers a sport for every taste and every season. Spring and summer belongs to the Philadelphia Phillies, while autumn is reserved for cheering on the NFL Eagles football team. NBA Philadelphia 76er’s and the NHL Flyers keep fans jumping to their feet from late fall through spring. Lacrosse, perhaps the oldest of North American sports, is played professionally by the Philadelphia Wings.
Even the long-standing pro sport franchises are recent arrivals in comparison to the 200-year history of intercollegiate athletic competition.

The City of Brotherly Love is truly one of America’s most unique and historic communities, one that celebrates its rich sense of heritage while planning a vibrant future filled with expansion and exciting new opportunities. “Harmony in diversity” is the key phrase for this expansive metropolis that not only provides a point of convergence for old and new, but for all people and lifestyles.

 

NOTABLE NEIGHBORHOODS

Art Museum Area
At the end of one of the loveliest streets anywhere in the world, Benjamin Franklin Parkway — often compared to the Champs Elysees — stand the incredible Museum of Art and the Rodin Museum and Courtyard. In addition to its proximity to these two outstanding facilities, the Art Museum Area is further distinguished by its access to Fairmount Park with its myriad of recreational amenities. A significant number of people are choosing this charming district of gracious Victorians and more modest brick row houses as their residential Philadelphia neighborhood.

 

Center City
A small village just 15 blocks long and 27 blocks wide, Center City Philadelphia provides a pedestrian neighborhood where residents can walk to the theatre, cinema, and shops. Accessibility and ambiance make this environment one of the most appealing and simplest to manage, facilitated by an excellent mass transit system. Although historical landmarks and sites exist everywhere in Philadelphia, they reach a crescendo in City Center with Independence National Historical Park. History and beauty span the horizon like a crimson sunset. One Liberty Place is the latest gleaming addition to an already impressive skyline, and similar projects underway are designed to preserve Philadelphia’s rich architectural tradition. High-rise apartments and condominiums often command cityscape views.

 

Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy
These two neighborhoods with their idyllic country village atmosphere are located approximately 10 miles northwest of Center City. Both offer a wide selection of detached, single-family homes that date from the mid 1800s through the early 1900s. Convenient mass-transit opportunities blend with old-world architecture to create an appealing living environment that seems to span the centuries.

 

Manayunk
Located on the banks of the Schuylkill River, this attractive residential area is becoming increasingly popular. Restored colonials dominate the waterfront scene, best known for its historic Boathouse Row that features lighted Tudor dwellings in a gingerbread village, sparkling like jewels in the dark waters of evening. Here, the imposing pillars of the Philadelphia Museum of Art grace the growing skyline. Water-sport enthusiasts are drawn to this neighborhood for the world-class sculling, canoeing, and kayaking that are available right at their own back door. Mass transit lends accessibility and convenience to this location.

 

Northeast Philadelphia
Traditional neighborhoods marked by a strongly rooted community spirit combine to create the vast sector of Northeast Philadelphia. Many residents live in modest row homes, duplexes, or detached single-family houses. Multi-family complexes are equally abundant, from townhomes and condominiums to apartments. Residents of this area enjoy a wide variety of local restaurants and shopping facilities that include the mammoth Franklin Mills Mall complex.

 

Olde City
Primarily a commercial area along the scenic Delaware River, Olde City is rapidly becoming one of Philadelphia’s trendiest neighborhoods. Alive with historic sites, it is the home of Elfreth’s Alley, the oldest continuously occupied residential street in America. Homes built between 1713 and 1811 line this quaint cobblestone alley which measures only six feet wide. Nearby is Christ Church, where George Washington, Ben Franklin, and many other colonial leaders spent time in worship. The Betsy Ross House is another famous landmark. It is little wonder that so many are drawn to this remarkable blend of old and new along the riverfront.

 

Queen Village
Although Queen Village is considered a somewhat less exclusive area than Society Hill, it falls into the same category in many social respects and echoes much of the same ambiance and charm, old-world beauty, and upscale amenities. Both districts feature designs, styling, architecture, and narrow cobblestone streets that date back to the colonial era. Like Society Hill, this area offers residents a wide selection of local shops and restaurants that add to the overall appeal.

 

Rittenhouse, Fitler Square
Nestled between the Schuylkill River and Broad Street are the neighborhoods of Rittenhouse and Fitler Square. Typical housing selections throughout the area include a wide variety of elegant brownstones, brick rowhomes, and several expansive early 20th-century and contemporary condominiums as well as cooperative and rental apartment buildings.

 

Society Hill
Situated on a tract of land that William Penn granted to the Society of Free Traders, Society Hill is one of the most prestigious areas in Philadelphia. The homes in this timeless village have been lovingly and meticulously restored to their natural charm and beauty by the “urban settlers” of more recent times. Narrow cobblestone streets shaded by huge old stately trees are lined with delightful 18th-century townhouses. In recent decades, many of these priceless historic treasures have been rescued from total demolition. Harmonizing with these colonial treasures are newer homes that have been designed to reflect a similar charm.

 

South Philadelphia
Located to the south of the central business district is the neighborhood known simply as South Philadelphia. Long recognized as a gathering place for South Philadelphians, the Italian Market exudes the aroma of warm bread and delectable pastries and offers fresh vegetables, pasta, fine meats, and fish. This area has long housed sports venues and continues to draw crowds to year-round events. Newcomers will find an abundant selection of beautiful Victorian row houses as well as fine restaurants that feature every imaginable cuisine and a variety of specialty shops.

 

University City
Across the Schuylkill River from Center City and surrounding the massive complex occupied by the University of Pennsylvania is an area known as University City. Only in recent decades has this neighborhood come into the limelight and received recognition as an economical as well as stylish choice for a permanent residence. Naturally academic and professionally oriented, this charming area is marked by a variety of old Victorian and large brownstone buildings that have been restored or renovated and converted into modern apartments and luxury homes.

 

West Philadelphia
Students, faculty and professionals make up the majority of the population in this college-town environment located in close proximity to the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. Similar to the quaint old-world housing available in University City, this neighborhood offers an abundance of charming Victorian row homes and brownstone buildings. Residents appreciate the availability of local restaurants and specialty shopping facilities.