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Philadelphia City Information
Philadelphia is the second largest city on the East Coast and ranks fifth in the nation, with a metropolitan population of 5.8 million. Philadelphia is located 100 miles south of New York, 133 miles north of Washington, D.C., and 55 miles from Atlantic City.
In November of 1682, William Penn sailed from Great Britain to the new world on the Welcome and landed in Upland, near what is now Chester (south of Philadelphia). Penn named his colony Pennsylvania and began to plan the city that is known as Philadelphia, a Greek word meaning City of Brotherly Love. He fashioned the center of this city as a grid; streets running north to south where numbered from First to Eighth, and streets running east to west where named after trees.
As resentment toward England's heavy-handed tax policies grew, so did the restlessness of the 13 colonies. In 1776, the colonies' representatives met in Philadelphia's Independence Hall to announce their freedom from Britain and to pen their names to the Declaration of Independence. Britain's determination not to relinquish control of the New World motivated the Redcoats (as the British infantry was known) to cross the Atlantic Ocean, marking the start of the Revolutionary War. The war lasted for eight years. Thanks to the tireless efforts of George Washington and his troops, who endured the brutal winter of 1777-1778, the struggle for freedom was won. In 1787, delegates of the 13 colonies forming the United States met in Philadelphia to unify the new country's governmental structure with the adoption of the U.S. Constitution. Philadelphia, centrally located, was the capital of our country from 1790 to 1800.
Philadelphia is home to The Phillies (baseball), Eagles (football), Flyers (hockey), Sixers (basketball), Kixx (indoor soccer), Wings (indoor lacrosse), Phantoms (minor league hockey), Bulldogs (roller hockey), as well as collegiate athletic teams. Sports complexes include the First Union Spectrum, the First Union Center and Veteran's Stadium.
The Pennsylvania Convention Center, in the heart of downtown Philadelphia, stands as the second largest convention center in the Northeast with 1.3 million square feet of floor space. It is connected to the 1,200-room Philadelphia Marriott built in 1996. Unique to convention facilities, this center is the only structure of it kind with a 100-year-old, historically certified grand hall called the Train Shed. Approximately 70,000-sq. ft. of historic cast iron was used to restore the exterior of this Victorian hall. Since the Center opened in July 1993, it has been the recipient of many prestigious national and international honors.
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