Portal:Lancaster, Pennsylvania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Culture · Geography · Health · History · Mathematics · Nature · Philosophy · Religion · Society · Technology
Lancaster, the Red Rose City, is a city in the South Central part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is the county seat of Lancaster County. With a population of 55,351, it is ranked as the 515th-largest city in the United States. (Lancaster County, with its suburbs, boroughs, and townships, is the 99th largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States, with an estimated population (in 2005) of 490,562.)
Locals quickly recognize visitors to Lancaster by the way they pronounce Lancaster. Natives typically pronounce it as LANK-i-stir, rather than LAN-CAS-ter (with the first two syllables more or less equally stressed), as is the common pronunciation for other Lancasters in the US.
Lancaster is named after the English city of Lancaster by native John Wright. Its symbol, the red rose, is from the House of Lancaster. The Lancaster County Prison was built in the 1850s to resemble Lancaster Castle in Lancashire.
Clipper Magazine Stadium is a 6,000-seat baseball-only stadium in Lancaster, Pennsylvania that opened on May 11, 2005, with a loss against the Atlantic City Surf. It was built as a new home of the Lancaster Barnstormers baseball team, the first in Lancaster in 44 years. As ground broke for Lancaster's new stadium, a local company, Clipper Magazine, purchased the naming rights. The stadium features menu items produced in Lancaster County such as hot dogs, Philly-style cheesesteaks, pizza, beer, sandwiches and wraps, barbecue, and funnel cakes. Clipper Magazine Stadium also features a carousel for children and a display that provides information about Lancaster's baseball history.
Franklin & Marshall College (abbreviated as "F&M") is a four-year private co-educational liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is the 25th-oldest institution for higher education, as well as the 17th-oldest college in the United States.
It employs 175 full-time faculty members and has a student body of approximately 1,980 full-time students.
Its students are sometimes called "Fummers" (for "F&M-ers") or "Dips" (short "Diplomats").
In 2007, F&M was ranked as 41st on U.S. News & World Report's annual list of America's 215 liberal arts colleges. It was also ranked #1 in the nation for "Faculty accessibility" by The Princeton Review.
James Buchanan (April 23, 1791 – June 1, 1868) was the 15th president of the United States (1857–1861). He was the only bachelor president and the only resident of Pennsylvania to hold the office of President. He has been criticized for failing to prevent the country from sliding into the American Civil War. On Buchanan's final day as president, he remarked to the incoming Abraham Lincoln, "If you are as happy in entering the White House as I shall feel on returning to Wheatland you are a happy man."
- ...that the Intelligencer Journal, founded in 1796, is one of the oldest newspapers in the United States?
- The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, built in 1795 was the first long-distance, paved road in the United States. It linked Philadelphia to Lancaster.
- Locals can easily spot a visitor by how they pronounce Lancaster. Locals pronounce it Lang-kiss-ter as opposed to Lan-cast-er.
- January 1: Rain thins crowd of thousands at Countdown Lancaster 2007 before midnight. (Lancaster Online)
- December 29: In 2006, Lancaster city had a record-smashing $239 million in construction spending — more than triple the 2003 record of $75.5 million. (Lancaster Online)
- December 29: Countdown Lancaster to feature a new red rose that will be dropped at midnight in Lancaster Square. (Lancaster Online)
"I have been looking forward to the return of baseball to Lancaster for quite some time. This is almost too good to be true, being able to manage in my hometown."
– Tom Herr
Portal:Lancaster, Pennsylvania/Music, Arts & Culture/June 2008
