Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's. This number can rise to over 235,000 during the working hours due to the daily influx of commuters and tourists.
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Center City is bounded by South Street (Philadelphia)|Washington Street]] to the south, the Delaware River to the east, the Schuylkill River to the west and either Vine Street or Spring Garden Street to the north (though the 88,000 population figure corresponds to an expanded area of roughly Poplar Street south to Christian Street).[1][2] If Vine Street is considered the northern border, then Center City occupies the boundaries of the city before it was made coterminous with Philadelphia County in 1854. The Center City District, which has special powers of taxation,[3] uses a complicated, irregularly shaped boundary that includes much of this area but also extends beyond it.[4]} The Philadelphia Police Department patrols three districts located within Center City. The three patrol districts serving Center City are the 6th, 9th, and 17th districts.[5]
Among Center City's neighborhoods and districts are Penn's Landing, Old City, Society Hill, South Street/Head House District, Washington Square West, Market East, Chinatown, Logan Circle, the Museum District (located along the Ben Franklin Parkway), Rittenhouse Square, Fitler Square, the Avenue of the Arts (South Broad Street), and Jewelers' Row.
Center City is home to most of Philadelphia's tallest buildings, including Philadelphia's City Hall, the second tallest masonry building in the world and until 1987 the tallest in Philadelphia, as well as the tallest building in the world for seven years. In March 1987, One Liberty Place broke the gentlemen's agreement not to exceed the height of the statue of William Penn atop City Hall. Since the completion of One Liberty Place, no Philadelphia major-league sports team had won a world championship for the next two decades, a phenomenon known as the "Curse of Billy Penn." In an effort to reverse the curse, a 3-foot statue of Penn was affixed to the top of the Comcast Center upon its completion as the city's new tallest building in 2007. On October 29, 2008, the Philadelphia Phillies won the 2008 World Series, effectively ending the "curse".
Seven other skyscrapers now top the statue, including One Liberty Place's little sister, Two Liberty Place. In 2005, construction began on the Comcast Center, which was completed in 2007 and is now the tallest building in Pennsylvania, 30 feet taller than One Liberty Place. Three proposed buildings — Mandeville Place, 1441 Chestnut, and Bridgeman's View Tower — would also be taller than City Hall.
Other Center City skyscrapers include the Mellon Bank Center and the Verizon Tower, which houses a traffic camera used by the Philadelphia branch of the Westwood One MetroNetworks traffic service.
Across the street from City Hall is the Masonic Temple, the headquarters of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, a legacy of the Founding Fathers and signers of the Declaration of Independence, many of whom were Freemasons; such luminaries include George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.
While Philadelphia's population declined, Center City's rose 10% between 1990 and 2000.
In 2007, the city designated the area bound by 11th Street, Broad Street, Chestnut Street and Pine Street as the Gayborhood.[6]
Sunoco has its headquarters in the BNY Mellon Center.[7] Cigna has its corporate headquarters in Two Liberty Place.[8] Aramark is headquartered in Center City.[9] Comcast is headquartered in the Comcast Center.[10] The law firm Cozen O'Connor has its headquarters in Center City.[11] Kogan Page has its United States offices in Center City.[12]
Lincoln National Corporation moved its headquarters from Indiana to Philadelphia in 1999.[13] In Philadelphia Lincoln was headquartered in the West Tower of Centre Square in Center City.[14] In 2007 the company moved 400 employees, including its top executives, to Radnor Township from Philadelphia.[13]
The Philadelphia Fire Department operates 5 Fire Stations in the Center City area :
The Federal Bureau of Prisons Northeast Region Office is in Center City.[15]
The Consulate-General of Italy in Philadelphia is located in the 1026 Public Ledger Building at 150 South Independence Mall West.[16] The Consulate-General of Panama in Philadelphia is located in Suite 1 at 124 Chestnut Street.[17] The Consulate-General of Israel in Philadelphia is located on the 18th Floor at 1880 John F. Kennedy Boulevard.[18] The Consulate of Mexico in Philadelphia is located in Suite 310 of the Bourse Building off of Independence Mall.[19]
The Consulate-General of the Dominican Republic in Philadelphia was located in Suite 216 in the Lafayette Building at 437 Chestnut Street.[20] It closed on November 7, 2005.[21]
The Center City Residents' Association, originally formed in 1947 to prevent Rittenhouse Square from being turned into a parking lot, is a primary advocate for quality of life issues in Center City. Other community organizations of this type include Logan Square Neighborhood Association, Society Hill Civic Association, South of South Street)( Neighborhood Association, Washington Square West Civic Association,and the Queens Village Neighborhood Association.
Residents are within the School District of Philadelphia.
In 2005, to prevent the flight of middle class families, the school district and the Center City District, an economic development agency, started a program that promoted public schools in Center City (including Rittenhouse Square and Society Hill) and adjacent areas in Fairmount, Northern Liberties, and South Philadelphia.[22]
K-8 schools that have attendance boundaries in Center City and areas around Center City include:[23]
Neighborhood high schools for Center City and the Center City area, located outside of Center City, include:[24][25][26]
Other high schools include:
Combined middle and high schools include:
Charter schools not operated by the School District of Philadelphia include [1]:
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia operates the following Roman Catholic parochial schools in the Center City area [2]:
Other private schools in the Center City area include:
The Free Library of Philadelphia operates the Parkway Central Library at 1901 Vine Street,[29] the Independence Branch at 18 South 7th Street,[30] the Philadelphia City Institute on the first floor and lower level of an apartment complex at 1905 Locust Street,[31] and the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped at 919 Walnut Street.[32]
Amtrak's primary Philadelphia station, 30th Street Station, is located immediately west of Center City, just across the Schuylkill River. SEPTA Regional Rail trains, New Jersey Transit Atlantic City Line trains, Market-Frankford Line trains, and subway-surface line trolleys also service 30th Street Station, and both Megabus and BoltBus stop on streets adjacent to the station.
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