Philadelphia, also known as Philly, is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the second largest in the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. It was the nation's capital until the year 1800, making it one of the most historically significant cities in the United States. Philadelphia had a population of 1,603,797 as of the 2020 census, and over 56 million people live within 250 miles of the city. Since 1854, the city has been coextensive with Philadelphia County, the most populous county in Pennsylvania and the urban core of the Delaware Valley, the seventh-largest metropolitan region in the United States and one of the world's largest with 6.24 million residents in 2020. Philadelphia is renowned for its contributions to American history as well as its contributions to the life sciences, business, literature, and music.
Independence National Historical Park
Independence National Historical Park is a federally protected historic district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that preserves numerous sites connected to the American Revolution and the nation's founding history. The 55-acre park administered by the National Park Service contains many of Philadelphia's most visited historic sites in the Old City and Society Hill neighborhoods. The park has been dubbed "America's most historically significant square mile" due to its abundance of historic sites. Independence Hall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the site where the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers in the late 18th century, is the focal point of the park. Independence Hall served as the primary meeting place for the Second Continental Congress from 1775 to 1783, as well as the Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1787. Next to Independence Hall are Carpenters' Hall, where the First Continental Congress met in 1774, and Congress Hall, where the United States Congress met in the 1790s.
Liberty Bell
Philadelphia's Liberty Bell, formerly known as the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American independence. Originally installed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House, the bell now resides across the street in the Liberty Bell Center of Independence National Historical Park. The bell was commissioned in 1752 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly from the London firm Lester and Pack and was cast with the inscription "Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout All the Land to All Its Inhabitants," a reference to the Book of Leviticus. The bell was twice recast by local craftsmen John Pass and John Stow, whose surnames appear on the bell, after it first cracked when it was rung in Philadelphia. In its early years, the bell was used to summon legislators to legislative sessions and inform the public of public meetings and proclamations. Bells were rung on July 8, 1776, to commemorate the reading of the United States Declaration of Independence, as there was no immediate announcement of the Second Continental Congress' vote for independence on July 4, 1776.
The Franklin Institute
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center for science education and research. It is named after Benjamin Franklin, an American scientist and statesman. It is the location of the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial. The Franklin Institute is one of the oldest centers for science education and development in the United States, having been established in 1824.
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is an art museum that was founded in 1876 for Philadelphia's Centennial Exposition. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at Eakins Oval at the northwest end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The museum manages collections containing more than 240,000 objects, including significant European, American, and Asian holdings. Sculpture, paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, armor, and decorative arts are the various categories of art. The Philadelphia Museum of Art manages a number of annex buildings, including the Rodin Museum, which is also located on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building, which is located directly across the street from the main building. The Perelman Building, which was inaugurated in 2007, houses over 150,000 prints, drawings, and photographs, 30,000 costume and textile pieces, and over 1,000 modern and contemporary design objects, such as furniture, ceramics, and glassware. In Fairmount Park, the museum also manages the historic colonial-era houses of Mount Pleasant and Cedar Grove.