Center City, Philadelphia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Center City District, highlighted on a map of Philadelphia County.
Center City District, highlighted on a map of Philadelphia County.

Center City is the "downtown" and Central Business District of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Its 2005 population of 88,000 makes it the third most-populous downtown in the United States. It is bounded by South 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 Philadelphia County was added in 1854.

Among Center City's neighborhoods and districts are Penn's Landing, Old City, Society Hill, 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 tallest masonry building in the world and through the late 1980s the tallest in Philadelphia. 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 sporting team has won a world championship, a phenomenon known as the "Curse of Billy Penn."

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 is slated upon completion in 2007 to become 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 a Masonic Temple, 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 has declined since the 1960s, Center City's rose 10% between 1990 and 2000.

In 2007, the city designated the area bounded by 11th Street, Broad Street, Chestnut Street and Pine Street as the Gayborhood.[1]

Contents

[edit] Gallery

Modern architecture in Penn Center section of Center City.

Jewelers' Row

Curtis Building

City Hall

Mikveh Israel Cemetery

Kimmel Center

Pennsylvania Hospital

Kimmel Center

KYW/WYSP Building (now demolished)

Inquirer Building

First Bank of the United States

Reading Terminal

Please Touch Museum

Center City sunset from West Philadelphia

View down Baltimore Avenue east towards Center City

[edit] Education

[edit] Primary and secondary schools

[edit] Public schools

[edit] School District of Philadelphia

Residents are within the School District of Philadelphia.

K-8 schools that have attendance boundaries in Center City and areas around Center City include [2]:

Neighborhood high schools for Center City and the Center City area include [3][4]:

Other high schools include:

  • Bodine High School for International Affairs
  • Constitution High School for American Studies
  • Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts
  • Franklin Learning Center High School
  • Parkway Center City High School
  • Philadelphia High School for Business and Technology
  • Science Leadership Academy

Combined middle and high schools include:

[edit] Charter schools

Charter schools not operated by the School District of Philadelphia include [4]:

  • Grades 1-12:
    • Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School
  • Grades 6-12:
    • World Communications Charter School
  • Grades 8-12:
    • Freire Charter School
  • Grades 9-12:
    • Architecture and Design Charter School
    • Mastery Charter High School
    • Philadelphia Electrical and Technology Charter School
  • Grades K-8:
    • Laboratory Charter School of Communication and Languages
  • Grades 6-8:
    • Wakisha Charter School
  • Grades K-7:
    • Christopher Columbus Charter School
    • Independence Charter School
    • People for People Charter School
  • Grades Pre-K-6:
    • Russell Byers Charter School
  • Grades K-6:
    • Universal Institute Charter School
  • Grades K-5:
    • Folk Arts Treasures Charter School

[edit] Private school

[edit] Roman Catholic parochial schools

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia operates the following Roman Catholic parochial schools in the Center City area [5]:

  • Grades 9-12:
  • Grades Pre-K-8:
    • St. Francis Xavier School
    • St. Peter the Apostle School
  • Grades K-8:
    • St. Mary's Interparochial School
  • Grades 1-8:
    • Holy Redeemer School

[edit] Other private schools

Other private schools in the Center City area include:

[edit] See also

Philadelphia Portal

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20070419_New_signs_make_it_official__We_have_a_gayborhood.html
  2. ^ "Center City Public Elementary Schools." Center City District.
  3. ^ "Center City Schools — Maps & Info." Center City District.
  4. ^ "[http://www.phila.k12.pa.us/pdf/07Directory.pdf A Guide for September 2007 High School Admissions]." School District of Philadelphia.
  5. ^ "Graduates of General George A. McCall School." Center City District.
  6. ^ "Graduates of Albert M. Greenfield School." Center City District.
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Neighborhoods of the Center City section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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