Metropolis, Illinois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Metropolis | |
| City | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Illinois |
| County | Massac |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 5.1 sq mi (13 km²) |
| - land | 5.1 sq mi (13 km²) |
| Density | 1,295.1 /sq mi (500 /km²) |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | 62960 |
| Area code | 618 |
   Location of Metropolis within Illinois
|
|
| Wikimedia Commons: Metropolis, Illinois | |
Metropolis is a city located along the Ohio River in Massac County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6,482. It is the county seat of Massac County.[1]
On January 21, 1972 DC Comics declared Metropolis "Hometown of Superman". On June 9, 1972 the Illinois State Legislature passed Resolution 572 that declared Metropolis the "Hometown of Superman," the comic book superhero who is based in the fictional city of Metropolis.[2] Among the ways it celebrates the character are a large Superman statue in the city, a small Superman museum, and an annual Superman festival that is in June. Also, it has a local newspaper, known as The Metropolis Planet, a name inspired by the newspaper in fictional Metropolis, The Daily Planet.
Metropolis is also home to Harrah's Metropolis casino/hotel, a riverboat casino frequented by visitors from around the region, making tourism one of the city's largest industries.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
Metropolis is located at (37.153332, -88.725374).[3]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.1 square miles (13.1 km²), of which, 5.0 square miles (13.0 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (1.18%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 6,482 people, 2,896 households, and 1,708 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,295.1 people per square mile (499.5/km²). There were 3,265 housing units at an average density of 652.3/sq mi (251.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.53% White, 7.61% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.45% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.
There were 2,896 households out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.77.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 24.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 79.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,371, and the median income for a family was $33,979. Males had a median income of $27,630 versus $17,561 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,967. About 12.5% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.8% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Transportation
Metropolis is served by Interstate 24, a regional Interstate Highway that runs from Chattanooga, Tennessee northwest to St. Louis, Missouri via Interstates 57 and 64. It is also served by U.S. Route 45, which runs geographically east-west through the area but runs north to Chicago and south to Paducah, and is signed north-south.
Illinois Route 145 lies east of the city and serves remote areas of nearby Shawnee National Forest.
[edit] Famous Residents
- Jack Smith, NASCAR driver.
- Michael Patrick, author of We Are a Part of History (1990), Orphan Trains to Missouri (1997), and The Black West in Story and Song (2006).
- Oscar Micheaux, pioneering African-American filmmaker and author.
- Annie Turnbo Malone, born in 1869 in Massac County Illinois and founder of the black beauty culture, businesswoman, philanthropist and founder of the Poro College
- Sean Stearns, film maker
[edit] Metropolis vs. Smallville
The city of Metropolis in the Superman saga is typically depicted as a large American city, such as New York City.
The town of Metropolis, Illinois, is a lot more like Superman's adoptive midwestern home town of Smallville. There are no movie theaters in Metropolis. Residents who want to see a theatrical release of a Superman film, ostensibly set in their town's fictional namesake, must travel to another town (typically Paducah, Kentucky) to do so.[5]
In a reference of uncertain intent (sincere or satirical?), the real town of Metropolis is portrayed in one Superman comic-book story, "Adventures of Superman" #515 specifically, as a town whose citizens idolize, what is to them, the real-life Man of Steel. A villain named Massacre arrives in the town, having gotten lost and thinking he was in the "other" Metropolis, the city where Superman actually lives. He attacks a security guard and threatens many citizens in order to get proper directions to Superman's Metropolis.
[edit] Superman References
Although Superman's Metropolis is usually used as an allegory for New York City, and in Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman is located in the fictional state of New Troy, one Adventures of Superman episode actually alludes to Superman living in Illinois. In the first season episode "A Night of Terror" Jimmy Olsen and Clark Kent make plans to go see a Chicago White Sox game. Since Jimmy doesn't know Clark's secret identity, it is reasonable to assume that they plan on driving across the state as opposed to flying half way across the country. Metropolis, Illinois was founded in 1839 [6], which makes it a good possibility that the writers of the episode were alluding to the city in Illinois.
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Southern Illinois
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Metropolis, Ill., Basks in Ties to the Man of Steel"--story broadcast on National Public Radio's Morning Edition, Tuesday, 2006-06-27
- ^ City of Metropolis - History
[edit] External links
- Metropolis, Illinois is at coordinates Coordinates:
- City of Metropolis official website
- The Superman Collectors webpage including the history of Metropolis, Il
- Story that was broadcast on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" profiling the town's links to "Superman"
- Metropolis the City of Tomorrow
|
||||||||||||||||||||
