Philadelphia Orchestra, founded 1900 by Fritz Scheel, who was its conductor until his death in 1907. Scheel was followed by Karl Pohlig (1907-12). Under the leadership (1912-38) of Leopold Stokowski, the orchestra became one of the world's finest ensembles. Eugene Ormandy, who was appointed coconductor with Stokowski in 1936 and helped to further refine the lush and distinctive "Philadelphia sound," was music director from 1938 to 1980. He was replaced as director by Riccardo Muti, who in turn was succeeded by Wolfgang Sawallisch in 1993. Christoph Eschenbach was music director from 2003 to 2008. The orchestra played in the Academy of Music (opened 1857), a national historic landmark, until 2001, when Verizon Hall in the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts opened. It has toured extensively in the United States and abroad; in 1973 it became the first American orchestra to play in mainland China. Since the 1930s it has played summer seasons at Robin Hood Dell in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park, where it now performs at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. It has also had a summer schedule at the Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., since 1966.

Philadelphia Museum of Art, established in 1875, chartered in 1876. When the city of Philadelphia planned to erect a building to house the Centennial Exposition of 1876, provision was made to keep the building permanently occupied; the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art was privately established for that purpose. Its name was changed in 1929 to the Pennsylvania Museum of Art, and the present name was adopted in 1938. Its present building, modeled after a Greek temple, was opened in 1928. It is owned by the city. The museum complex also includes the Museum College of Art; the Rodin Museum; and three colonial houses.

The museum has many fine collections, the outstanding one being the John G. Johnson Collection of European old masters. The other major bequests of European art in the museum are the Wilstach, Elkins, and McFadden collections. The Gallatin, Arensberg, and Stieglitz collections of modern art, and the Crozier Collection of Persian and Chinese art are outstanding. The museum houses more than 60 paintings by Thomas Eakins. The museum owns representative selections of Pennsylvania Dutch folk art; many period rooms, including a French Romanesque cloister and a Gothic chapel; a collection of textiles and costumes; and a fine collection of Marcel Duchamp's works, including Nude Descending a Staircase.

Philadelphia, name of several ancient cities. One was in Lydia, W Asia Minor (now W Turkey). At the foot of Mt. Tmolus and near the location of modern Alaşehir, it was founded in the 2d cent. B.C. by Attalus II Philadelphus of Pergamum. One of the Seven Churches in Asia was there (Rev. 3.7). The city was damaged several times by earthquakes. Amman was also renamed Philadelphia by Ptolemy II.

Philadelphia, city (1990 pop. 1,585,577), coextensive with Philadelphia co., SE Pa., on the Delaware River c.100 mi (160 km) upstream at the influx of the Schuylkill River; chartered 1701. It is the fifth largest city in the United States and has been a leading commercial and cultural center since the 18th cent. An important trading and manufacturing hub even before the Revolution, it maintains a diversified industrial base. Chemicals; metal, paper, and plastic products; foods; textiles; apparel; machinery; electrical and electronic products; transportation equipment; scientific instruments; and furniture are among its manufactures. The metropolitan area's newer industries include health-care and biotechnology firms. Its printing and publishing industry is important, and there are major oil refineries. Philadelphia is also a banking center.

Institutions and Landmarks

A nucleus of American culture in colonial times (among its prominent citizens at that time was the scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin), Philadelphia is still the seat of many philosophical, artistic, dramatic, musical, and scientific societies. Among these are the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1805); the Academy of Natural Sciences (1812); the American Philosophical Society (1743); and the Science Museum of the Franklin Institute (1824), which now includes the Benjamin Franklin Memorial (1933), an important unit of which is the Fels Planetarium. In nearby Merion is the Barnes Foundation, with an extraordinary collection of paintings. Musical activities flourish in the city, whose outstanding symphony orchestra plays in the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. In Fairmount Park, the largest city park in the United States, are the Philadelphia Museum of Art, zoological gardens, and many historic monuments and shrines.

Many early historic shrines are also in Independence National Historical Park (est. 1956). Among them are Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed; the Liberty Bell; the neighboring Congress Hall, where Congress met from 1790 to 1800 and where Washington gave his farewell address; and Carpenters' Hall, where the First Continental Congress met. The modern National Constitution Center also is here. Near Elfreth's Alley, a narrow street that has retained its colonial air, is the Betsy Ross House, where, according to one story, the first American flag was made.

City Hall, one of the nation's largest, is a conspicuous building with a tower surmounted by a statue of William Penn. Also of interest are the Rodin Museum; the Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church; and Christ Church (begun in 1727), a representative example of Colonial architecture. Edgar Allan Poe's house has also been preserved. The historic 18th-century houses in the Society Hill section are additional tourist attractions, as is the restored Revolutionary War Fort Mifflin.

Philadelphia has over 30 educational institutions, including the Univ. of Pennsylvania, Temple Univ., Drexel Univ., La Salle Univ., Chestnut Hill College, St. Joseph's Univ., Curtis Institute of Music, Thomas Jefferson Univ., the Univ. of the Arts, and Philadelphia Univ. A sports complex in S Philadelpha is home to the National Basketball Association's 76ers, the National Hockey League's Flyers, the National Football League's Eagles, and the National League's Phillies (baseball).

Installations of the U.S. Mint, the Federal Reserve System, and the Internal Revenue Service are in the city. The U.S. Naval Shipyard, once the most prominent of Philadelphia's military installations, was closed in 1995; a commercial shipyard is now on part of the site.

History

Early History

The site was first occupied by Native Americans. In the 17th cent. there was a Swedish settlement; the land was soon claimed by the Dutch and then contested by the British. William Penn acquired it through a grant from Charles II of England and in 1682 founded Philadelphia, the "City of Brotherly Love," intended as a refuge for the peaceable Quakers—hence the nickname Quaker City. Its commercial, industrial, and cultural growth was rapid, and by 1774 it was second only to London as the largest English-speaking city. It was the seat of the Continental Congress and served as the American capital from 1777 to 1788, except during the British occupation (Oct., 1777-June, 1778) after the battle of Brandywine. It was the capital of the new republic from 1790 to 1800, as well as the state capital (to 1799). The two Banks of the United States (1791-1811; 1816-36) were there (see Bank of the United States). The bank buildings are examples of Greek revival architecture.

Modern Philadelphia

Despite an ambitious program of urban redevelopment initiated in the 1950s, the city experienced the decay of its economic base and a sharp decline in population through subsequent decades. Longstanding tensions erupted in race riots in the 1960s. In the 1970s, Frank Rizzo, a former police commissioner with a political base among the city's working-class whites, was elected mayor. Wilson Goode became Philadelphia's first black mayor in 1983. His administration was shaken by the controversial firebombing of a city block containing the home of an armed organization of black radicals. The decline of the central city was met in part by the construction of new office buildings downtown and development projects on the Delaware River waterfront, but the metropolitan area, long noted for its wealthy and exclusive suburbs (especially along the fabled Main Line), witnessed dramatic growth. Since 1986, however, when developers were first permitted to build higher than Penn's statue atop the city hall, the center city skyline has undergone dramatic changes. The city government came close to bankruptcy in 1990.

New Philadelphia, city (1990 pop. 15,698), seat of Tuscarawas co., E Ohio, on the Tuscarawas River, in a coal and clay area; founded 1804, inc. 1833. Foundry products, machinery, and pottery are made. The Tuscarawas Campus of Kent State Univ. is there. Nearby is the Schoenbrunn Village State Memorial, a reconstruction of the first settlement in Ohio.

City (pop., 2000: 1,517,550) and port, southeastern Pennsylvania, U.S., at the confluence of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. The site was occupied by the Delaware Indians before William Penn founded the city in 1682. It was the capital of Pennsylvania 1683–1799 and the capital of the U.S. between 1790 and 1800. It played a prominent role in opposing British policies and was the site of the first and second Continental Congresses, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitutional Convention. The population grew in the 18th century, with many immigrants from Scotland, Ireland, and Germany. It was the largest and most important city of the U.S. in the 19th century and a centre of the antislavery movement. In 1876 it was the site of the U.S. Centennial Exposition. It is also the site of the U.S.'s oldest art museum (the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, founded in 1805) and the first U.S. hospital (the Pennsylvania Hospital, founded in 1751). It is the largest city in the state and a centre of commerce, finance, industry, and culture. Its numerous educational institutions include the University of Pennsylvania.

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