Portal:Philadelphia

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The Philadelphia Portal

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the sixth-most-populous city in the United States and the largest in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, both in area and population. Since 1854, the city has been coterminous with Philadelphia County. Philadelphia has the third-largest downtown residential population in the U.S., behind New York and Chicago. The Philadelphia metropolitan area is the fourth-largest in the U.S. by the official definition, with some 5.7 million people, though other definitions place it sixth behind the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington-Baltimore. Philadelphia is the central city of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area.

Philadelphia is one of the oldest and most historically significant U.S. cities. It was the nation's first capital. At the time of the American Revolution, it was the second-largest English-speaking city in the world, after only London. Into the first part of the 18th century, it was the country's most populous city and eclipsed Boston and New York City in political and social importance. Benjamin Franklin played an extraordinary role in Philadelphia's rise.

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Selected picture

Photo credit: National Park Service

The Fairmount Water Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the first municipal waterworks in the United States. Designed in 1812 by Frederick Graff and built between 1819 and 1822 it operated until 1909, winning praise for its design and becoming a popular tourist attraction. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and is once again in the process of winning back visitors, having now opened an Interpretive Center to aid in understanding the waterworks' purpose and history.

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Selected article

The list of Philadelphia Phillies seasons documents the season-by-season records of the Phillies' franchise including their years as the "Quakers" and the years where they shared the names "Quakers" and "Phillies." The team was formed in the National League after the dissolution of the Worcester baseball franchise in 1883, though there is no additional connection between the teams. At times, the Phillies' search for success has been seen as an exercise in futility, because of their long stretches of losing seasons, including an MLB-record sixteen straight from 1933 to 1948. However, the Phillies do own five National League pennants, won in 1915, 1950, 1980, 1983, and 1993, as well as a World Series championship in 1980 over the Kansas City Royals. The Phillies also enjoyed an extended period of success in their history from 1975 to 1983, when they won five East Division championships as well as the first-half championship in the strike-shortened 1981 season. The team is currently having a period of extended success as well. They have finished with a winning percentage over .500 in all but one year since 2000; however, this winning has not translated to playoff success, as the team had been consistently left out until their division championship in 2007. Over their 124 completed seasons (through 2007), they have played 18,881 games, winning 8,853 and losing 10,028, for a winning percentage of .469. The Phillies are also a combined total of 22–38 (.367) in post-season play.

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Selected biography

Al Wistert is a former All-Pro American football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played his entire nine-year NFL career for the Eagles and became their team captain. He was named to play in the NFL's first Pro Bowl as an Eagle. During most of Wistert's career there were no football All-star games although he was named to the league All-Pro team eight times. He played college football for the University of Michigan Wolverines. He is one of the three Wistert brothers (Alvin, Francis) who were named All-American Tackles at Michigan and later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He was the first Michigan Alum to be selected to the National Football League Pro Bowl. He and his brothers are three of the seven players who have had their numbers retired by the Michigan Wolverines football program.

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Selected anniversaries - June

June 1, 1829 - The Pennsylvania Inquirer, now called The Philadelphia Inquirer is founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell.
June 18, 1778 - American Revolutionary War: British soldiers, under General Clinton, evacuate Philadelphia.
June 23, 1866 - The Chestnut Street Bridge, the second bridge to cross the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, is opened.

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In the news

June 9: Philadelphia Zoo's Petal, the oldest African elephant in an United States zoo, dies. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
June 6: The tallest building in Philadelphia, the Comcast Center offically opens. (KYW-TV)

Philadelphia on Wikinews

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Web resources

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Did you know...

...that the Schuylkill Fishing Company of Pennsylvania, established in 1732 as an angling club, claims to be the oldest social club in the English-speaking world?

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