The City Of Brotherly Love
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania takes up the entire area of Philadelphia County. Sometimes called “Philly,” or “The City of Brotherly Love,” this is among the largest cities in the U.S. Historically, this is an important city to America where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were drafted and signed, and where the Continental Congress met. It was also the first capital of the United States. It was officially founded by William Penn who planned the city – including the name. Philadelphia is the Greek word for “City of Brotherly Love.” As part of Penn’s plan, settlers were recruited and the city was arranged in a grid system with plenty of open spaces and alleys – a design that Penn hoped would control fire and disease.
The city hasn’t always been Philadelphia. The Indian name for a settlement in the area was Shackamaxon and a group of Swedes called it Wicoca in the 1600s.
Fast Facts
- Location: Philadelphia occupies all of Philadelphia County in the Southeastern part of Pennsylvania on the banks of the Delaware River.
- Population: 1,517,550
- Housing units: 590,071
- Land area: 135 square miles
- Persons per square mile: 11,233.6
- Average annual rainfall: 40.3 inches per year
- Elevation: 45 feet above sea level
- Information provided by the U.S. Census Bureau