Philadelphia

Welcome to The Philadelphia MetroGuide service, your source for information on the Greater Philadelphia area. The Philadelphia MetroGuide is a member of the MetroGuide Network, a collection of information sites, all using a similar interface, for major metropolitan areas worldwide.

Philadelphia -- "City of Brotherly Love" -- reflects a vision held by founders including William Penn, an English Quaker, in 1652 naming their town with the Greek translation for brotherly love. Living up to its name, Philadelphia welcomed immigrants from all over, establishing ethnic neighborhoods, cuisines, and culture now blended into a red-white-and-blue style now known as "Philly" that extends from dance to sandwiches. Pennsylvania's largest city is where the American Revolution was incubated, the U.S. Constitution drafted, and the Declaration of Independence signed. Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell are but two of Philadelphia's many historic attractions. From 1790 to 1800, Philadelphia was the nation's capital, with the House and Senate meeting at Congress Hall, now part of Independence National Historical Park.

Old City Hall was the historic home of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1791 to 1800, and Carpenters' Hall was where the first Continental Congress met in 1774. Near Independence National Historical Park is Old City, the first commercial district, home to Elfreth's Alley, America's oldest continuously occupied residential street, and the Betsy Ross House, depicting history of the American flag. Still in use, Christ Church, on Second Street, is where George Washington and Ben Franklin worshipped. Franklin's inventions, print shop and post office are at Franklin Court. Fairmount Park, the nation's largest landscaped urban park, hosts a dozen 18th- and 19th-century furnished mansions open for touring, the nation's first zoo, and Memorial Hall, used in America's Centennial celebration at the United States' first World's Fair in 1876.