One look at the Philadelphia skyline and there is the feeling that you are entering a modern city. It is a modern city, but Philadelphia is also an old city that has historic importance for America. Moreover, it is a city with a strong cultural scene and many outstanding centers of learning that reflect its heritage as a birthplace of American democracy.
Pennsylvania is a large state in the eastern part of the United States. It is surrounded by seven other states, including New York and Maryland. Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania. It lies just across the Delaware River from New Jersey. Philadelphia is only 100 miles from New York City.
The name Philadelphia comes from a Greek phrase meaning "city of brotherly love." It was founded and designed by the Englishman and Quaker William Penn in the 18th Century. The town was laid out with many parks so that people could walk from home to business and back.
At the center of Old Philadelphia is Old City Hall, completed in 1791. Now a National Historic Site, Old City Hall was the home of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1791 to 1800.
From 1790 to 1800, when the capital of the United States was moved to Washington, DC, Philadelphia was the nation's capital.
One block north of Old City Hall is the Liberty Bell Pavilion. Nearly two million people visit this shrine to liberty every year to see the famous bronze bell that says: "Proclaim liberty thro' all the land, to all the inhabitants thereof." This cracked bell is a symbol of freedom and, in its own unique way, it is the very symbol of the city.
Explore the history of liberty by visiting Independence Hall. This brick building is located between Philosophical Hall and Liberty Bell Pavilion. An outstanding example of Georgian architecture, this unpretentious structure was built in 1748.
The earliest plans for a democratic government were made in the rooms here, including the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which produced the Constitution of the United States of America.
Just behind Independence Hall is Independence Square. The first public reading of the Declaration of Independence took place here in 1776.
Washington Square is located right next to Independence Square. One of the original parks laid out by William Penn, this park once contained the cemetery of many of the American patriots who fought and died in the Revolutionary War. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is in the very center of the park.
One of the most famous symbols of the United States was created here, in the Betsy Ross House. The house was built in 1740. John and Betsy Ross ran an upholstery business here from 1773 to 1786.
Betsy was chosen by the 1776 Congressional Committee to make the first "Stars and Stripes" -- thirteen stripes, alternating red and white, and thirteen white stars on a blue background. Why thirteen? One stripe and one star for each state: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island.
On July 4, 1960 the 50th and final star was added when Hawaii became a state. More than 250,000 people visit the Betsy Ross House each year to see a bit of American history.
"You're standing right now on the cruiser Olympia. The Olympia is the oldest steel warship afloat anywhere in the world today. She was built in San Francisco, California -- launched in 1892 -- and she is the last remaining veteran of the Spanish -- American War of 1898.
This ship has been in Philadelphia since 1922 which was when she was retired from active service with the United States Navy. The crew of Olympia was fairly large -- about 33 officers and about 396 enlisted sailors.
The submarine right here is the submarine USS Becuna, which is a World War II submarine. She is a diesel-electric powered submarine, not an atomic submarine, like modern submarines. She's older. She's 57 years old this year. She's a veteran of World War II. Submarine Becuna operated in the southwestern Pacific Ocean against ships of the Empire of Japan. And, she actually sank three Japanese ships and got a half credit for helping sink another ship."
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Bostonby EnglishLearnerTube826 views
@steve7138 Our tap water can beat up your tap water.
PandoraKyss 3 days ago
Philadelphia rated #2 DIRTIEST CITY IN America by Travel and Leisure's Readership (for litter, air and taste of tap water)
Shame on Philly! An ugly national disgrace; enemy of Planet Earth
steve7138 8 months ago