William Penn founded our city way back in 1682 and chose the name “Philadelphia” meaning “brotherly love” in Greek.
Philadelphia is the fifth largest city in the United States.
Center City is easy to navigate. Thanks to William Penn’s layout, Center City is on a grid, with numbered streets running north and south and named streets (mostly tree names) running east and west.
The nation’s “firsts” established here include: First hospital, First medical school, First natural history institution, First school of Pharmacy & First engineering classes
The world’s FIRST computer, a giant computer named ENIAC, was developed over 50 years ago at the University of Pennsylvania. It was 150 feet in width and had 20 banks of flashing lights.
Licorice, bubble gum, ice cream, and the Girl Scout cookie were all created in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia is the mural capital of the country, with more than 2,000 outdoor wall murals.
City Hall took 30 years to complete and is the tallest masonry structure in the world.
A tree that sprouted from a seed that went to the moon and back is growing in Washington Square.
The Philadelphia Insectarium, the only insect museum in the area, makes and sells Barbecued Baby Beetles, Cricket Lick-it-Taffiesand Chocolate-Covered Mealworms.
You can view the Declaration of Independence that was read for the first time in public on July 8, 1776, which is on permanent display at Independence Hall.
The University of Pennsylvania is the nation’s first university.
Mustard was invented in Philadelphia by Benjamin Jackson in 1768.
Philadelphia is considered to be one of the most haunted cities in the USA and has one of the highest densities of haunted houses.
The Philly cheese steak sandwich was invented in 1930 in South Philly at Pat's King of Steaks, still located on Passyunk Ave. It is open 24 hours a day.
The Moshulu ship has crossed the seas to Europe, South America, Australia, America and Africa, hauling lumber, coal, grain and various other cargo. She has been converted into an award-winning restaurant, residing at Penn's Landing.
In 1873,18 year old Milton S. Hersheyfounded a small candy shop in Philadelphia, which failed six years later. Now Hershey’s is the top chocolate manufacturer in North America.