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Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia
Rittenhouse Square is a public park in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that is the center of the eponymous Rittenhouse neighborhood. The square is one of the five original open-space parks planned by William Penn and his surveyor Thomas Holme during the late 17th century. Together with Fitler Square, the Rittenhouse neighborhood and the square comprise the Rittenhouse–Fitler Historic District. Rittenhouse Square is maintained by the non-profit group The Friends of Rittenhouse Square. The square cuts off 19th Street at Walnut Street and also at a half-block above Manning Street. Its boundaries are 18th Street to the east, Walnut Street to the north, and Rittenhouse Square West, a north–south boundary street, and Rittenhouse Square South, an east–west boundary street, making the park approximately two short blocks on each side. Locust Street borders Rittenhouse Square to both its east and west in the middle of the square. History 19th century Originally called So ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 1,603,797 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is the urban core of the Philadelphia metropolitan area (sometimes called the Delaware Valley), the nation's Metropolitan statistical area, seventh-largest metropolitan area and ninth-largest combined statistical area with 6.245 million residents and 7.379 million residents, respectively. Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn, an English Americans, English Quakers, Quaker and advocate of Freedom of religion, religious freedom, and served as the capital of the Colonial history of the United States, colonial era Province of Pennsylvania. It then played a historic and vital role during the American Revolution and American Revolutionary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paper Mill Run
Paper Mill Run, also known as Monoshone Creek, is a small tributary of Wissahickon Creek that is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Its watershed includes parts of the Mount Airy and Germantown neighborhoods of Philadelphia. For most of its length, the present-day stream flows under Lincoln Drive. The stream first sees daylight near Johnson Street. History and geography Monoshone is a word of obscure origin and unknown meaning. In present-day usage, the name Monoshone applies simultaneously to a creek, the watershed that drains into this creek, the valley that this creek has shaped, and some 100 acres of recreational parkland that surround it. The Monoshone lies completely within the City of Philadelphia and is part of a trout-stocked fishery. William Rittenhouse, grandfather of the astronomer David Rittenhouse, built the first paper mill in America along Paper Mill Run in the late seventeenth century. This location was then known as Rittenhousetown. During the eight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. Known for various roles, including leading man characters, Bacon has received numerous accolades such as a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Bacon made his feature film debut in ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978) and performed in ''Diner (1982 film), Diner'' (1982) before his breakthrough role in the musical-drama film ''Footloose (1984 film), Footloose'' (1984). Since then, he has starred in critically acclaimed films such as ''JFK (film), JFK'' (1991), ''A Few Good Men'' (1992), ''Apollo 13 (film), Apollo 13'' (1995), ''Mystic River (film), Mystic River'' (2003), and ''Frost/Nixon (film), Frost/Nixon'' (2008). Other credits include ''Friday the 13th (1980 film), Friday the 13th'' (1980), Tremors (1990 film), ''Tremors'' (1990), ''The River Wild'' (1994), ''Balto (film), Balto'' (1995), ''The Woodsman (2004 film), The Woodsman'' (2004), ''Crazy, Stupid, Love'' (2011), ''X-Men: First Class' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edmund Bacon (architect)
Edmund Norwood Bacon (May 2, 1910October 14, 2005) was an American urban planner, architect, educator, and author. During his tenure as the executive director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission from 1949 to 1970, his visions shaped today's Philadelphia, the city of his birth, to the extent that he is sometimes described as "The Father of Modern Philadelphia". He authored the seminal urban planning book '' Design of Cities''. He was the father of actor Kevin Bacon. Early life and education Bacon was born in West Philadelphia, the son of Helen Atkinson (née Comly) and Ellis Williams Bacon. He grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs and graduated from Swarthmore High School in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania in 1928. He attended Cornell University, where he studied architecture. His senior thesis at Cornell made the case for a new civic center for Philadelphia that included an urban park where LOVE Park was ultimately built. After college, while traveling the world on a smal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Wanamaker
John Wanamaker (July 11, 1838December 12, 1922) was an American merchant and religious, civic and political figure, considered by some to be a proponent of advertising and a "pioneer in marketing". He served as United States Postmaster General in the Benjamin Harrison administration from 1889 to 1893. Early life and education Wanamaker was born in the Grays Ferry section of South Philadelphia on July 11, 1838. to John Nelson Wanamaker, a brickmaker and native of Kingwood, New Jersey, and Elizabeth Deshong Kochersperger, daughter of a farmer and innkeeper in Gray's Ferry. His mother's ancestors came from Rittershoffen in Alsace, France, and from Canton of Bern in Switzerland. Career At the age of 19, Wanamaker was hired by the Philadelphia YMCA, and served as the first corresponding secretary in the YMCA national organization. Department store business In 1861, Wanamaker opened his first store in partnership with his brother in-law Nathan Brown. The store, called "Oa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wanamaker's
Wanamaker's was an American department store chain founded in 1861 by John Wanamaker. It was one of the first department stores in the United States, and peaked at 16 locations along the Delaware Valley in the 20th century. Wanamaker's was purchased by A. Alfred Taubman, who previously purchased the Washington, D.C. department store Woodward & Lothrop, in 1986. The store was acquired from bankruptcy by The May Department Stores Company in 1994, and converted all remaining Wanamaker's stores to Hecht's in 1995. Wanamaker's was influential in the development of the retail industry including as the first store to use price tags. History 19th century John Wanamaker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1838. Due to a persistent cough, he was unable to join the U.S. Army to fight in the American Civil War, so instead started a career in business. In 1861, he and his brother-in-law Nathan Brown founded a men's clothing store in Philadelphia called Oak Hall. Wanamake ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Weightman III
William Walker Weightman (February 4, 1895 – June 13, 1965), who styled himself as William Weightman III, was an American bigamist who was the great-grandson of tycoon William Weightman, one of the richest men in American history. Weightman's arrest, conviction, and subsequent suicide attempt were the subject of considerable attention. When William Weightman died in 1904 leaving a $30 million estate, his heirs launched a legal battle over who would inherit it. Weightman III eventually received $750,000 (). He was occasionally a racing driver. In 1925, he was convicted of bigamy and sentenced to two years in prison. On July 10, 1926, he was sent back to Auburn Prison by a grand jury in Vineland, New Jersey. When his second wife left him, Weightman attempted to commit suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Cassatt
Alexander Johnston Cassatt (December 8, 1839 – December 28, 1906) was the seventh president of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), serving from June 9, 1899, to December 28, 1906. Family and early life Alexander Cassatt was born on December 8, 1839, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was the eldest of seven children born to Robert Simpson Cassat (later Cassatt), and his wife Katherine Cassatt, the former Katherine Kelso Johnston. The elder Cassatt was a successful stockbroker and land speculator who was descended from the French Huguenot Jacques Cossart, who came to New Amsterdam in 1662. The Cassatts had seven children, two of whom died in infancy; Alexander's younger sister was the impressionist painter Mary Cassatt. Their mother, Katherine, came from a banking family. She was educated and very well read. It was said that of the seven Cassatt children, Alexander most resembled his mother in "appearance and temperament". In 1856, Alexander Cassatt entered Rensselaer Polytechnic Ins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its peak in 1882, the Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest railroad (by traffic and revenue), the largest transportation enterprise, and the largest corporation in the world. Over its existence, Pennsylvania Railroad acquired, merged with, or owned part of at least 800 other rail lines and companies. At the end of 1926, it operated of rail line;This mileage includes companies independently operated. PRR miles of all tracks, which includes first (or main), second, third, fourth, and sidings, totalled 28,040.49 at the end of 1926. in the 1920s, it carried nearly three times the traffic as other railroads of comparable length, such as the Union Pacific and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroads. Its only formidable rival was the New York Centra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rittenhouse Club
Rittenhouse Club was a private institution and social club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1875 to allow "businessmen, intellectuals and artists to socialize in a congenial, friendly atmosphere." History 19th century The Gentlemen's club was founded in 1874 as the Social Arts Club of Philadelphia by Dr. William Pepper and Silas Weir Mitchell. The club was renamed in late 1875 when it moved to a new building on Rittenhouse Square that had been the home of James Harper. James E. Carpenter, Esquire was later the governor of the Rittenhouse Club. He was instrumental at securing the former home of Congressman James Harper in 1875.''Carpenters' Encyclopedia of Carpenters 2009'' (DVD format), Subject is RIN 4293; work contains updates to the 1912 book on "Samuel Carpenter and his Descendants." By 1880, the northern side of Rittenhouse Square was the de facto "most fashionable address in Philadelphia." In 1900, the club expanded by adding an adjoining townhouse. This ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Harper (congressman)
James Harper (March 28, 1780March 31, 1873) was an Irish-American politician who served as a National Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district from 1833 to 1837. He owned a brick manufacturing business, a wholesale grocery trade and developed the Philadelphia neighborhood now known as Rittenhouse Square. Early life Harper was born on March 28, 1780, in Castlederg, County Tyrone in Ireland. As a youth, he immigrated to the United States with his parents, and settled in Philadelphia. Career Harper rose to prominence in commerce through the manufacture of brick and, from 1820 to 1830, in the wholesale grocery trade. He was a Freemason, and was elected to the position of Grand Master of Pennsylvania in 1824. As Grand Master, he hosted fellow mason the Marquis de Lafayette during de Lafayette's visit to the United States in 1825. U.S. Congressman In 1832, Harper was elected to the United States Congress as a Natio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville southeast to Philadelphia, the nation's sixth-largest city, where it joins the Delaware River as one of its largest tributaries. The river's Drainage basin, watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania, stretching from the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians through the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont to the Atlantic Plain. Historically the Schuylkill lay within the territory of the Susquehannock and Lenape peoples. In 1682, William Penn founded the city of Philadelphia between the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers on lands purchased from the Lenape Indian tribe. The Schuylkill River became key in the development of the city and the surrounding region. While long used for transport, the river was made fully navigable via ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
