Old City is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

Center City, Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the ci ...

, Pennsylvania, United States, near the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

waterfront. It is home to Independence National Historical Park, a dense section of historic landmarks including

Independence Hall Independence Hall is a historic civic building in Philadelphia, where both the United States Declaration of Independence, Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were debated and adopted by the Founding Fathers of ...

, the Liberty Bell, the

First Bank of the United States The President, Directors and Company of the Bank of the United States, commonly known as the First Bank of the United States, was a National bank (United States), national bank, chartered for a term of twenty years, by the United States Congress ...

, the

Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Second Report on Public Credit, Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January ...

, and Carpenters' Hall. It also includes historic streets such as

Elfreth's Alley Elfreth's Alley is a historic street in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia, dating back to 1703. The street has 32 houses, built between 1703 and 1836. The Elfreth's Alley Museum is located at #124 and 126.Historical marker on Elfreth's ...

, dating back to 1703. Old City is also home to several hotels, with the Independence Park Hotel on Chestnut Street the only hotel listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. Old City borders Northern Liberties to the north, Penn's Landing to the east, Society Hill to the south, and Chinatown and Market East to the west.

Boundaries

The Old City special services district stretches from Front to Sixth Streets between Walnut and Vine. The ''Philadelphia Almanac and Citizens' Manual'' gives a larger set of boundaries to the Old City area, defined as the area within Spring Garden Street, 4th Street, the Delaware River, and Walnut Street. The Old City Redevelopment Area is bounded by Vine Street, the Delaware River, Lombard Street and 7th Street.

History

Along with the northern part of Society Hill, Old City is one of Philadelphia's oldest neighborhoods and part of the area where

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

and the

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

first settled. It hosted the governments of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

for most of the period from 1776–1800, and was North America's most important financial center through the 1830s. As Philadelphia's

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

gradually moved west, it became a warehouse and light industrial district. Many historical sites were restored or reconstructed in the twentieth century, especially during the development of Independence National Historical Park after 1943 and culminating with the United States Bicentennial in 1976. In the 1980s, the warehouse area north of Chestnut and especially Market Streets became popular for art galleries and artist's studios (the latter mostly displaced by

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

in the 1990s) as well as bars, restaurants, and nightclubs.

Architecture

In addition to Independence Hall, a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, Old City includes hundreds of important examples of Georgian and Federal public buildings, churches, a historic boutique hotel ( Independence Park Hotel ) and houses;

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

and

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

banks and exchanges; and cast iron warehouses and was as the Old City Historic District added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1972. In 2003, the district was also added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places.

Places of note

* Girard Fountain Park *

, where the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were drafted and signed * Carpenter's Hall * Liberty Bell * Museum of the American Revolution *

National Constitution Center The National Constitution Center is a non-profit institution that is devoted to the study of the Constitution of the United States. Located at the Independence Mall (Philadelphia), Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the center is a ...

* National Museum of American Jewish History * Penn's Landing * Independence Park Hotel * Betsy Ross House, residence of seamstress Betsy Ross when she sewed the first American flag *

Business and commerce

Old City is one of Philadelphia's popular nightlife destinations, with the historic Independence Park Hotel, a 41 room European style boutique hotel at 235 Chestnut Street. Old City is also home to many lounges, dive bars, and quality restaurants, mostly along the three blocks from 3rd and Market streets to Front and Chestnut streets. The 3rd Street Corridor, between Market Street and Vine Street, is home to galleries, boutiques, and other locally owned businesses. There are three independent movie theaters in the neighborhood, two operated by the Philadelphia Film Society and one by Landmark Theatres. During the popular monthly First Friday event, art galleries, studios and shops hold evening-hours open houses featuring art, design, and fashion. Since 2010, tech firms have moved to the area as well.

Government and infrastructure

The

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...

Northeast Region Office is in the U.S. Custom House, a part of the Independence National Historical Park, in Old City, directly across the street from the historic Independence Park Hotel, a favorite hotel for Government travelers.

Consulates

Many foreign governments have consulates that use the Independence Park Hotel located in Old City, including

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

(124 Chestnut Street),

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(1026 Public Ledger Building at 150 South Independence Mall West), and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

(111 South Independence Mall East). The

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

closed its consulate in the Lafayette Building at 437 Chestnut Street on November 7, 2005.

Education

Old City children are assigned to schools in the

School District of Philadelphia The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated State schools, public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the largest school district in Pennsylvania and the eighth-lar ...

. Residents are zoned to the General George A. McCall School for grades Kindergarten through 8.McCall map

Center City Schools
/ref> All persons assigned to McCall are assigned to Benjamin Franklin High School in

North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as ...

.High School Directory Fall 2017 Admissions

Archive
.

. p. 30/70. Retrieved on November 16, 2016. Previously Old City was assigned to Furness High School.Where the Graduates Go
" ''McCall School''. Retrieved on November 9, 2008.Horace Furness High School Geographic Boundaries

Archive
.

. Retrieved on October 4, 2011. The Mastery Charter Schools system operates the Mastery Charter Lenfest Campus (7-12) in Old City. It moved from

to Old City in 2002. St. Mary Interparochial Grade School is the designated grade school of St. Augustine Church, of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia The Archdiocese of Philadelphia () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia originally included all of Pennsylvania and Dela ...

Public libraries

The Free Library of Philadelphia operates its Independence Branch at 18 South 7th Street.

Historic congregations in Old City

* Christ Church (1695) * Arch Street Meeting (1701) *Old First Reformed Church (1727) * Congregation Mikveh Israel (1740) * Old St. George's Church (1767) * St. Augustine's Church (1796) * Seamen's Church Institute (1843)

In film

*In '' National Treasure'' (2004), Nicolas Cage's character runs across the roof of Independence Hall. *In '' Shooter'' (2007),

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), formerly known by his stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, producer, and former rapper. Mark Wahlberg filmography, His work as a leading actor, leading man spans the Comedy film, come ...

's character is set up for the shooting of the Ethiopian archbishop at Independence Mall. *In '' Ghostbusters'' (N/A), pills-berry doughboy's character

References

External links

Old City District
retrieved October 22, 2007 {{Authority control Arch Street Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Houses in Philadelphia Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Italianate architecture in Pennsylvania Neighborhoods in Philadelphia National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia Philadelphia Register of Historic Places