What would you like to know about Philadelphia and its history? Nominate a topic and tell us why you’d like to see it in The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. To submit your ideas to the editors, simply scroll to the bottom of this page.
What would you like to know about Philadelphia and its history? Nominate a topic and tell us why you’d like to see it in The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. To submit your ideas to the editors, simply scroll to the bottom of this page.
Connecting the Past with the Present, Building Community, Creating a Legacy
What makes Philadelphia unique or distinctive:
Its urban culture.
How Philadelphia is connected to other places:
Unfortunately – negative – we’re known as Killadelphia.
Other topics:
Emphasis on its history in more detail.
— From the suggestion box at the Tacony branch library
What makes Philadelphia unique or distinctive:
The Liberty Bell
Other topics:
Snow
What is in the river?
— From the suggestion box at the Tacony branch library
What makes Philadelphia unique or distinctive:
Neighborhood weekly newspapers such as the Northeast News and Kensington News, which were owned and edited by Ed Doyle Sr. Celebrities visited the editor to get publicity for their movies.
Other topics:
“The Pride of the Marines,” movie shot in Tacony
Neighborhood tap rooms
Theaters such as the Earle at 11th and Market
Inventions by local people
— From the suggestion box at the Tacony branch library
What makes Philadelphia unique or distinctive:
The people, the history, and the culture, new & old!
How Philadelphis is connected to other places:
Philadelphia is old, rich with history and people.
Other topics:
I’m interested in learning more about today. What history are we making today with our generation?!
— From the suggestion box at the Tacony branch library
What makes Philadelphia unique or distinctive:
Philadelphia is unique because it was instrumental in the formation of this country.
Other topics: Local historical info.
— From the suggestion box at the Tacony branch library
What makes Philadelphia unique or distinctive:
Many cultures in many neighborhoods and sharing of info.
How Philadelphia is connected to other places:
The History of Independence and the Constitution connect Phila with the U.S.
Other topics:
— Neighborhood cultures
— Great foods and restaurants
— Great places for free entertainment
— From the suggestion box at the Walnut Street West branch library
What makes Philadelphia unique or distinctive:
Philadelphia has a rich multicultural history. Native American, African American and the intermarriage of African Americans with Asian communities as well as Latino.
How Philadelphia is connected with other places:
I would say through our educated sector. I have found that talented people who’ve been educated in Phila move to other parts of the country and prosper there.
Other topics:
I’d like to see a deeper exploration of the African American presence in Phila., their communication with Native Americans and the activities of Latinos in Phila.
— From the suggestion box at the Walnut Street West branch library
What makes Philadelphia unique or distinctive: Parks
Other topics: Food and restaurants
— From the suggestion box at the Walnut Street West branch library
Rabbi Abraham Shemtov and his wife came to Philadelphia over 40 years ago. He was sent here by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendell Shneerson. He was from the city of Lubavitch in Russia, which means the city of brotherly love. Since his arrival, Rabbi Shemtov has established 36+ Chabad houses all over Pa. These centers help the Jewish community to connect with their roots, but even more help the community with food banks, help college youth on campuses, children with special needs, etc., etc. Philadelphia has gone through a huge change and shift of population over the last 40 years and Rabbi Shemtov and his emmisaries have been here to help and contribute every step of the way. I think this is a very important part of Philadelphia’s history.
The Centennial Exhibition of 1876 brought millions to the Philadelphia area, changing forever the world’s perception of the United States from an agrarian backwater to an industrialized powerhouse. Although 256 buildings were built on the Fairmount Park site of the exhibition, only two major structures remain—Ohio House on States Road and Memorial Hall on what is now North Concourse Avenue.
Memorial Hall served as the art museum for the Centennial Exhibition, the only building built for the event as a permanent structure. The dedication was made by President Ulysses S. Grant at the Centennial’s opening, and Memorial Hall served as the city’s art museum until the Philadelphia Museum of Art opened in 1928.
Neighborhoods
Business and industry (Baldwin Locomotive, national connections of railroads).
Penn’s ideas and religious freedom.
– From the suggestion box at the Holmesburg Branch Library
What is unique or distinctive about Philadelphia: Our history.
Other topics to include: Art.
– From the suggestion box at the Holmesburg Branch Library
What makes Philadelphia unique or distinctive: You always have something to do. You wanna cheesesteak? No problem! You can go to wit or witout?
Philadelphia is connected to other places by having good schools.
Other topics: Culture, food, clothes.
– From the suggestion box at the Holmesburg Branch Library
What makes Philadelphia unique or distinctive: We rarely have major disasters like earthquakes, tornadoes, etc.
Other topics: Murderers and offenders.
– From the suggestion box at the Holmesburg Branch Library
What makes Philadelphia unique or distincitve: All of the museums.
How Philadelphia is connected to other places: It is a place where people have freedoms.
– From the suggestion box at the Holmesburg Branch Library
What makes Philadelphia unique or distinctive: The different neighborhoods of the city and how distinct they are. South Philly, North Philly, Northeast and all the different sections in each area.
How Philadelphia is connected to other places: By all the different nationalities in the city. It is a city of immigrants from all over the world. Religious, ethnic, and cultural.
Other topics:
1. The great foods of Philadelphia. It is truly a melting pot of food and cultures in Philadelphia.
2. The small town feel in a big city.
3. Historical Philadelphia.
– From the suggestion box at the Holmesburg Branch Library
The wide variety of nationalities.
– From the suggestion box at the Holmesburg Branch Library
What makes Philadelphia unique or distinctive: the way Philadelphians talk.
Philadelphia is connected to other places because: Philly is the birthplace of America. So much started and spread from Philly.
– From the suggestion box at the Holmesburg Branch Library
Philadelphia is unique because: downtown center city is very historical and htis is where the declaration was signed. Also every neighborhood has something historical about it.
Philadelphia is connected to other places: By the declaration. We have the naval base located here.
Other topics: music history, great interesting events and fun facts about our city that most don’t know.
– From the suggestion box at the Holmesburg Branch Library
Philadelphia is unique because you have many different types of culture in Philly.
Philadelphia is connected to other places by freedom.
Other topics: The way things work or how we can prevent pollution.
– From the suggestion box at the Holmesburg Branch Library
Dog parks.
Sister city San Francisco.
Neighborhood city.
– From the suggestion box at the Holmesburg Branch Library
Chinatown.
– From the suggestion box at the Holmesburg Branch Library
How they found the very center of the city.
— From the suggestion box at the Holmesburg Branch Library
Where stores and important places are.
— From the suggestion box at the Holmesburg Branch Library
Delancey Street/Place. One of Philadelphia’s more interesting streets whose history is unclear. Preliminary research both on the web and in the library has shown a dearth of information. It is not included in “Philadelphia” A 300 year history – Norton – for example.