Twentieth Century after 1945
Essay
In the second half of the twentieth century, an era of social change, manufacturing in the Philadelphia region plummeted as northeastern states lost factories and jobs to the Sunbelt and international competitors. Philadelphia’s longtime major industry, textiles, also was hit by product changes, for example the change in consumer preferences for nylon hosiery rather than silk and for carpets made from nylon or other synthetics instead of wool. By the end of the century, most of the factories in Philadelphia, Camden, and other cities stood vacant. Shipyards closed. Instead, the region’s major employers included health care, pharmaceuticals, business services, education, and government.
As many middle-class residents, primarily whites, moved to postwar suburbs, civic leaders and urban planners pursued projects to stabilize and revitalize cities. Initiatives in Philadelphia included the Greater Philadelphia Movement (formed in 1948) and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (formed 1958). Urban redevelopment projects sought to clear slum areas and create a central city more attractive to the white middle class. Recognizing that the region’s common challenges required regional action, Pennsylvania and New Jersey formed alliances such as the Delaware Valley Urban Area Compact (1965-66) and Delaware Valley Planning Commission to address issues such as transportation, environmental quality, and economic development.
Related Topics
Themes
Locations
- Bucks County, Pennsylvania
- Center City Philadelphia
- Delaware County, Pennsylvania
- Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
- North Philadelphia
- West Philadelphia
- Camden County, New Jersey
- Cumberland County, New Jersey
- Salem County, New Jersey
- Gloucester County, New Jersey
- Burlington County, New Jersey
- New Castle County, Delaware
Essays
- France and the French
- Mercer Museum
- Greater Philadelphia Region
- Courthouses (County)
- Polish Settlement and Poland
- Children’s Theater
- Philadelphia Pepper Pot
- Basketball (Professional)
- Gray Panthers
- Civil War Museum of Philadelphia
- City Councils (Philadelphia)
- Aeronautics and Aerospace Industry
- German Reformed Church
- Colonial Revival
- Moravians
- Turnpikes
- Dinosaurs and Paleontology (Study of Fossils and Prehistoric Life)
- Poetry and Poets
- Trenton, New Jersey
- Elegy (for MOVE and Philadelphia)
- Fire Escapes
- Reading Terminal Market
- Ceramics
- Seventh-day Adventists
- Wanamaker Organ
- Jawn
- Lawnside, New Jersey
- Wilmington, Delaware
- Philadelphia Contributionship
- Penn Center
- Nationalities Service Center
- Mütter Museum
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
- University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (Penn Museum)
- Train Derailments and Collisions
- I’d Rather Be in Philadelphia
- 1776
- Philadelphia Sketch Club
- Glassmakers and Glass Manufacturing
- Philadelphia Fire
- Philadelphia Cream Cheese
- Railroad Suburbs
- Historic Preservation
- Skate Parks and Skateboarders
- Bakeries and Bakers
- Grocery Stores and Supermarkets
- Horticulture
- LOVE (Sculpture)
- Gospel Music (African American)
- Garment Work and Workers
- O Little Town of Bethlehem
- Shrines
- Fabric Row
- Saws and Saw Making
- Community Colleges
- Philadelphia Folk Festival
- Paper and Papermaking
- Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent
- Philadelphia (Film)
- Mayors (Philadelphia)
- Silk and Silk Makers
- Delaware Bay
- Pharmaceutical Industry
- Soccer
- American Friends Service Committee
- Textile Manufacturing and Textile Workers
- Bridgeton, New Jersey
- Slovaks and Slovakia
- Plays and Playwrights
- Mennonites
- Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul
- International Peace Mission Movement and Father Divine
- Environmental Movement
- Irish (The) and Ireland
- Greeks and Greece (Modern)
- Market Street
- Independence Seaport Museum
- Subway Concourses
- Machining and Machinists
- Hurricanes and Tropical Storms
- Black Power
- Poverty
- Liberty County
- Historic Districts
- Prisons and Jails
- Zoning (Philadelphia)
- Hospitals (Economic Development)
- Doylestown, Pennsylvania
- Mount Holly Township, New Jersey
- Jewelers Row
- South Asians
- Dogfighting
- Rock Music and Culture (Late 1960s to Present)
- Dogs
- Gas Stations
- Cold War
- Dispensaries
- Brickmaking and Brickmakers
- PSFS
- Philadelphia Navy Yard
- Nuclear Power
- Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
- Civil Rights (African American)
- Pacific World (Connections and Impact)
- Fashion
- Deafness and the Deaf
- Dancing Assembly
- Historical Society of Pennsylvania
- Toy Manufacturing
- SPHAS
- Dutch (The) and The Netherlands
- Musical Fund Society
- Women’s Clubs
- Freedom Train
- Orphanages and Orphans
- Opera and Opera Houses
- Charter Schools
- Thrift
- Library Company of Philadelphia
- Botany
- Magdalen Society
- Koreans and Korea
- Children’s Aid Society of Pennsylvania
- Lincoln Drive
- Boarding and Lodging Houses
- Bicycles
- Bartram’s Garden
- Clocks and Clockmakers
- Classical Music
- National Register of Historic Places (Sites)
- Telephones
- Police Athletic League
- Nursing
- Newspapers (Suburban)
- Red Arrow Lines
- South Street (Song)
- Italians and Italy
- Mummies
- Lehigh Valley
- West Chester, Pennsylvania
- MOVE
- Design of Cities
- Literary Societies
- Twist (The)
- Philadelphia Maritime Exchange
- Social Dancing
- Genealogy
- Mexicans and Mexico
- Woodbury, New Jersey
- Eugenics
- Magazines, Literary
- Edge Cities
- ENIAC
- Freemasonry
- Roman Catholic Parishes
- Whiz Kids
- Inner Suburbs
- Hotels and Motels
- Smoking and Smoking Regulations
- Oh, Dem Golden Slippers
- Burlesque
- Convents
- Delaware River Basin Commission
- Television Shows (About Philadelphia)
- Lotteries
- Horses
- Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans
- Automobile Racing
- Cycling (Sport)
- Historical Societies
- Norristown, Pennsylvania
- Public Media
- Ice Hockey (Professional)
- Redlining
- Cricket
- Fairmount Park Houses
- Mansions
- New Year’s Traditions
- Tomato Pie
- West Philadelphia
- TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)
- National Guard
- Locomotive Manufacturing
- Murals
- Deindustrialization
- Reminder Days
- Civil Defense
- Helicopters
- High School Sports
- Big 5
- Nigerians and Nigeria
- Tobacco
- Benjamin Franklin Parkway
- Kwanzaa
- Liberians and Liberia
- Vietnam War
- Heating (Home)
- Police Department (Philadelphia)
- Infectious Diseases and Epidemics
- Rhythm and Blues
- Boxing and Boxers
- Sports Fans
- Mummers
- Mighty Macs
- Korean War
- Community Development
- Community Development Corporations (CDCs)
- Broad Street Bullies
- Jazz
- Chemical Industry
- Urban Renewal
- Root Beer
- Public Health
- Meteorology (Study of the Atmosphere)
- Tenderloin
- Ornithology (Study of Birds)
- Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
- Refineries (Oil)
- Doo Wop
- Radio DJs
- Art of Dox Thrash
- Funerals and Burial Practices
- Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania
- Military Bases
- Presidents of the United States (Presence in Region)
- Landfills
- Veterans and Veterans’ Organizations
- Soul Music
- Manufacturing Suburbs
- Coffeehouses
- Public Markets
- Civil Rights (LGBT)
- Price of a Child (The)
- Scientific Societies
- American Philosophical Society
- Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
- Home Remedies
- Philadelphia Story (The)
- Barbershops and Barbers
- Enterprise Zones and Empowerment Zones
- Women’s Education
- Arts of Wharton Esherick
- Diners
- Down There
- Franklin Institute
- University City Science Center
- Astronomy
- Radio (Commercial)
- Country Clubs
- Blue Route
- Fairmount Water Works
- Petty Island
- Camden, New Jersey
- Mother’s Day
- Philadelphia Orchestra
- Philadelphia Award
- Garbage Barge (Khian Sea)
- King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
- Entomology (Study of Insects)
- Tourism
- Bookselling
- Legionnaires’ Disease
- Slinky
- Grand Juries
- Puerto Rican Migration
- College of Physicians of Philadelphia
- Sports Cards
- Herpetology (Study of Amphibians and Reptiles)
- Fairmount Park
- Model Cities
- Cartoons and Cartoonists
- Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
- Dentistry and Dentists
- ODUNDE Festival
- Saint Patrick’s Day
- Better Philadelphia Exhibition (1947)
- Dewey’s Lunch Counter Sit-In
- Union League of Philadelphia
- Board of Health (Philadelphia)
- Public Parks (Philadelphia)
- Rock and Roll (Early Years)
- Arsenals
- Buses
- Vagrancy
- Greater Philadelphia Movement
- Abscam
- Admiral Wilson Boulevard
- Restaurants
- Painters and Painting
- Commercial Museum
- Barnes Foundation
- Atlantic City, New Jersey
- Educational Reform
- Railroad Stations
- Philadelphia Board of Trade
- Fairmount Park Commission
- Superfund Sites
- Brownfields Redevelopment
- Gunpowder Industry
- Sprawl
- Automobiles
- Automotive Manufacturing
- Law and Lawyers
- Crosstown Expressway
- I-95
- Street Vendors
- Office Buildings
- Gardens (Public)
- Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
- Films (Feature)
- Thanksgiving
- Avenue of the Arts
- Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
- Monopoly
- Levittowns (Pennsylvania and New Jersey)
- Book Publishing and Publishers
- Pipelines
- Penn’s Landing
- Radio (High School and College)
- Roosevelt Boulevard
- Chinatown
- Vine Street Expressway
- Billiards (Pool)
- Printmaking
- South Street
- Saturday Evening Post
- Papal Visits
- U.S. Mint (Philadelphia)
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Eastern State Penitentiary
- Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC)
- Media, Pennsylvania
- Philadelphia Gas Works
- Maps and Mapmaking
- National Parks
- Chester, Pennsylvania
- Private (Independent) Schools
- Football (Professional)
- Stadiums and Arenas
- Mount Airy (West)
- Airports
- Philadelphia Social History Project
- Philadelphia Stock Exchange
- Forts and Fortifications
- Casinos
- Trails (Recreational)
- Tastykake
- Athenæum of Philadelphia
- Society Hill
- Political Conventions
- Savings Societies
- Schuylkill Expressway
- Scientific Management
- Friends Neighborhood Guild
- Gallery at Market East
- Fair Housing
- Gentrification
- PATCO
- SEPTA
- Indian Rights Associations
- Television
- Scrapple
- Hog Island
- Columbia Avenue Riot
- Crime
- Playgrounds
- Columbus Day
- Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC)
- Hoagies
- Labor Day
- Cemeteries
- Gayborhood
- Industrial Neighborhoods
- Baseball (Professional)
- Medical Publishing
- Arboretums
- Walking Encyclopedia: Harrowgate
- Higher Education: Private (Religious)
- Baseball: Negro Leagues
- Philadelphia Plan
- North Philadelphia
- Education and Opportunity
- Trees
- Automats
- Public Education: Suburbs
- African American Migration
- Sullivan Principles
- Insurance
- Recording Industry
- Byberry (Philadelphia State Hospital)
- Broad Street
- Boathouse Row
- Public Baths and Bathing
- Rocky
- Streetcars
- Bicentennial (1976)
- Taverns
- Row Houses
- Immigration (1930-Present)
- Paints and Varnishes
- Public Transportation
-
Roman Catholic Education
(Elementary and Secondary) - Shopping Centers
- Animal Protection
- Delaware Avenue (Columbus Boulevard)
- Subways and Elevated Lines
- Public Education: High Schools
- Food Processing
- Campbell Soup Company
- American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
- Sports Mascots
- Delaware River Port Authority
- Shipbuilding and Shipyards
- Pennhurst State School and Hospital
- Industrial Workers of the World
- Banking
- Laurel Hill Cemetery
- Commuter Trains
- National Freedom Day
- Constitution Commemorations
- Public Education: The School District of Philadelphia
- Cheesesteaks
- Elfreth’s Alley
- Public Housing
- Octavia Hill Association
- AIDS and AIDS Activism
- American Bandstand
- Children’s Television
- Girard College
- Independence National Historical Park
- Independence Hall
- Department Stores
- Italian Market
- Liberty Bell
- Mother Bethel AME Church: Congregation and Community
- Convention Centers
- Fox Hunting
- Lazaretto
- Twin Houses
- Earthquakes
- Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- Mass Shooting (Camden 1949)
- Liberty Bell Classic
- Almanacs
- Salem (City), New Jersey
- Poconos (The)
- Pollution
- Bridges
- Blow Out
- Delaware River
- Eminent Domain
- National Constitution Center
- Lutherans and the Lutheran Church
- Brandywine Valley
- Philadelphia Regional Port Authority
- Memorial Day
- Schuylkill River
- Monument to Six Million Jewish Martyrs
- Blues Music
- Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
- Automobile Suburbs
- Missionaries
- Socialist Party
- Popular Music
- Percent for Art Programs
- Civil Rights (Persons With Disabilities)
- Topography
- Lenape People (Continuing Presence)
- Episcopal Church
- Jews and Judaism
- Telegraphy
- United Nations World Capital
- Civil Rights (Women)
- Postal Services
- Lancaster Avenue
- Roman Catholic Church and Catholics
Artifacts
Related Reading
Adams, Carolyn, et. al. Philadelphia: Neighborhoods, Division, and Conflict in a Postindustrial City. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991.
—–. Restructuring the Philadelphia Region: Metropolitan Divisions and Inequality. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2008.
Arnold, Stanley. Building the Beloved Community: Philadelphia’s Interracial Civil Rights Organizations and Race Relations, 1930-1970. Jackson, Miss.: University Press of Mississippi, 2014.
Bissinger, Buzz. A Prayer for the City. New York: Random House, 1997.
Contosta, David. Suburb in the City: Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, 1850-1990. Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 1992.
Countryman, Matthew J. Up South: Civil Rights and Black Power in Philadelphia. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006.
Dilworth, Richardson, ed. Social Capital in the City: Community and Civic Life in Philadelphia. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2006.
—–. Restructuring the Philadelphia Region: Metropolitan Divisions and Inequality. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2008.
Dyson, Omar L. The Black Panther Party and Transformative Pedagogy: Place-Based Education in Philadelphia. Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2013.
Goode, Judith, and Jo Anne Schneider. Reshaping Ethnic and Racial Relations in Philadelphia: Immigrants in a Divided City. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1994.
Greiff, Constance M. Independence: The Creation of a National Park. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987.
Heller, Gregory, and Alexander Garvin. Ed Bacon: Planning, Politics, and the Building of Modern Philadelphia. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013.
Henry, Margo. “Attention, MOVE! This is America!” Chicago: Banner Press, 1987.
Kaniss, Phyllis. The Media and the Mayor’s Race: The Failure of Urban Political Reporting. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1995.
Knowles, Scott Gabriel. Imagining Philadelphia: Edmund Bacon and the Future of the City. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009.
Kuklick, Bruce. To Every Thing a Season: Shibe Park and Urban Philadelphia, 1909-1976. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991.
Luconi, Stefano. From Paesani to White Ethnics: The Italian Experience in Philadelphia. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 2001.
Lyons, Paul. The People of This Generation: The Rise and Fall of the New Left in Philadelphia. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003.
Masters, Patricia Anne. The Philadelphia Mummers: Building Community Through Play. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2007.
McKee, Guian. The Problem of Jobs: Liberalism, Race, and Deindustrialization in Philadelphia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008.
Moyette, Michael, and Randi Moyette. Let it Burn: MOVE, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the Confrontation that Changed a City. Quadrant Books, 2013.
Office of the City Controller, City of Philadelphia. Philadelphia: A New Urban Direction. Philadelphia: Saint Joseph’s University Press, 1999.
Peltz, Rakhmiel. From Immigrant to Ethnic Culture: American Yiddish in South Philadelphia. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1998.
Perkiss, Abigail. Making Good Neighbors: Civil Rights, Liberalism, and Integration in Postwar Philadelphia. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2014.
Stein, Marc. City of Sisterly and Brotherly Loves: Lesbian and Gay Philadelphia, 1945-1972. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
Whalen, Carmen Teresa. From Puerto Rico to Philadelphia: Puerto Rican Workers and Postwar Economies. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001.