Fact Sheet

Philly Fast Facts

Lights of Liberty Show at Independence Hall 

Photo by B. Krist for GPTMC

Presidential Power:

• Independence National Historical Park is a popular spot for presidential appearances. President George W. Bush visited in July 2001; President Clinton visited in 2000 for the groundbreaking of the National Constitution Center. But the largest gathering was the 1997 Presidents’ Summit for America’s Future, featuring former presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and then-President Bill Clinton.
• Presidents Clinton and George H.W. Bush have both visited the National Constitution Center. Bill Clinton visited twice in 2004 as part of his book-signing tour and for the National Youth Service Learning Conference. The elder President Bush visited in 2003 when he received the Eisenhower Fellowship award.

Independence Mall:

• When the work on Independence Mall is completed, it will represent more than $300 million in renovations, including the construction of the Liberty Bell Center, the Independence Visitor Center and the Constitution Center. Projects still in the works: landscaping surrounding the Visitor Center and Liberty Bell Center and building of The President’s House Commemorative Site to honor the memory of the enslaved Africans who resided there during George Washington’s presidential tenure.
• One of the rarest pieces of currency, the $100,000 bill is on display at the Federal Reserve Bank. Another $100 million has been shredded and appears in a giant tower.
• In its first coin run in 1793, the U.S. Mint produced 11,178 copper cents. Between January and August of 2006, the Philadelphia branch of the U.S. Mint produced 3,172,800,000 pennies, 538,320,000 nickels, 1,064,500,000 dimes, 993,600,000 quarters, 2,400,000 half-dollars, 4,900,000 Sacagawea gold dollars, for a total of 5,776,520,000 coins.
• Throughout its history, Independence Hall was the site of city, state and federal government, a courthouse and, during the 19^th century, the basement was a dog pound.
• “Pensylvania” is spelled wrong on the Liberty Bell. And although it no longer rings, its strike note is E-flat.

A Little More History:

• Philadelphia was founded by William Penn in 1682.
• At the close of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, 55 delegates staged a banquet at City Tavern honoring George Washington during which they consumed 54 bottles of Madeira, 60 bottles of claret, 22 bottles of porter, beer and hard cider and seven bowls of spiked punch. The 16 musicians on hand finished off seven more bowls of punch, five bottles of Madeira and 16 bottles of claret.
• After escaping from slavery in 1849, Harriet Tubman lived in Philadelphia for several years where she became one of the most active conductors on Philadelphia’s Underground Railroad network.
• The Republican Party held its first convention in Philadelphia in 1856.
• Many of the quaint “cobblestone” streets of Society Hill and Old City are actually paved with Belgian blocks.
• Before she sewed flags for a living, Betsy Ross snuck out of her home one night and rowed across the Delaware River to elope with John Ross, the first of her three husbands.
• Philadelphia has approximately two dozen works of public art featuring Ben Franklin.
• Among the “firsts” in the U.S. established in Philadelphia: the first hospital, the first medical school, the first stock exchange, the first mint, the first theater, the first art museum and school, the first protests against slavery, the first zoo, the first department store and the first computer.

A Little Bit of Fun:

• Philly is between two rivers, the Delaware and the Schuylkill.
• Philadelphia is the fifth largest city in the country, with a population of 1,463,281.
  With more than 200 bring-your-own-bottle (BYOB) restaurants, Philadelphia is one of only a few U.S. cities to have such a category in the Zagat Survey.
• The Wing Bowl, which began in 1992, attracts close to 20,000 people each year and is sanctioned by the International Federation of Competitive Eating. Last year’s winner broke the all-time record, consuming 173 wings in 30 minutes.
• Among some of Philadelphia’s more unusual museums are the Mutter Museum featuring medical curiosities, The Insectarium devoted to insects, The Weaver Historical Dental Museum and the Temple University School of Podiatry Shoe Museum.
• Frank Sinatra, Dr. J, Malcolm X, Larry Fine of Three Stooges fame and Edgar Allan Poe are among those depicted on the more than 2,700 works created by the Mural Arts Program.
• From the base of the pedestal to the top of his raised boxing gloves, the bronze Rocky figure stands 9 feet 11 inches tall. With the pedestal, it weighs approximately 1,300 pounds. On September 9, 2006, the iconic statue took its permanent place near the famous steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, featured in many of the Rocky films.
• Some famous Philadelphians include Walt Whitman, W.C. Fields, Edgar Allan Poe, James A. Michener, Walter Annenberg, Reverend Leon Sullivan, W.E.B. DuBois, Marian Anderson, John Coltrane, Grace Kelly, Bill Cosby, “Dr. J” Julius Erving, Wilt Chamberlain, Will Smith, Patti LaBelle, Kevin Bacon, M. Night Shyamalan and Pink.
• Movies filmed in the area include Invincible, Lady in the Water, In Her Shoes, National Treasure, The Village, Jersey Girl, Signs, The Sixth Sense, Rocky I-VI, Beloved, Fallen, 12 Monkeys, Up Close & Personal, Philadelphia, The Age of Innocence, Trading Places, Mannequin I-II, Witness, The Real World Philadelphia and Unbreakable

The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC) makes Philadelphia and The Countryside™ a premier destination through marketing and image building that increases business and promotes the region’s vitality. For more information about travel to Philadelphia, visit http://www.gophila.com/ or call the Independence Visitor Center, located in Independence National Historical Park, at
(800) 537-7676.

Note to Editors: For photos of Greater Philadelphia, visit our Photo Gallery. On the pressroom, you can also subscribe to RSS feeds to receive updates on topics that are specifically of interest to you: What’s New, Dining, Events, Seasonal Travel, Hotel Packages and Tourism Research.

CONTACT:
Cara Schneider, GPTMC
(215) 599-0789, cara@gptmc.com

Related RSS Feeds

Related RSS Feeds

Topic	XML Feeds
What's New This feed will be updated whenever any new content is added to Gophila.com’s Press Room. It covers all topics.

What is RSS?