PHILADELPHIA (ante), the principal city of Pennsylvania, and the second as to population in the United States; on two large rivers, the Delaware, which separates it from New Jersey, and the Schuylkill, which, since the time of the extension of the boundaries of the city to those of the county (Ian. 1, 1834), flows through the city and joins the Delaware near League island. The city lies in lat. n. 39' 57' and long. w. 75° 10' at Independence hall; covers 129k sq.m. or ‘‘.3.:,700 acres, has an extreme length n. and s. of about 23 and an average width e. and w. of 5 miles. It has about 750 m. of paved streets, of which 650 m. are lighted with gas, and 658 in. supplied with water. The streets intersect at right angles; those running e. and w. succeed each other in numerical order from the Delaware river, and are called Front, First, Second, Third, Fourth, etc. ; those crossing them running n. and south. This contrivance gives a num ber of paralellograms or squares, as they are popularly called, and greatly facilitates the system of numbering houses. The houses are numbered by hundreds, a 100 being allotted to the square between any two of the numbered streets (e. and w.), and any two of the main named streets (u. and south). Going e., houses on the s. side of a street have even numbers, those on the n,-side odd numbers. In the direction ii. and s. Market street is always the starting-point of enumeration. The numerical streets intersecting it have even numbers ou the w. side, and odd ones on the east.. Above and below denote n. and south. In computing distances 10 squares arc generally allowed to the mile, although squares running n. and s. average 9, and those running e. and w. about 11 to Lie mile.
The original city, as planned under William Penn in 1682, was bounded by the two livers, and Vine and Cedar streets; the vast extent of the modern city preserves in the main the characteristic features of the first plan, as far as compatible with the local char acteristics of the many townships, boroughs, villages, and settlements now included within the city limits. The surface between the rivers is level in the central parts, with a descent toward the s., and a considerable rise toward the north. The gravel bluff, 50 ft. high, on the Delaware, has entirely disappeared. The lower parts of the city rest on gravel, the upper on gneiss and granite. Tide water ascends on the w. to Fairmount damn on the Schuylkill, and beyond the city in the Delaware on the east. That part of the city which lies w. of time Schuylkill on rising ground is called West Philadelphia. Sonic of the larger (former) suburbs, such as Germantown, Frankfort], and Manayunk, retain their old names.
The two great streets which intersect at the new city hall are Market and Broad streets. The section e. of Broad street to the Delaware river, near the center of the city, i.e., it few squares n. and s, of Market, includes the centers of business; a few squares n. and s. of the same street, w. of Broad, the centers of fashion, with a tendency westward. The river banks are given to commerce, and manufacturing establishments abound in all directions.
The general healthfriness of the locality, abundance of water,- and good drainage mark the death-rate of Philadelphia at 19.06, as against 22.7 of London, 24.4 of Paris, and 34.4 of Vienna. The growth of the city is extraordinary. In 1683 its pop. was 500;
in 1684, 2,300; in 1700, 4,500; in 1777, 23,734; in 1790, city, 44,996, county, 54,391; in 1800, city, 70,287. county, 81,009; 1830, city, 300,365, county, 408,762; 1860, 508,034; 1870, 674,022; 1876, 817,448; 1880, 846,980. The seeming disproportion of the last three returns may perhaps be explained by the circumstance that the census of 1870 and 1880 was federal, and that of 1876 municipal. By the census of 1880, the pop. of the city numbers, males, 405,899, females, 441,081; classified: native, 642,648; foreign, 204.332; white, 815,182; colored, 31.798, including 80 Chinese, 3 Japanese, and 25 Indians. The dwelling-houses numbered in 1876, 143,936. The vast extent of the city has preserved it from the evil of tenement homes, and although the general style of architecture is plain and monotonous. the number of buildings of all kinds, which in 1S76 were esti mated at 155,000 (by municipal census), including 143,936 dwelling houses, all built of solid material, make it pre-eminently a city.of homes, as on the average only 5 persona occupy a single house. The large and ever-growing supply of houses is mainly due to the many building societies, greatly composed of trades people, for which the city is noted. The markets of Philadelphia are exceptionally fine and commodious, and among the more than 30 corporation markets, the Farmers' market at Twelfth and Market streets may be mentioned as the finest; all the markets are well inspected, and furnish good food in great abundance and variety. The butter is famous for its richness: The city controls the water supply; the water-works are divided into the following sections: Fairmont, Schuylkill, Delaware, Belmont, Roxborough, and Chestnut hill. The works at Fairmount are picturesquely located on the Schuylkill, at the loWer end of the cast park. With the exception of the third section, which is supplied from the Dela ware, the water of the Schuylkill is served by the other sections in prodigious quantities. In 1874 it aggregated a total of 14,533,423,097 gallons, furnished to 118,414 houses, of which 48.610 had bath-rooms; and 61 public fountains erected by the Philadelphia foun tain society, and 7 mostly built at the charge of individuals. The drainage is good, and in 1876 the city laid 1361 m, of sewers. The fire department, under a chief and five assistants, is very efficient; in 1875 thirty-two companies, numbering 389 men and 123 horses, and equipped with 32 steam engines, 4 hand engines, and hose carriages, etc., were distributed over 13 stations; the number of fire plugs was 5,119, and of the signal boxes 200. The police force, under the control of the mayor, numbering a chief, 4 cap tains, 27 lieutenants, 50 sergeants, 8 detectives, 25 turnkeys, and 1200 patrolmen, is well managed. There is also an additional force, the river and harbor polies, consisting of a lieutenant and 24 men, equipped with two steam-tugs. The city is divided into 24 police districts, served by the same number of police magistrates; criminal cases to the venue of the courts of quarter sessions and terminer, under the presidency of the judges of the four courts of common pleas, 3vIto serve in rotation. The gas works, under city management, in 1874, made 1,7118,268,000 cubic feet of gas; the Northern Liberties' gas works, 79,010,800 cubic ft. for 1,124,205 private and 9,905 public lights.