CENTER CITY, PHILADELPHIA

'Center City' is the "downtown" section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is bounded by South Street to the south, the Delaware River to the east, the Schuylkill River to the west and either Vine Street or Spring Garden Street to the north. If Vine Street is to be considered the northern border, then Center City corresponds exactly to the original city of Philadelphia as it existed prior to the consolidation of all of Philadelphia County into the city in 1854. It serves as the city's Central Business District (CBD).

Contents

Composition

Gallery

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

School District of Philadelphia

Charter schools

Private school

Roman Catholic parochial schools

Other private schools

See also

External links

References

Composition

Among Center City's neighborhoods and districts are Penn's Landing, Old City (which holds the historic district, numerous art galleries and collectives, and a number of bars and restaurants), Society Hill, Washington Square West, Market East, Chinatown, Logan Circle, the Museum District (located along the Ben Franklin Parkway), Rittenhouse Square, Fitler Square, the Avenue of the Arts (South Broad Street), and Jewelers' Row.
Most of Philadelphia's skyscrapers are located here. Philadelphia's City Hall is the tallest masonry building in the world; and through the late 1980s, City Hall was the tallest building in Philadelphia. In March of 1987, One Liberty Place broke the gentlemen's agreement not to exceed the height of the statue of William Penn on the top of the City Hall.
Since then, seven other skyscrapers have been completed exceeding the statue, including One Liberty Place's little sister, Two Liberty Place. One Liberty Place is the tallest building in the state, but in 2005 construction began on the Comcast Center which, when completed in 2007, will be 30 feet taller than One Liberty Place. Three additional buildings currently proposed for construction, Mandeville Place, 1441 Chestnut, and Bridgeman's View Tower, will also be taller than City Hall upon completion. Since the completion of One Liberty Place, no Philadelphia sporting team has won a world championship event in its discipline, a phenomenon known as the "Curse of Billy Penn."
Other Philadelphia skyscrapers include the Mellon Bank Center and the Verizon Tower, the latter of which houses a traffic camera used by the Philadelphia branch of the Westwood One MetroNetworks traffic service.
Across the street from City Hall is a Masonic Temple, the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, a legacy of the Founding Fathers and signers of the Declaration of Independence, many of whom were Freemasons; such luminaries include George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.
While Philadelphia as a whole has seen its population decline since the 1960s, Center City has become a fast-growing section of the city. Between the 1990 and 2000 censuses, the population of Center City increased by 10%. The 2005 Center City population, at approximately 90,000, makes Center City one of the more populated central business districts in the United States.
In 2007, the city designated 11th to Broad streets, and from Pine to Locust as the "Gayborhood." ^[1]

Gallery

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

School District of Philadelphia

Residents are within the School District of Philadelphia.
K-8 schools that have attendance boundaries in Center City and areas around Center City include [1]:

★ Chester A. Arthur

★ Bache-Martin

★ Albert M. Greenfield

★ William H. Harrison

★ Andrew Jackson

★ General Philip Kearny

★ James R. Ludlow

★ General George A. McCall

★ William M. Meredith

★ George W. Nebinger

★ Edwin M. Stanton

★ Laura Wheeler Waring
Neighborhood high schools for Center City and the Center City area include [2] [3]:

★ Furness High School [4] [5]

★ Benjamin Franklin High School

★ William S. Peirce High School ([6] The website has not been updated prior to Peirce's conversion to a high school)

★ South Philadelphia High School [[7]]
Other high schools include:

★ Bodine High School for International Affairs

★ Constitution High School for American Studies

★ Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts

★ Franklin Learning Center High School

★ Parkway Center City High School

★ Philadelphia High School for Business and Technology

★ Science Leadership Academy
Combined middle and high schools include:

★ Julia R. Masterman School

Charter schools

Charter schools not operated by the School District of Philadelphia include [8]:
1-12:

★ Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School
6-12:

★ World Communications Charter School
8-12:

★ Freire Charter School
9-12:

★ Architecture and Design Charter School

★ Mastery Charter High School

★ Philadelphia Electrical and Technology Charter School
K-8:

★ Laboratory Charter School of Communication and Languages
6-8:

★ Wakisha Charter School
K-7:

★ Christopher Columbus Charter School

★ Independence Charter School

★ People for People Charter School
PreK-6:

★ Russell Byers Charter School
K-6:

★ Universal Institute Charter School
K-5:

★ Folk Arts Treasures Charter School

Private school

Roman Catholic parochial schools

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia operates the following Roman Catholic parochial schools in the Center City area [9]:
9-12:

★ John W. Hallahan Girls' High School

★ Roman Catholic High School for Boys
PreK-8:

★ St. Francis Xavier School

★ St. Peter the Apostle School
K-8:

★ St. Mary's Interparochial School
1-8:

★ Holy Redeemer School

Other private schools

Other private schools in the Center City area include:
PreK-12:

★ Friends Select School
9-12:

★ City Center Academy

★ St. Joseph's Preparatory School
PreK-8:

★ St. Peter's School

★ The Philadelphia School

See also

★ Curtis Publishing Company

★ Independence National Historical Park

External links

★ Center City District and Central Philadelphia Development Corporation

References

1. http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20070419_New_signs_make_it_official__We_have_a_gayborhood.html