Philadelphia Crossword Puzzle for Kids

Philadelphia, colloquially Philly, is the 6th most populous city in the United States and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.

The population of the city was 1,603,797 people in 2020. Philadelphia was the capital of the United States from 1790 to 1800. It was replaced by Washington, D.C. in 1800 after the White House was built.

Philadelphia has many tourist attractions. These include the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and Christ Church.

History

Before Europeans came to the area, Philadelphia was home to the Lenape people. The first Europeans to come were the Dutch. They built towns and a fort in the area. The English took over the city in 1664. In 1681, Charles II of England gave a large piece of land to William Penn. It was given to him to pay back some money that was owed to Penn's father. Penn had a dream of a land where people would be free to live and work no matter what religion they believed. He built a city in the new land called Philadelphia.

Soon Philadelphia was the largest city in North America. The first library and hospital in the country were built in Philadelphia. Many ships sailed in and out of the port of the city. People came to the city to buy and sell many types of things.

One of the most famous people in Philadelphia was Benjamin Franklin. He started a newspaper and invented many things, such as bifocal glasses. Franklin started a library that was free for everyone to use. He also started a free hospital. He helped to write the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.

In 1774, the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to talk about their disputes with the United Kingdom. The British were not happy about this and soon the American Revolutionary War began. In 1776, the Americans again met in Philadelphia to sign the Declaration of Independence.

In 1777, George Washington lost the Battle of Germantown and Philadelphia was occupied by British troops. They left in 1778. After the war was won, a Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in 1787 to write the United States Constitution. It lists the most important laws of the United States.

Geography

Philadelphia is in the state of Pennsylvania. It is on the west bank of the Delaware River. New Jersey is on the other side of the river. Another large river, the Schuylkill, flows into the Delaware River at Philadelphia. The city has only a few small hills. Most of it is flat.

William Penn planned the city in the 17th century. The roads of the city are formed in a grid between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. The roads run north–south and west–east. Streets were spread out to prevent fires.

Parks were a part of the original plan. There were five parks in the center city. They are Centre Square (Penn Square),Northeast Square (Franklin Square), Southeast Square (Washington Square), Southwest Square (Rittenhouse Square), and Northwest Square (Logan Circle/Square).

The city includes six major sections surrounding Center City. They are North, Northeast, Northwest, South, Southwest, and West. The City Planning Commission is in charge of growth and development. The largest landlord is the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA). Some boundaries between regions, boroughs and districts are not clear. There are 18 districts in the city.

This is where the skyscrapers are located. Center City is the second most densely populated downtown area in the United States, after Manhattan, New York. It includes the historic part of town, museums, a theatre district, retailers, office buildings and tourist attractions. Parts of Center City, include Penn's Landing, Old City, Society Hill, South Street, Washington Square West, Market East, Chinatown, Logan Square, the Museum District, Rittenhouse Square, Fitler Square, Jewelers' Row and Avenue of the Arts. Old City is near the Delaware River and includes historic sites like Independence Hall. There were 193,000 inhabitants in 2018.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, Philadelphia is in a humid subtropical climate zone. Summers are humid and hot. Fall and spring are mild. Winters can range from moderate to cold. Snowfall is very variable. Some years there is only a small amount of snow. In other years there are large snowstorms. The average yearly snowfall is 22.4 in. The annual average precipitation is 44.1 in. There is precipitation throughout the year. Temperatures can range from 106 F to -11 F.

A 2017-2019 report showed that Philadelphia is among the top 25 cities with the most air pollution. Philadelphia has significant particulate matter and ozone. This is due to the burning of fossil fuels. Another cause is high concentration of automobiles along I-95.

Demographics

The population of Philadelphia was about 560,000 in 1860 and 1,000,000 in 1890. The highest population in Philadelphia was in 1950, with about 2,071,605 people recorded. The population decreased from 1950 to 2000. The population has been gradually increasing since 2010. Between 2006 and 2017, there were 92,153 new residents. In 2022, the city had the following racial composition: 41.3% Black (non-Hispanic), 39.33% White (non-Hispanic), 14.1% Hispanic or Latino, 7.1% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 0.05% Pacific Islander, and 2.8% multiracial. The largest European ancestry groups were Irish (13.6%), Italian (9.2%), German (8.1%), Polish (4.3%) and English (2.9%) in 2010.

Education

There are public and private schools in Philadelphia. The School District of Philadelphia is for public schools. There were 218 public schools and 86 charter schools in 2014. More students are going to charter schools. Several public schools have closed. Graduation rates were 65% in 2014. They have been increasing but below average. The city spends about $12,000 per student.

There are many colleges and students in Philadelphia. It is a city with a high concentration of students. There are more than 80 colleges, universities, and trade schools. There are about over 420,000 students in total.

The top schools are The University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Drexel University, and Thomas Jefferson University. The University of Pennsylvania is an Ivy League school and one of the oldest universities. The University City District is west of the Schuylkill River and includes the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. Notable schools around the Philadelphia area are Swarthmore College, Bryn Mawr College, Haverford College and Villanova University. In center city, the Curtis Institute of Music is one of the top music schools in the country.

There are five schools of Medicine: Drexel University College of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine, and Thomas Jefferson University's Sidney Kimmel Medical College. Other institutions in Philadelphia include: University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia University, Holy Family University, Moore College of Art and Design, Peirce College, Chestnut Hill College, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, The University of the Arts and La Salle University.

Culture

Philadelphia's cultural history goes back to the Lenape Native Americans and later the Quakers and Mennonites. The city is culturally important for its rich history but is notable for many other things. The city has been influential in music, art, television, architecture, and food.

There are many large annual events. The famous Mummers Parade celebrates the New Year. Made in America Festival is a large music festival with dozens of artists on Labour Day weekend. It is along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The week of Independence Day is called the Wawa Welcome America Festival. There are many festivities, concerts, and discounts. It includes Wawa Hoagie Day, POPS on Independence, Party on the Parkway, and Free Museums Day. 6abc Dunkin' Thanksgiving Day Parade is another famous parade. It is the oldest Thanksgiving Parade in the U.S. Other events are the Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia Auto Show, Philly Home Show, The Philadelphia Show, Roots Picnic at the Mann Center, Green Screen: Philadelphia Environmental Film Festival, Longwood Gardens Festival of Fountains, Philly Beer Week, Fringe Festival, DesignPhiladelphia Festival, Philadelphia Film Festival, Army-Navy Game and others.

Philadelphia has diverse people groups that make up the city's communities and many immigrants. Many specific events reflect the rich diversity of the people of the city. These include the Lunar New Year Parade and Celebrations in Chinatown, Philadelphia St. Patrick's Day Parade, Shofuso Cherry Blossom Festival, The South 9th Street Italian Market Festival, Philadelphia Latino Film Festival, Prideday, Odunde Festival, Philadelphia Juneteenth Parade & Festival, OutFest, Ciao Philadelphia and others.

The city has libraries that hold historical documents and records and other learning and research resources. The Library Company of Philadelphia was established by Benjamin Franklin. Franklin also founded the American Philosophical Society. It is "the oldest learned society in the United States." Parkway Central Library is one of the Free Library of Philadelphia libraries. It has a unique Rare Books Department. There are original items by Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen Poe. Athenaeum of Philadelphia holds American historical documents. It was founded in 1814. The Presbyterian Historical Society is the oldest church denomination historical society. The German Society of Pennsylvania is the oldest German-culture organization in the country. It has a special library collection. College of Physicians of Philadelphia’s Historical Medical Library is from 1788. The Philosophical Society building, Athenaeum and College of Physicians are all National Historic Landmarks.

There are several art museums in Philadelphia. Philadelphia has a large art museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It is located at the end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at Eakins Oval. The Museum district is along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The city also has some smaller art museums, such as the Academy of Fine Arts and the Barnes Foundation. The Rodin Museum has a large collection of sculptures by Auguste Rodin.

Sports

Philadelphia is home to several professional sports teams. The main ones include the Philadelphia Phillies in baseball, the Philadelphia 76ers in basketball, the Philadelphia Eagles in football, the Philadelphia Flyers in ice hockey, and the Philadelphia Union in soccer. The oldest team are the Phillies. For several decades, many of the teams did not win a single championship. The Phillies won the World Series in 2008 and the Eagles only won the Super Bowl in the 2017 season. ESPN has ranked Philadelphia as a city with one of the most "tortured fans".

There are annnual running events in the city. Examples are the Penn Relays (track and field), the Philadelphia Marathon, and the Broad Street Run.

Rowing is important in Philadelphia. The Boathouse Row symbolizes rowing. There are many college and high school competitions on the Schuylkill River. The Philadelphia Big 5 participate in the rowing. They are University of Pennsylvania, La Salle University, Saint Joseph's University, Temple University, and Villanova University. The Dad Vail Regatta is each year in May, Independence Dragon Boat Regatta each year in June and Philadelphia International Dragon Boat Festival in October.

Along with other cities, Philadelphia will host the FIFA World Cup in 2026.{| class="wikitable sortable"

! scope="row" style="font-weight: normal; text-align: center;" |Philadelphia Phillies

Text adapted from the Simple English Wikipedia article “Philadelphia” (revision 10849242, 2026-05-08), authors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.