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Lancaster, Pennsylvania

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Lancaster, is a city in the South Central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is the county seat of Lancaster County. With a population of 55,351,[1] it is the 8th largest city in Pennsylvania, behind Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Reading, Scranton, and Bethlehem. The metropolitan area population stands at 494,486 making it the 101st largest metropolitan area in the US.

Locally, Lancaster is pronounced as LANK-i-stir, rather than the more common pronunciation LANG-CAS-ter (with the first two syllables more or less equally stressed).

History

  • Land was part of the 1681 Penn's Woods Charter of William Penn.
  • Lancaster was a planned city, first laid out by James Hamilton in 1734, and chartered as a borough in 1742, but not incorporated as a city until 1818.[2]
  • Named after the English city of Lancaster by native John Wright. Its symbol, the red rose, is from the House of Lancaster. The Lancaster County Prison was built in the 1850s to resemble Lancaster Castle in Lancashire.
  • The oldest church in the city is the Trinity Lutheran Church, founded in 1729.
  • The Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike, built in 1795 was the first long-distance, paved road in the United States. It linked Philadelphia to Lancaster.[3]
  • Lancaster was capital of Pennsylvania from 1799 to 1812, when the capital was moved to the more central location of Harrisburg.
  • Before the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition began, Meriwether Lewis traveled to Lancaster to work with astronomer Andrew Ellicott. In Lancaster, he learned how to plot latitude and longitude as part of his training so that he could lead the expedition to the Pacific Ocean.[4]
  • Lancaster was the capital of the American colonies on September 27, 1777 when the Continental Congress fled Philadelphia, which had been captured by the British. After meeting one day, they moved still farther away, to York.
  • The Fulton Opera House, finished in October 1852, claims to be the oldest theater to give continuous performances in the United States, although after the owner was arrested for offering burlesque - "exhibiting immoral shows" - in 1920, it was operated as a second-rate movie house, rather than a theatre, for half a century. [5]
  • In 1886, Milton S. Hershey founded the Lancaster Caramel Company. In 1900, he sold the Mount Joy, Pennsylvania business for $1 million to American Caramel Company (incorporated in 1898 as a merger of York and Philadelphia confectioners, and used the funds to build the Hershey Chocolate factory by 1905 in nearby Derry Church, his birthplace.[6]
  • Frank W. Woolworth, opened his first "Woolworth 5¢ Store" store on Queen Street on June 21, 1879;[7] an earlier nickel store, called "Great 5c Store" in Utica, New York closed after 3 months. It wasn't until November 6, 1880, that the store became "Woolworth's 5 and 10". The original Lancaster store was replaced by a multistory building with a garden on the roof. Although the last Woolworth dimestore closed in 1998, the company lives on as Sneaker Villa.
  • Lancaster was one of the winning communities for the All-America City award in 2000.
  • In 1821, the Germanic custom of having a specially decorated tree at Christmas time was introduced to America by Pennsylvania Dutch in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. [8]

Geography

Lancaster is located at 40°2'23" North, 76°18'16" West (40.039860, -76.304366)Template:GR, and is 368 feet above sea level.

The city is located about 34 miles southeast of Harrisburg, 70 miles west of Philadelphia, 55 miles north-northeast of Baltimore and 87 miles north of Washington, D.C.

The nearest towns and boroughs are Millersville (4.0 miles), Willow Street (4.8 miles), East Petersburg (5.3 miles), Lititz (7.9 miles), Landisville (8.6 miles), Mountville (8.8 miles), Rothsville (8.9 miles), and Leola (8.9 miles).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.2 km² (7.4 mi²). 19.2 km² (7.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.14% is water.

Architecture

File:CentralMarketPennSquare.JPG

Here are the main types of architecture that still dominate the city of Lancaster, with a local example of each.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 56,348 people, 20,933 households, and 12,162 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,940.0/km² (7,616.5/mi²). There were 23,024 housing units at an average density of 1,201.3/km² (3,112.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 61.55% White, 14.09% African American, 0.44% Native American, 2.46% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 17.44% from other races, and 3.94% from two or more races. 30.76% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2000, 24.34% of Lancaster residents were of Puerto Rican ancestry. The city has the highest concentration of Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania. For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as the "Spanish Rose." Lancaster celebrates its Hispanic heritage once every year with the Puerto Rican Festival.[9].

There were 20,933 households out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.4% were married couples living together, 19.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.9% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 13.9% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,770, and the median income for a family was $34,623. Males had a median income of $27,833 versus $21,862 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,955. 21.2% of the population and 17.9% of families were below the poverty line. 29.2% of those under the age of 18 and 12.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Economy

Lancaster suffers from high unemployment, especially in the southeastern quadrant.[10]This area, which includes census tracts 8, 9, 15, and 16, had unemployment rates of 10.9%, 10.1%, 3.5%, and 9.0% , respectively, in 1999, when the rest of the county was 4.9%. The Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board sees a persistent problem in underemployment: "People are working but surviving just on the edge of poverty." Outside the city, however, employment has increased 18% by adding 34,900 jobs between the years 1999 and 2002.

Lancaster City has been in the process of recreating itself recently with an explosion of specialty shops, boutiques, bars, clubs, and reinvestment in downtown institutions and locations.

Since 1999,[1] the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority, Penn Square Partners and the City's Redevelopment Authority have pursued a controversial plan to build a 300-room Marriott Hotel and a 220,000-square-foot taxpayer funded convention venue in and near the space formerly occupied by the Watt & Shand department store, preserving only the building's façade.[2] The project's supporters believe it would promote the revitalization of the city's center. Its opponents, however, feel it poses a significant risk to taxpayers. [3][4] This plan also includes the demolition of significant portions of other historic sites, including Thaddeus Stevens' home. [5]

There are also plans to convert an area of unused polluted industrial grounds, which were once occupied by Armstrong World Industries, into playing fields for Franklin & Marshall College. This action is expected to take up most of the former industrial site. The northeastern corner will be developed with funds from Lancaster General Hospital. The hospital plans to create a mixed-use development which will add several city blocks to Lancaster’s grid. F&M's president, John Fry, has also orchestrated the construction of new dormitories and apartments for Franklin & Marshall students along Harrisburg Pike.

Public Transportation

File:RRTA Optima 124.jpg
The Route 16 bus arriving at Queen Street Station from Millersville.

The Red Rose Transit Authority (RRTA) provides local bus transit to Lancaster City as well as surrounding areas in Lancaster County. RRTA is headquartered outside the City of Lancaster.

Capitol Trailways provides intercity bus transit from the Lancaster train station to King of Prussia, Philadelphia, and New York City.

Amtrak also serves the Lancaster train station, located at 53 McGovern Avenue. Lancaster is served by Amtrak trains traveling between Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh. [6] The city is served by the Lancaster Airport, located north of downtown and just south of Lititz.

Notable residents

See also: Category:People from Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Historical Landmarks

Rock Ford Plantation

Hamilton Watch Company
Watt & Shand Building (since demolished, only the façade remains)
W. W. Griest Building
Wheatland
Fulton Opera House
J. P. McCaskey High School
Rock Ford plantation

Sports

Main article: Sports in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Club Sport League Venue
Lancaster Barnstormers Baseball Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Clipper Magazine Stadium

Baseball

File:The Clip.PNG
Clipper Magazine Stadium

The city of Lancaster has only one professional sports team, the Lancaster Barnstormers. After 44 years without professional baseball, the Barnstormers arrived to fill the void left by the departed Lancaster Red Roses. The Lancaster Barnstormers are named after the "barnstorming" baseball players who played exhibition games in the surrounding county, as well as a reference to the county's many farms. The Barnstormers continue a couple of traditions of the old Red Roses, as their official colors are navy blue, red, and khaki, the same colors used by the Red Roses. More importantly, the Barnstormers continue the old baseball rivalry between Lancaster and the nearby city of York, contending with the York Revolution.

The city of Lancaster is the hometown of Major League alumnus, Tom Herr. Herr played for the Philadelphia Phillies, the New York Mets, the San Francisco Giants, and finally with the St. Louis Cardinals. After his time in the Majors, he coached the Black Knights baseball team of Hempfield High School for several years. During this time, Tom Herr had the pleasure of coaching his son, Aaron (who now plays at the AAA level), at Hempfield. Herr joined the Lancaster Barnstomers for their inaugural season in 2005 as the manager. After a dismal 2005 season, he lead the Barnstormers to their first-ever championship in 2006, against the Bridgeport Bluefish. Immediately following Lancaster's Atlantic League victory, Tom Herr piqued the interest of the Washington Nationals, who later assigned him to their A-level Hagerstown Suns.

The Lancaster Barnstormers formerly employed another Major League alumnus, Rick Wise, as their pitching coach.[11] He was the winning pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. Other than his experience with the Red Sox, he pitched for the Cleveland Indians, the Philadelphia Phillies, the San Diego Padres, and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Other sports

  • The Dutchland Derby Rollers, an all-female roller derby team which plays to raise money for various charities, opened their first season in 2006. The team plays at the Overlook Roller Skating Rink. [7]

Lancaster Classic

The city of Lancaster hosts the Tom Bamford Lancaster Classic, a professional bicycle racing event held each June since 1992. It is part of the 2006-2007 UCI America Tour and the 2007 USA Cycling Professional Tour.

Inventions

Hamilton pocketwatch
  • The first battery-powered watch, the Hamilton Electric 500, was released in 1957 by the Hamilton Watch Company.
  • Peeps, an Easter confection shaped as marshmallow chicks covered with yellow sugar, were invented by the Rodda Candy Company of Lancaster in the 1920s. In 1953, Rodda was purchased by Sam Born, the Russian immigrant who invented ice cream "jimmies", and production was moved to Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

Colleges and universities

Media

  • Lancaster Intelligencer Journal, the county's morning edition
  • Lancaster New Era, the county's afternoon edition
  • Lancaster Voice
  • La Voz Hispana, the city's Spanish-language edition
  • The Sunday News, the county's weekly edition
  • WGAL, the local NBC affiliate serving the Lancaster, York, and Harrisburg area.
  • WLYH, the local CW affiliate serving the Lancaster, York, and Harrisburg area.
  • WHP, the local CBS affiliate serving the Lancaster, York, and Harrisburg area.
  • WHTM, the local ABC affiliate serving the Lancaster, York, and Harrisburg area.
  • WITF, the local PBS affiliate serving the Lancaster, York, and Harrisburg area.
  • WPMT, the local FOX affiliate serving the Lancaster, York, and Harrisburg area.
  • WLAN-FM, the local Radio Station serving the lower Susquehanna Valley.
  • WLAN-AM, the local Radio Station serving the Lancaster, area on the AM Dial.
  • WFNM-FM, the student-run radio station of Franklin & Marshall.

Sites of interest

Local Businesses

Preceded by Capital of the United States of America
1777 		Succeeded by

References

  1. ^ "Lancaster (city) QuickFacts". Census Bureau. Retrieved June 30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Lancaster County History". PHMC. Retrieved Aug 1. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Lancaster Turnpike". PHMC. Retrieved May 26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "Lewis & Clark Timeline". NPS. Retrieved October 12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "OperaHouse". FultonFoundation. Retrieved Aug 1. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Caramel". Scriptophily. Retrieved Aug 1. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "Woolworth". WoolworthWalk. Retrieved Aug 1. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "The History of Christmas". Gareth Marples. Retrieved Dec 2. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Puerto Rican Festival". Lancaster Online. Retrieved September 18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "Workforce Profile for Lancaster City". Jobs 4 Lancaster. Retrieved May 9. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Barnstormers' Pitching Coach". Lancaster Barnstormers. Retrieved May 26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

Further reading

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