Philadelphia
America's first capital and largest colonial city. Peaked at 2.07M in 1950, lost 600,000 manufacturing jobs by 2000. Now stabilized at 1.57M on 'eds and meds' economy. Remains America's poorest large city at 23% poverty.
Philadelphia was the largest English-speaking city outside London when the Declaration of Independence was signed there in 1776. It served as the first capital of the United States, housed the Constitutional Convention, and was home to the first stock exchange, first hospital, first library, and first zoo in America. Then it spent two centuries losing its primacy to New York, its manufacturing base to the Sun Belt, and its population to the suburbs—a trajectory so consistent it became the standard American narrative of post-industrial decline.
William Penn founded the city in 1682 as a Quaker experiment in religious tolerance—the name means 'City of Brotherly Love' in Greek. Penn's grid plan, stretching between the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, became the template for American urban design. The city's location at the navigable head of the Delaware River made it the natural port for the mid-Atlantic colonies. By 1790, when it became the national capital (before Washington, D.C. was built), Philadelphia had 44,000 residents and more wealth than any American city.
Industrialization defined Philadelphia's next century: Baldwin Locomotive Works, Stetson hats, Campbell's Soup, and the Pennsylvania Railroad—the world's largest corporation by revenue in the late nineteenth century—all operated from Philadelphia. The city's population peaked at 2.07 million in 1950. Then began the decline: 600,000 manufacturing jobs disappeared between 1950 and 2000. White flight to the suburbs drained the tax base. Crime rates rose. The population fell to 1.5 million by 2000—a loss of 27% while the metropolitan area grew.
Philadelphia's recovery has been slower and more uneven than the narrative of urban renaissance suggests. The population has stabilized at approximately 1.57 million, with growth in healthcare (the city has more medical students per capita than any US city), education (University of Pennsylvania, Temple, Drexel), and life sciences. The 'eds and meds' economy generates significant employment but does not replace manufacturing wages for working-class residents. Philadelphia remains the poorest large city in America, with a poverty rate around 23%—three times the national average. The gap between the Center City revival and North Philadelphia's persistent poverty is one of America's starkest examples of urban inequality existing within walking distance.