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Lancaster, Pennsylvania

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Template:US City infobox Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the Red Rose City, is a city in south-central Pennsylvania and is the county seat of Lancaster County. With a population of 56,348, it is ranked as the 515th-largest city in the in the United States. Lancaster City, with its suburbs, boroughs, and townships, is the 98th largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States.[1]

Locals quickly recognize visitors to Lancaster by the way they pronounce Lancaster. Natives typically pronounce it as LANK-a-stir, rather than LAN-CAS-ter (with the first two syllables more or less equally stressed), as is the common pronunciation for other Lancasters in the US.

History

Penn Square, in Lancaster City, with the Historic Watt & Shand building

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, Pennsylvania, 70 miles west of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 55 miles north-northeast of Baltimore, Maryland and 87 miles north of Washington D.C..

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

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

Demographics

The city has a higher percentage of non-whites than the rest of the county. It is a popular home for many Puerto Ricans and other Latinos. In 2000, 24.34% of Lancaster residents were of Puerto Rican ancestry. This was the highest percentage Puerto Rican of any place in Pennsylvania. There is a concentration of Amish farms east of the city and in that area horse-drawn buggies are commonly seen.

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.

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.[2]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." However, employment has increased 18% by adding 34,900 jobs between the years 1999 and 2002.

Lancaster City has been in the store of recreating itself recently with an explosion of specialty shops, boutiques, bars, clubs, and reinvestment in downtown institutions and locations making it a more desirable place to live. There are plans to build a $140 million dollar Marriott Hotel and convention center downtown, financed primarily by taxes on businesses outside Lancaster City.

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 development 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.

Public Transportation

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

Notable residents

Sports

Club Sport League Venue Logo
Lancaster Barnstormers Baseball Atlantic League of Professional Baseball; South Division Clipper Magazine Stadium Lancaster Barnstormers Logo

The city of Lancaster has only one professional sports team, the Lancaster Barnstormers. After 44 years without baseball, the Barnstormers arrived to fill the void.

Inventions

  • The first battery-powered watch, the Hamilton Electric 500, was released in 1957 by the Hamilton Watch Company.

Colleges and universities

Media

Sites of interest

Local Businesses

References

  1. ^ "Lancaster's MSA ranking". Proximity One. Retrieved May 9. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "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)

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