The coat of arms of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic , Northeastern , Appalachian , and Great Lakes regions of the United States . It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, West Virginia to its southwest, Ohio and the Ohio River to its west, Lake Erie and New York to its north, the Delaware River and New Jersey to its east, and the Canadian province of Ontario to its northwest via Lake Erie . Pennsylvania's most populous city is Philadelphia .
Pennsylvania was founded in 1681 through a royal land grant to William Penn , the son of the state's namesake . Before that, between 1638 and 1655, a southeast portion of the state was part of New Sweden , a Swedish colony. Established as a haven for religious and political tolerance, the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania was known for its relatively peaceful relations with native tribes, innovative government system , and religious pluralism .
Pennsylvania later played a vital and historic role in the American Revolution and the ultimately successful quest for independence from the British Empire , hosting the First and Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, which formed the Continental Army and elected George Washington as its commander in 1775 during the American Revolutionary War , and unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence the following year. In 1787, following the establishment of the nation's independence, the Constitution of the United States , now the world's oldest and longest-standing written and codified national constitution, was written at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, and was ratified in Philadelphia the following year. On December 12, 1787, Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. (Full article...
This is a Featured article , which represents some of the best content on English Wikipedia.. East side of Pennsylvania State Capitol in 2020
The Pennsylvania State Capitol seat of government for the U.S. state of Pennsylvania located in downtown Harrisburg . The building was designed by architect Joseph Miller Huston in 1902 and completed in 1906 in a Beaux-Arts style with decorative Renaissance themes throughout. The capitol houses the legislative chambers for the Pennsylvania General Assembly , made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate , and the Harrisburg chambers for the Supreme and Superior Courts of Pennsylvania, as well as the offices of the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor . It is also the main building of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex .
The seat of government for the state was initially in Philadelphia , then was relocated to Lancaster in 1799 and finally to Harrisburg in 1812. The current capitol, known as the Huston Capitol, is the third state capitol building built in Harrisburg. The first, the Hills Capitol, was destroyed in 1897 by a fire. The second, the Cobb Capitol, was left unfinished when funding was discontinued in 1899. (Full article...
Scranton county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania , United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 census , Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Wyoming Valley metropolitan area, which has a population of 562,037 as of 2020. It is the sixth-most populous city in Pennsylvania.
The contiguous network of five cities and more than 40 boroughs all built in a straight line in Northeastern Pennsylvania's urban core act culturally and logistically as one continuous city, so while Scranton is a mid-sized city, the larger Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area contains half a million residents in roughly 300 square miles (780 km2 ). Scranton is the cultural and economic center of Northeastern Pennsylvania, a region of the state with over 1.3 million residents. (Full article...
Johnstown, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Philadelphia Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Allentown, Pennsylvania Lancaster, Pennsylvania State College, Pennsylvania Warren, Pennsylvania DuBois, Pennsylvania Erie, Pennsylvania Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Juniata County, Pennsylvania Pithole, Pennsylvania Lock Haven, Pennsylvania Larrys Creek State Route 1002 (Lehigh County, Pennsylvania) Pennsylvania Route 563 Hull Creek (Lackawanna River tributary) Little Fishing Creek Ganoga Lake Mahoning Creek (Susquehanna River tributary) Shawnee on Delaware, Pennsylvania Roaring Brook (Lackawanna River tributary) Pennsylvania Route 463 Kettle Creek (Pennsylvania) Spanish Hill West Branch Fishing Creek West Creek (Pennsylvania) Plunketts Creek Bridge No. 3 White Deer Hole Creek Plunketts Creek (Loyalsock Creek tributary) Horseshoe Curve (Pennsylvania) Kinzua Bridge Quehanna Wild Area Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Levittown, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Turnpike Pocono Mountains Altoona, Pennsylvania
This is a Good article , an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards. Centre Square Center City Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . The complex consists of two concrete high-rise towers: the 417 feet (127 m) Centre Square I, also known as Centre Square East, and the 490 feet (150 m) Centre Square II (Centre Square West) represent the 24th and 15th-tallest buildings in Philadelphia , respectively. Designed by Vincent Kling & Associates in the 1960s, Centre Square opened in 1973. The complex is credited with shifting Philadelphia's downtown office district from South Broad Street to West Market Street . A tenant since 1975, management consulting firm Willis Towers Watson is Centre Square's largest tenant.
The complex is best known for Claes Oldenburg 's sculpture, Clothespin contemporary art , developer Jack Wolgin commissioned three works under Philadelphia's percent for art program: Clothespin , Jean Dubuffet 's Milord la Chamarre , and a series of banners by Alexander Calder . The works helped Philadelphia gain a reputation for promoting public art. (Full article...
Independence Hall Philadelphia , where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States were debated and adopted by the Founding Fathers of the United States . The building, which is the centerpiece of Independence National Historical Park , was designated a World Heritage Site in 1979.
It is one of the most recognizable buildings in United States and an example of American Georgian architecture which is characterized using exposed brick creating a visual of clean lines, proportions and symmetry. The architecture aimed to create a generous sense of space and natural light. (Full article...
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State Facts
Pennsylvania's largest city Philadelphia Nickname: The Keystone State Capital: Harrisburg Largest city: Philadelphia Total area: 119,283 square kilometers (46,055 square miles)Population (2000 census): 12,281,054Date admitted to the Union: December 12, 1787 (2nd )
State symbols
Mountain laurel, Pennsylvania's state flower
The following are images from various Pennsylvania-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 Pennsylvania population density map (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 3 Citizens Bank Park in
South Philadelphia , home of the
Philadelphia Phillies , the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in American professional sports (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 5 On November 19, 1863,
President Abraham Lincoln (center, facing camera) traveled to present-day
Gettysburg National Cemetery and delivered the
Gettysburg Address , a 271-word address considered one of the most famous speeches in American history. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 6 The
colonial possessions of
Britain (in pink),
France (in blue), and
Spain (in orange) as of 1750. The French later lost their possessions in
North America to Britain following its defeat in the
French and Indian War , fought from 1754 to 1763 (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 7 Shelter House in
Emmaus , constructed in 1734 by
Pennsylvania German settlers, is the oldest continuously occupied building structure in the
Lehigh Valley and one of the oldest in Pennsylvania (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 8 Pittsburgh Steelers ' fans waving the
Terrible Towel , a tradition that dates back to
1975 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 11 Stephen Decatur , a 19th-century
naval commander who served in the
War of 1812 and other engagements (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 13 Pennsylvania's unemployment rate between 1976 and 2021
The U.S. unemployment rate during these years
(from
Pennsylvania )
Image 14 One of only two confirmed photos of
Abraham Lincoln (sitting in center, facing camera, without his traditional top hat) at
Gettysburg a few hours prior to giving the
Gettysburg Address at
Gettysburg National Cemetery on November 19, 1863. The address, which was only 271 words in length, ranks among the most famed speeches in American history. (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 17 Pat's King of Steaks in
South Philadelphia is widely credited with inventing the
cheesesteak in 1933. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 22 The
Statue of Benjamin Franklin on the campus of the
University of Pennsylvania in
West Philadelphia , which pays tribute to
Benjamin Franklin , a
Founding Father who founded the university, now an
Ivy League institution and one of the world's top universities, in 1740 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 24 The
Köppen climate types of Pennsylvania based on 1991–2020
climate normals (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 25 2024 U.S. presidential election results by county in Pennsylvania
Democratic
Republican
(from
Pennsylvania )
Image 26 A map of
New Netherland (in magenta) and
New Sweden (in blue) in the 17th century; New Sweden was later absorbed by New Netherland and then the
British in the
Second Anglo-Dutch War . (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 28 The
Battle of Gettysburg , an 1887 portrait by
Thure de Thulstrup depicting the
Battle of Gettysburg , fought over three days from July 1 to July 3, 1863, in
Gettysburg , which was the
deadliest battle in both the Civil War and all of American military history. The
Union army 's victory at Gettysburg proved the
Civil War's turning point , paving the way for the
Union 's ultimate victory two years later and the nation's preservation. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 30 Simon Cameron of
Maytown was
Secretary of War and head of Pennsylvania's
Republican Party , whose party machine controlled Pennsylvania into the 20th century. (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 31 Ethnic origins of Pennsylvanians (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 32 The
Stonycreek Township crash site of
Flight 93 , one of four planes hijacked in the
September 11 attacks ; the site is now a
national memorial . Flight 93 passengers wrestled with
al-Qaeda terrorist hijackers for control of the plane, preventing it from being flown into the
White House or
U.S. Capitol . (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 33 The Birth of Pennsylvania , a portrait of
William Penn (standing with document in hand), who founded the
Province of Pennsylvania in 1681 as a refuge for
Quakers after receiving a royal deed to it from
King Charles II (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 34 Philadelphia International Airport , the busiest airport in the state and the
21st-busiest airport in the nation with over 13 million passengers in 2023 (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 35 Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom 's
Steel Force and
Thunderhawk roller coasters in
Allentown ; Steel Force is the eighth-longest
steel roller coaster in the world with a first drop of 205 feet (62 m) and a top speed of 75 miles per hour (121 km/h). Founded in 1884, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is the fifth-oldest amusement park in the nation. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 36 The
Philadelphia Eagles are presented with the
Vince Lombardi Trophy on February 4, 2018, after winning
Super Bowl LII , in which they defeated the
New England Patriots 41–33. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 37 Bethlehem Steel in
Bethlehem was one of the world's leading steel manufacturers for most of the 19th and 20th century. In 1982, however, it discontinued most of its operations, declared bankruptcy in 2001, and was dissolved in 2003. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 38 An
Amish family riding in a traditional
Amish buggy in
Lancaster County . As of 2024, Pennsylvania has an Amish population of 92,660, the
largest of any state in the nation. (from
Pennsylvania )
Image 39 The locomotive
Tioga in
Philadelphia in 1848; Pennsylvania was an important railroad center throughout the 19th century. (from
History of Pennsylvania )
Image 40 The
Gettysburg campaign , which culminated in the
Battle of Gettysburg , was a major turning point in the
American Civil War and the war's bloodiest battle with an estimated 46,000 to 51,000 casualties (from
History of Pennsylvania )
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
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