History
William Penn Only Spent Four Years In Pennsylvania, And Other Strange Founder Facts
This month marked the 340th anniversary of a rather momentous occasion for Philadelphia. March 4, 1681, was when King Charles II of England granted one […]
New Scholarships at Community College of Philadelphia Honor Civil Rights Icon Octavius Catto
For too many years, the only memorial to civil rights leader Octavius V. Catto, who was born on this day in 1839, was a public […]
The First White House Was Right Here in Philly
This coming Monday is Presidents’ Day, a weird hybrid holiday that used to be just Washington’s Birthday, celebrated on February 22nd, but got moved to […]
Philadelphia Used to Be a Seafood Town. What Happened?
Back in the 1800s, catfish-and-waffle houses lined the Schuylkill into the Wissahickon. Shad fishing was once so popular on the Delaware, legend has it you […]
The Year We Won It All: An Oral History of the 1980 Phillies
It was a different city then, in 1980. Bill Green had just become mayor after eight years of Frank Rizzo’s reign. As Sam Katz (who […]
How True Is Philly’s History? A Bella Vista Art Exhibit Asks the Question
There is something about living in world-historical times that leads one to reflect on history. Maybe it’s the search for historical echoes. Or maybe it’s […]
Who Was the Real Christopher Columbus?
The fight over the Christopher Columbus statue in South Philly’s Marconi Plaza sounds simple enough: Either the statue should stay or it should go. It […]
The Sad, Seemingly Inevitable History of Blaming Pandemics on “Others”
This isn’t David Barnes’s first time at the pandemic rodeo. An associate professor of medicine and public health at Penn, he’s the author of, among […]
A Brief History of Philly’s Vegan Takeover
Memo to all the haters: Philly’s greenwashing was a long time coming. (No joke: Benjamin Franklin was writing about tofu all the way back in […]
Can South Philly Hold On to What’s Always Made It Unique?
In the late summer of 1981, very much against my Catholic mother’s wishes, I had just moved into a rowhouse at 17th and Naudain — […]
Quiz: How Well Do You Know South Philly?
How well do you know the South’s quirky neighborhood trivia and traditions? Let’s find out.
A Brief Timeline of South Philly Through the Ages
40,000 BCE– 10,000 BCE Paleolithic peoples enter North America. The Lenape settle territory along the Delaware Watershed. Buffalo roam. 1631 Dutch settlers establish a foothold […]
Independence National Park Is an Embarrassing Mess. Why Doesn’t Anyone Care?
“Get in the pen.” That’s the first strange thing you’ll hear when you take a tour of Independence Hall, the birthplace of American liberty. I’ve […]
This Lesser-Known Liberty Bell Played a Big Role in Pa. Women’s Suffrage
Monday marks the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in Pennsylvania — the day when the state voted to ratify the newly passed 19th Amendment. Women […]
How King of Prussia, Camden, and 23 Other Philly-Area Towns Got Their Names
Everybody knows that Pennsylvania is named for William Penn and Philadelphia is named for Philip the Great. (Wait, it’s not?) But how about Lionville? Honey Brook? […]