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It was still the capital of America? Do you think it would have stayed the second biggest city??? Would there be more fortune 500 companies? What would Washington be like?
Last edited by Bo; 04-24-2009 at 09:43 AM..
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There would be less fortune 500 companies, less decay, less skyscrapers, probably the same population, and Old City would still be like it is today (which is why I love old city). It would make a great capitol, and if it was Washington would probably be subdivisions for the suburbs of Baltimore.
But lets face it, This isn't sufficient enough to be the capitol building for a huge and powerful country like America, Canada maybe. We needed an upgrade, and a planned city for a capitol.
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Yes, it would be much larger due to the explosive growth of the federal government, and I agree that the city center would be more of a low-rise affair (like DC is now).
As for Washington DC, it would not exist since there would have been no 'raison d'etre'. Richmond would probably be much larger and more of a regional center, and Georgetown would probably be a small quaint city along the lines of Annapolis.
Ok, after re-examining, I'm going to reopen the thread, but let's make sure we keep the topic in a General U.S. subject matter: In other words, this shouldn't develop into a thread to just talk about Philadelphia as an individual city. KEEP IT on the topic of how the U.S. may have developed as a County (as a whole), if Philadelphia had remained the Capital of the U.S. through current times.
Last edited by atlantagreg30127; 04-22-2009 at 09:43 AM..
ummm, Philadelphia was a planned city. There's no reason they couldn't have built another capitol building, they built a new city hall. Philadelphia would probably be a lot more like a typical European capitol than DC. by that I mean, a real city plus the government. DC was moved in a compromise to put it in the south (Jefferson) and put a shiv in Philadelphia's back (NY). That said, I'm sure the government would have corrupted the city in the same way it's corrupted Washington...though we'd have a nicer subway system.
I believe Philaldephia or the Philaldephi area would have been the capital following the Declaration of Independence.One event changed that however. Congress was run out of town by angry american soldiers who never got paid for their services following the Revolutionary War. That was kind of Philadlephias unofficial end as the main political center of the country. At this time Philadlephia was the financial,cultural,and political center of the colonies. I believe up until that insurgence Philadlephia was pegged to be the capital and still would have been but that incident unnerved alot of local politicians and residents who sort of lost their desire after the uprising.That spooked Philadlephia and Pennsylvanians, they had enough of having being in the bullseye. The English,Indians,and now their own countrymen were pillaging their city.
Those events not withstanding here are the are 2 different plans I have read concerning Pennsylvania and its ambiton to be the US capital prior to the army insurrection.The Capital would not be in Old City Philadlephia.
1. The capital would be built in what is now NW Philadlephia(Germantown,Mt Airy Chestnut Hill). So the city of Philadlephia would have lost 1/3 of its most impressive land area and a large swath of its nicest neighborhoods. The counties surrounding Philadelphia which are already affluent would have blossomed into what Fairfax County Va,LoudonVa,Howard Md are today. SE PA not N. Va, S. Md. would be the wealthiest most powerful region of the country.
2. The capital was to be built in Bucks County Pa midway between Philadlephi and Trenton NJ near Washington Crossing PA.. The balance of wealth and power shifts to Pa and Nj not Va and MD.
The Future of the city of Philadelphia certainly would have changed for the better under either scenario but probably would still look similar to what it is today.But I think the real winner would have been the suburban counties surrounding Philadlephia including Central/ South Jersey and N Delaware.
On the flipside as awesome2000 alluded to, you would think without the Fed influence over the past 200 years the Washington area would be a suburb or southern compliment to Baltimore.
Delaware River. Dividing Bucks CountyPa /Mercer County NJ, one of the proposed areas for the Fedreral district
There was once a community called Wright's Ferry, PA, that was renamed Columbia because it was to be the center of the District of Columbia. However D.C. wound up being stuck on the (somewhat) navigable Potomac instead of the un-navigable Susquehanna. Columbia Borough (http://psabcontent.com/columbiapa/content/history.php - broken link)
Phila is only as relevant as the ?<200 smart Wharton undergrads who pass through for some 2-3 yrs (before fleeing for careers in NYC or Silicon Valley)
Very similar to Bos w/its ?<200 smart Harvard undergrads who also flee to NYC or SV upon graduation
Reality of decrepit, high-cost, high-tax, anti-business cities/regions that haven't generated new financial or tech cos. or new wealth in decades....despite some of world's best and most relevant colleges, can't retain the smartest undergrads post-grad w/o a pro-wealth creation culture
Phila is only as relevant as the ?<200 smart Wharton undergrads who pass through for some 2-3 yrs (before fleeing for careers in NYC or Silicon Valley)
Very similar to Bos w/its ?<200 smart Harvard undergrads who also flee to NYC or SV upon graduation
Reality of decrepit, high-cost, high-tax, anti-business cities/regions that haven't generated new financial or tech cos. or new wealth in decades....despite some of world's best and most relevant colleges, can't retain the smartest undergrads post-grad w/o a pro-wealth creation culture
Seems kind of a narrow minded elitist attitude. The Philadlephia area has a healthy economic mix and boasts upwards of 50,000 BA degrees per year, most of which whom are employed,live, and raise their families in the Philadelphia region. Who cares if a couple hundred Wharton grads run off to Manhattan. I mean are you serious?
Anyway. If Philadlephia had remained the capital then a region that was well positioned to piggyback on that success would have been the Lehigh Valley. The Philadelphia area would have resembled current day Washington/NVA/MD with the Fed presence, the Lehigh Valley probably gets the Philadlephia areas pharma,education,tech,healthcare,strong insurance +mutual fund base,manufacturing etc.. The entire area from Philly to Allentown would probably have blossomed into one gigantic metro which isnt necessarily a good thing imo.
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"A pro-wealth creation culture"???
