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The encyclopedic guide to the City of Brotherly Love — neighborhoods, restaurants, history, landmarks, and the people and places that make Philadelphia unique.

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Rittenhouse Square

Rittenhouse Square is one of Philadelphia's five original squares laid out by William Penn in his 1682 plan for the city. Located in Center City, it has evolved from colonial-era "Goosetown" farmland into one of the most affluent urban neighborhoods in the United States. The square is surrounded by restaurants including Parc, Friday Saturday Sunday, and Rouge, along with major cultural institutions like the Curtis Institute of Music and Rosenbach Museum, and historic high-rise residential buildings. Named for astronomer David Rittenhouse, the park hosts a weekly farmers market and remains the geographic and cultural center of Philadelphia's highest-density residential district.

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Explore Philadelphia

• Neighborhoods – the city's named neighborhoods, grouped by planning section
• History – from Lenape settlement and Penn's 1682 plan to the present
• Food and Drink – cheesesteaks, hoagies, the markets and the restaurants behind them
• Arts and Culture – museums, music, public art, theatre and literature
• Transit and Infrastructure – SEPTA, regional rail, the bridges, the airport and the port
• Government and Civic Life – City Hall, the police districts, the schools and the hospitals
• Sports – the four franchises, the Big 5, the venues and the seasons
• Business and Industry – the companies headquartered here and the industries that built the city

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Did You Know?

• ...that Germantown was founded in 1683 and its Quaker residents issued the first organized anti-slavery protest in North American history five years later?
• ...that Manayunk takes its name from the indigenous Lenape word manaiung, which translates to "where we go to drink"?
• ...that Eastern State Penitentiary was the most expensive public building in the United States upon its completion in 1829, and later housed mobster Al Capone?
• ...that Mount Airy organized a concerted community effort to become a national model for successful residential racial integration in the 1950s and 1960s?
• ...that the modern cheesesteak was purportedly invented by hot dog vendor Pat Olivieri at Pat's King of Steaks in South Philadelphia in 1930?

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Did You Know?

• ...that the Philadelphia Museum of Art's 72 stone entrance steps were heavily featured in the 1976 film Rocky and subsequently became an international tourist destination?
• ...that Philadelphia City Hall is the largest municipal building in the United States and features over 250 exterior sculptures designed by artist Alexander Milne Calder?
• ...that the Mütter Museum preserves a vast historical collection of medical specimens, including slides of Albert Einstein's brain and the shared liver of conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker?
• ...that Elfreth's Alley in Old City is the oldest continuously inhabited residential street in the United States, with homes dating back to 1728?
• ...that Philadelphia established the first circulating library and the first chartered hospital in the American colonies, both co-founded by Benjamin Franklin?

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On This Day: September 11

• 1682 — William Penn formally founded the Province of Pennsylvania after receiving a land charter from King Charles II to settle a debt owed to Penn's father.
• 1701 — The Charter of Privileges was enacted by Penn, cementing an unprecedented framework for formal religious freedom and representative government in the Pennsylvania colony.
• 1790 — Philadelphia officially assumed the role of the temporary capital of the United States while Washington, D.C. was being planned and constructed, serving in this administrative capacity until 1800.

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Featured Picture

Nighttime lighting reveals Boathouse Row along the Schuylkill River

Boathouse Row illuminated at night along the eastern bank of the Schuylkill River. The historic 19th-century site consists of 15 functioning boathouses that serve as the headquarters for local rowing clubs, collectively designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

Recently Updated

• Germantown — Historic 1683 neighborhood
• Chestnut Hill — Upscale Northwest shopping
• Manayunk — Main Street dining & towpath recreation
• Fishtown — Commercial restaurants and arts venues
• Rittenhouse Square — Center City residential district
• Fairmount — Art Museum neighborhood
• University City — Penn & Drexel campus hub
• Passyunk Square — East Passyunk dining district

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Explore Philadelphia

Neighborhoods Restaurants History Landmarks Museums Parks Sports Arts & Culture

Neighborhoods

Center City: Rittenhouse Square · Old City · Society Hill · Chinatown
South Philly: Passyunk Square · Bella Vista · Queen Village · Point Breeze
River Wards: Fishtown · Northern Liberties · Kensington · Port Richmond

West Philly: University City · Cedar Park · Cobbs Creek
North Philly: Fairmount · Brewerytown · Temple Area
Northwest: Chestnut Hill · Germantown · Manayunk · Mount Airy

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Welcome to Philadelphia.Wiki

Philadelphia.Wiki is a community-built encyclopedia dedicated to comprehensively documenting the history, neighborhoods, culture, transit, and architecture of the City of Brotherly Love. We need your help to expand our coverage of essential local topics!

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