PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -

Philadelphia has been described either as the elegant but rather jaded great lady or as the overage and sickly spinster of American cities.  A more realistic look at Philadelphia, however, shows it to be a very modern, and vigorous city, arising in gracious counterpoint to the deep serenity of an older city that has provided gentle but firm intellectual, economic, and humanitarian direction to the nation at whose birth it played midwife.

Philadelphia, which is the fourth largest city in the United States, displays many characteristics of a small town.  Its many trees, parks, and other open spaces and its quiet pace of life reflect in various ways the genteel Quaker heritage bestowed on the city by its founder, William Penn.  Nearly everywhere are dignified reminders of the colonial and Revolutionary city and of Benjamin Franklin, a Philadelphian by adoption from his hometown of Boston, who left his imprint on innumerable ongoing institutions, both cultural and commercial, in the city.

Beneath this face, however, Philadelphia represents an urban cluster of national and international stature.  Its harbor, one of the largest freshwater ports in the world, is the major element in the agglomeration of Delaware River ports known as Ameriport.  As a modern industrial, commercial, and financial powerhouse, Philadelphia is an integral part of the United States, joining together the spirit of America, past and present.