The story of Philadelphia began from the year 1682 with William Penn being the founder of it. Prior to the development of the city, inhabitants like Lenape Indians and early Swedish settlers stayed in the area. After three years of The Great Depression of 1929, Philadelphia still felt the shock waves. There was massive unemployment coupled with rising starvation cases in the hospitals. The situation came under control when S. David Wilson was elected the mayor. In his rein more than 40000 financial jobs came back.

The beginning of the World War II coupled with the rising threat of US joining the war flooded the job market with new defense related jobs. This helped the financial conditions improve in the city dramatically. The country raised money by issuing thousands of War Bonds. The post war era was marked my rising tensions between the whites and the Afro- Americans. There was also shortage of homes, which worsened the situation.

This improvement phase was discernible for drastic expansions and steady betterment of the Philadelphian suburbs. Gentrification of areas like Society Hill, Queen Village, Fairmount Area and Rittenhouse Square helped Philadelphia gain back tenacity as a city. Philadelphia also saw the expansion of the airport along with Schuylkill Expressway and Delaware Expressway. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority was formed along with residential and industrial developments of Northeast Philadelphia.

While Philadelphia's crime rose steadily in the start of the century its population also grew to over 2 million in the 50s after which there was a decline. It was only in the later years the 60s and the 70s that major reforms and efforts to revitalize the city started bearing fruits. Today Philadelphia is a major hub for tourism, healthcare, biotechnology, and financial services.

If you are a traveler who is visiting Philadelphia, then it is quite useful if you read more and more information about the city. It is like reading a history article as it is an important part of the Philadelphia travel.

The tourists who have lot of interest in the city's history can start gathering information from the reliable resources as this helps them to know more about the culture and the lifestyle of the people living there.

What are the reliable sources from where you can read information about Philadelphia's history?

If you are in the city for some research work, then you can look at the websites that have complete or time line history of the city as this would help you to understand the city better.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philadelphia

From where can you read the information related to history of Philadelphia from a travelers point of view?

You can go onto the website of Trip Advisor as it has all the information that you would like to have hands on.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g60795-s203/Philadelphia:Pennsylvania:History.html

Which is the most reliable source to read history of Philadelphia from research books and journals?

One source which has been the reliable source for most of the travelers is Questia.

http://www.questia.com/library/history/philadelphia-history.jsp

Philadelphia is a history in itself. With numerous historical sites that one can visit, you sure do not want to miss that trip. Getting Philadelphia travel information can be easy. There are several things that you can do in order to obtain information. The first one is to go online. You can also grab the travel guide so that you will know just where to go and what to do.

If that is straightforward, it is much easier to get information on the history of Philadelphia. Here are some of the highlights about what you should know regarding this City of Brotherly Love:

Independence Site

Philadelphia is known for its vital role during the American Revolutionary War. This is where the continental Congress convention was held. This is also the place where the Declaration of Independence was written along with the United States Constitution. Because of its part, Philadelphia was known as the states capital until the year 1800s when Washington, DC took its place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Philadelphia

19th Century

History did not end in the 18th Century. It went all the way to the next one. It became the center of cultural attractions and other information about the war emerged. After a few years, the first railroad network was built and other progressive additions came forth. These included the parks, canals, other railroads and the Reading Terminal.

http://www.gophila.com/C/X/385_/Things_to_Do_in_Philadelphia/211/History_in_Philadelphia/209.html

Monuments

Philadelphia is rich in public statues now but the most famous is the Fairmount Water Works. This encompasses the great on both the engineering and the arts. It measured five acres at that time but now it has expanded to almost 9000 acres since it is now a part of the Fairmount Park. For more than one hundred years, this served as the home of the machinery that supplied water for the city.

http://www.ushistory.org/Philadelphia/