Portal:Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The newspaper, founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer, is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the United States. Owned by the local group Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC, The Inquirer has the nineteenth-largest average weekday U.S. newspaper circulation and has won eighteen Pulitzer Prizes. The paper has risen and fallen in prominence throughout its history. The Inquirer first became a major newspaper during the American Civil War when its war coverage was popular on both sides. The paper's circulation dropped after the war, then rose again by the end of the century. Originally supportive of the Democratic Party, The Inquirer's political affiliation eventually shifted towards the Whig Party and then the Republican Party, before officially becoming politically independent in the middle of the 20th century. By the end of the 1960s, The Inquirer trailed its chief competitor, the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, and lacked modern facilities and experienced staff. In the 1970s, new owners and editors turned the newspaper into one of the country's most prominent, winning 17 Pulitzers in 15 years. Its prestige has since waned because of cost-cutting and a shift of focus to more local coverage.

Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a baseball park located in North Philadelphia. The stadium was the home of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League (AL) and the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League (NL). When it opened on April 12, 1909, Shibe Park was baseball's first steel-and-concrete stadium. Homeowners on both Somerset Street and 20th Street had a great view of the games due to the low outfield fences. A left field bleacher section was added in 1913 that blocked the view for the people on Somerset Street; however, the view was still clear from the roofs, bedroom bay windows, and porch roofs along 20th Street. Pathé News, Universal Newsreel and Movietone News even set up cameras at 2739 North 20th as part of their World Series coverage. The last game was held on October 1, 1970 and the stadium was eventually demolished in 1976.

Hamilton Disston was an industrialist and real-estate developer who purchased four million acres (16,000 km²) of Florida land in 1881, an area larger than the state of Connecticut, and reportedly the most land ever purchased by a single person in world history. Disston was the son of Pennsylvania-based industrialist Henry Disston who formed Disston & Sons Saw Works, which Hamilton later ran and which was one of the largest saw manufacturing companies in the world. Hamilton Disston's investment in the infrastructure of Florida spurred growth throughout the state. His related efforts to drain the Everglades triggered the state's first land boom with numerous towns and cities established through the area. Disston's land purchase and investments were directly responsible for creating or fostering the towns of Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Gulfport, Tarpon Springs, and indirectly aided the rapid growth of St. Petersburg, Florida. He furthermore oversaw the successful cultivation of rice and sugarcane near the Kissimmee area. Although Disston's engineered canals aided water transport and steamboat traffic in Florida, he was ultimately unsuccessful in draining the Kissimmee River floodplain or lowering the surface water around Lake Okeechobee and in the Everglades. He was forced to sell much of his investments at a fraction of their original costs. However, his land purchase primed Florida's economy and allowed railroad magnates Henry Flagler and Henry Plant to build rail lines down the east coast of Florida, and another joining the west coast, which directly led to the domination of the tourist and citrus industries in Florida. Disston's immediate impact was in the Philadelphia area, where he was active in Republican politics and a philanthropist, but his legacy is often associated with the draining and development of Florida.

• ... that a Philadelphia TV station shut down because of a family feud?
• ... that Dom DiSandro, the Philadelphia Eagles' chief security officer, was ejected from a game for getting into a scuffle with an opposing player?
• ... that episodes of such game shows as Double Dare, Finders Keepers, and You Bet Your Life were filmed at the Philadelphia studios of a public TV station?
• ... that after operating for 168 years and moving to three buildings, the Mercantile Library in Philadelphia was closed due to concerns about asbestos?
• ... that William F. Gannon died before reforming the membership of the married men's sodality in Philadelphia?
• ... that John Morin Scott, the mayor of Philadelphia, responded to the 1842 Lombard Street riot by mostly arresting black victims?
• ... that the Octavius V. Catto Memorial, unveiled in 2017, contains the first statue on Philadelphia public property of a specific African American?
• ... that Leverington Cemetery has the most orbs and apparitions in Philadelphia?

• November 1, 1701 - William Penn leaves Philadelphia for England for the last time.
• November 10, 1876 - The Centennial Exposition in Fairmount Park ends after six months.
• November 21, 1976 - The film Rocky, starring Sylvester Stallone, is released in U.S. theaters.
• November 29, 1929 - The Rodin Museum opens.

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