City of independence

the long version

The foundation, planning, and growth of Philadelphia have been recorded pictorially in far greater detail than have most other American cities. To concentrate on Philadelphia's early years is rewarding not only because so much of our nation's early political and social life took place there but also because the city affords a look at orderly town planning at its most controlled, and the structures erected comprise a microcosm of our architectural history. -- from http://ojs.libraries.psu.edu (March 14, 2014).