City of Innovation
Thirty historical points are embedded within the mural’s design:
1. In 1793 Jean Pierre Blanchard launched the first hot air balloon in the Americas from the prison yard of Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and landed in Deptford, Gloucester County, New Jersey.
2. Philadelphia Zoo, the first Zoo in the US.
3. Jayne Building, First Modern Skyscraper, 242-44 Chestnut St.
4. John Fitch successfully tried his steamboat in 1787, and in 1788, he began operating a regular commercial service along the Delaware river between Philadelphia PA and Burlington NJ, carrying as many as 30 passengers.
5. Julian Abele, prominent African American architect, contributed to design of PMA and Central Branch of Free Library.
6. Edmund Bacon, urban planner, architect “Father of Modern Philadelphia.”
7. Lucretia Mott, Quaker, abolitionist, activist, social reformer.
8. Henry Ossawa Tanner, first African American artist to gain international acclaim.
9. Julia De Burgos, Puerto Rican Poet, civil rights activist.
10. Ben Franklin, Founding Father, author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat.
11. W3XE PhilCo Television first television station, operated at C & Tioga Streets.
12. Anna Connelly registered a patent for the exterior steel staircase that would serve as the prototype for the modern metal fire escape 1877.
13. First Stock Exchange created in 1790 at the Merchant Exchange Building, 3rd and Walnut Sts.
14. PSFS Building, first of its kind to be fully air conditioned.
15. United States Marine Corps held its first recruitment drive during the American Revolution at Tun Tavern.
16. The first wire-cable suspension bridge was the Spider Bridge at Falls of Schuylkill in 1816, a modest and temporary footbridge built following the collapse of James Finley’s nearby Chain Bridge at Falls of Schuylkill (pictured here).
17. Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science, first college of Pharmacy in the US.
18. The J. G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars and buses in the United States. Founded by John George Brill in 1868 as a horsecar manufacturing firm in Philadelphia, Brill manufactured over 45,000 streetcars ,motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars. At its height, it was the largest manufacturer of streetcars and interurbans in the US. It produced more streetcars and interurbans and gas electrics than any other manufacturer.
19. Library Company of Philadephia, founded by Ben Franklin, first library in the US.
20. ENIAC, the first electronic general-purpose computer, began in secret by the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical Engineering.
21. Slinky invented and developed by naval engineer Richard James in 1943 and demonstrated at Gimbels department store in Philadelphia.
22. Philadelphia City Hall, tallest habitable building in the world from 1901 to 1908, it is the world’s tallest masonry building. With almost 700 rooms, Philadelphia’s City Hall is the largest municipal building in the United States.
23. In 1820s Samuel Morey demonstrated the internal combustion engine, in Philadelphia, powering a boat and a wagon. Unfortunately, when he decided to demonstrate the car on the street, he fell off after starting the engine and the vehicle powered across Market Street into a ditch. This was the second car ride in the world, and the first in the United States.
24. North 3rd St businesses include Jarvus , Indy Hall , SEER Interactive, i-Site, Weblinc , Wildbit , DmgCtrl, and Drink Nation.
25. Philadelphia Keyspots represents a citywide coalition of community-based groups committed to bringing Internet access, training and technology to all Philadelphia communities.
26.The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the first art institution in US, was founded in 1805, and chartered March 28 of the following year.
27. PhillyRising targets neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia that are plagued by chronic crime and quality of life concerns, and establishes partnerships with community members to address these issues.
28. The Rowhome style of housing was established in Philadelphia.
29. First U.S. escalator was installed in a Philadelphia office building.
30. Philly 311 App provides a real-time civic engagement platform empowering Philadelphians to be community heroes and report neighborhood issues directly into City Government work order systems from their smart phone.
Location Note: Interior mural is located on the 16th Floor of the Municipal Services Building, in Room D. It may not always be available for public viewing.