Philadelphia is situated on a tract of land embraced between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, which, lying to the east and west of the city, and gradually nearing each other, unite to form its southern boundary. In the original plan this tract comprised about 1,200 acres, but the enormous additions made during the present century have increased this area to 82,700 acres, so that the city now covers a territory amounting to 129 square miles, an extent not exceeded by any American or European capital save the city of London. The latitude of Philadelphia is 39° 57' north, 75° 9' west from Greenwich. It is 136 miles northeast from Washington, and about 100 miles from the Atlantic ocean, following the bay and river. The site of the city is a nearly level plain, varying from to 2 to 46 feet above tide-water, but in the suburbs to the west of the Schuylkill the land rises in places to an elevation of <<PAGE 811>> from 112 to 120 feet. The total length of the city is 23 miles, with an average width of 5 1/2 miles between the rivers. Having thus a large river to east and west, and fanned by strong currents of air, the situation of Philadelphia in point of healthfulness is most advantageous. The city is entitled to send 5 representatives to the national Congress, and 8 senators and 28 representatives to the state legislature.

Philadelphia may be ranked among the Atlantic ports. The width and depth of the Delaware river enables steam-vessels of the largest size to come up to her wharves, where there is an extraordinary depth of water, being 57 feet at low water at the pier-heads for more than half a mile, and not less than 25 feet for 3 miles of the river frontage. The only obstacle to navigation is a bar in the river below the city, and on this there is 19 feet at low and 25 feet at high water. The strong current setting on the western shore at both flood and ebb tide prevents encroachments on the harbor by deposit. The rise of tide is but 6 feet, and floods and overflows are unknown.

The salubrity of Philadelphia is exceptional, the mortality being 1 to every 1,000 persons less than that of London, 2 to every 1,000 persons less than that of Paris; and 7 to every 1,000 persons less than that of New York. This is due in part to the unbounded supply of fresh water and its universal use for cleansing and bathing purposes, but also in a great measure to its natural advantages of situation and the sweep of fresh air across the city from river to river. The foundation of the city is mainly a dry, well-drained gravel, making good sewerage an easy matter. The range of temperature throughout the year is very considerable, including all degrees from below zero to 100°, but the extremes of heat and cold are of short duration, and the average of the year is moderate, escaping the worst evils of the southern and northern climates between which the city may be said to lie. During the past 122 years the highest recorded summer temperature was 101°, the mean annual temperature being about 52°.

In 1880 Philadelphia had the following railroad communications:

The Pennsylvania railroad, to which the city owes much of its progress in recent years. The total number of miles operated and controlled by this railroad is estimated at over 2,000. Its rolling-stock comprises 1,000 locomotives, half as many first-class passenger cars, and over 25,000 freight cars. The total assets of the company have been placed as high as $180,000,000. Its principal passenger depot is on Market street, and its chief freight depots are on the block of ground bounded by Market, Filbert, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth streets, and at Delaware avenue and Dock street, extending to the water.

The Philadelphia and Reading railroad, whose offices are on Fourth street.
The Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore railroad, whose depot is on Broad street and Washington avenue.
The North Pennsylvania railroad.
The Camden and Atlantic railroad.
The West Jersey railroad.
The West Chester and Philadelphia railroad.
The Lehigh Valley railroad.

Penn's original arrangement of the streets has been adhered to. Those streets running from river to river are crossed at right angles by those running north and south, the latter being designated numerically from the Delaware, as First, Second, Third, and so on, and the intersecting streets from east to west bearing, as a general thing, the names of trees or of persons. The city is divided at Market street into North and South, all streets above Market street being known as North Third, etc., and, those below as South Third, etc. The houses are numbered by blocks, small intermediate streets being included in the blocks. Each block is calculated as containing precisely 100 houses. <<PAGE 812>> There are 2000 miles of streets, of which 900 miles are paved and 1,102 miles are either unpaved or laid with gravel. The extent of the paved streets and the cost per square yard of each, as nearly as may be estimated, is as follows:

Materials.....................Miles........Cost per square yard
Cobblestones................ 500.........................$1.25
Stone blocks....................47...........................3.00
Asphalt..............................2...........................1.60
Broken Stone.................100..........................1.50
Wood................................1...........................----
Ruble-stone....................250..........................1.50

The gravel roads cost 19 cents per square yard. The chief commissioner of highways says: "Cobble-stones, when properly laid, make a durable and cheap pavement. Rubble-stone is used in districts where the long haul of cobble-stones would render the cost too high, and while such a pavement, laid with care, is durable, it does not give general satisfaction, from its rough and irregular surface. Broken stone is used in the semi-rural sections, and is the old macadamized road, the merits of which are, of course, thoroughly understood. Asphalt in various forms and combinations has qualities which render it desirable for some purposes, but it has not yet proved itself the most desirable under all circumstances, which general quality is found more completely in the stone block or Belgian pavement, and to which we would unhesitatingly give the preference. Wood we ignore, experience having shown that its rapid and constant decay renders it unfit for use."

The pavements of those streets in which car-tracks are laid are maintained in repair between the curbs by the horse railroad companies, while the others are attended to by the highway department, the work being done under contract. When the cobble-stone pavement settles out of shape, or gets in holes or ruts, the stones are taken up, the ground is loosened with picks and smoothed with shovels, a little sand is scattered over it, and the cobble-stones are returned to their places, rammed, and covered with earth. This treatment is effective for a longer or shorter time, according to the amount of traffic on the street. The extent of streets paved with cobble-stones is so great that any attempt to replace the whole of it with Belgian blocks would involve an enormous expenditure of money. The great length of paved streets to be kept in repair may account, in part, for the very indifferent condition in which some of them are. No cobble pavement, however well laid, can be kept properly cleaned by the means usually applied in cities, the hollows, ridges, and ruts preventing the brooms, sweeping-machines, etc. from reaching the accumulation of dirt and filth, this dirt being brought to the surface by rains, or when the streets are sprinkled, only to he carried, when dry, all over the city in the shape of dust. However, the cobble-stone pavement has been an imperfect element in the development of the city, as its use has rendered possible the improvement and occupation of many miles of streets which would probably have remained undeveloped if expensive pavements and the consequent high assessments on abutting property had been laid. The macadamized roads and streets consist of quarried stones placed on edge, forming a rough bottom 8 to 10 inches deep, and covered first with coarse broken gneiss or other hard rock then with finer stone of the same character, and over all the fine dust from the screenings of the broken stone. Very little limestone is used, but in its place a large quantity of slag from the iron furnaces, which is very hard and contains a large proportion of lime, is laid. In addition to the pavements enumerated above, many of the abutting property-owners have laid composition blocks in front of their respective residences.

There are 285 miles of car-tracks laid in the city, having a broad rail nearly on a level with the pavement for the more convenient use of carriages. There are 1,197 cars, with 6,946 horses in use, and employment is given to 3,672 men. During the year 1879 the total number of passengers carried was 88,360,982. There are no regular omnibus lines in the city, but there are 25 single omnibuses and 68 hacks regularly licensed by the highway department. This, however, gives no adequate idea of the actual number of these vehicles in the city, as a recent law permits the owners of livery stables to run hackney coaches, upon the payment of a state tax, without requiring a special license from the city.

Philadelphians are noted for their free use of water, of which the city has an abundant supply, conducted over the city by over 730 miles of pipe. The smallest and cheapest house has its bath-room, and the incessant washing of sidewalks and door-steps is a grievance complained of by strangers who are trying to see the city on foot. The water department, which is under the control of the city, consists of the following officers: a chief engineer, a register, and a chief clerk, besides a large force of draughtsmen, clerks, engineers, and laborers.
        
The water-works are divided into the following sections: The Fairmount, Schuylkill, Delaware, Belmont, Roxborough, and Chestnut Hill.

The Fairmount reservoir is divided into 4 basins, having a capacity of 26,896,636 gallons. The works are run with 7 turbine wheels and 1 breast-wheel, with a Worthington steam-pump for use when the water-wheels cannot be run on account of low water in the Schuylkill. The Fairmount supply began with a pumping-engine at Chestnut <<PAGE 813>> street, Schuylkill, and a distributing reservoir at Center square, which were begun in May, 1799, and brought into use the 1st of January, 1801. In April 1819, a dam across the Schuylkill at Fairmount was begun. The first water passed out from the new reservoir on July 1, 1823. Subsequently the city purchased the Lemon Hill and other properties to secure the river from defilement, and formed what is now known as Fairmount park.

The Schuylkill water-works, at the foot of Thompson street, supply the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th wards of the city. Their daily average is 5,226,008 gallons. They were erected in 1844 as independent water-works by the commissioners of Spring Garden and the Northern Liberties, after an ineffectual protest at the high rates charged to the inhabitants of the district as compared with those of the city proper. They are run by steam-power, with Cornish side-lever and compound engines.

The Delaware water-works are situated on the Delaware river at the foot of Wood street. These works went into operation in 1850. They supply the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th Wards, their daily average capacity being 4,960,709 gallons. They are run by steam, a Worthington beam and horizontal engine.

The Belmont water-works have their reservoir at George's hill, Fairmount park. They were built to replace the West Philadelphia water-works, which went out of use in 1870. They are run by 3 Worthington steam pumping engines, and furnish a daily average of 5,226,008 gallons.

The Roxborough water-works are on the east bank of the Schuylkill, above Manayunk, on the line of the Philadelphia and Norristown railroad. They were finished in 1870, are run by steam-power, and furnish a daily supply of 2,281,287 gallons. On the completion of these works the Germantown and Chestnut Hill works were abandoned as pumping-stations, and. receive their water from the Roxborough reservoir through 2 large mains which cross the Wissahickon in Fairmount park.

The total amount of water pumped in the various works in 1879 was 19,894,101,515 gallons, or an average of 54,504,387 gallons per day. The average cost or raising 1,000,000 gallons 1 foot high is 5.07 cents. The total receipts of the department during 1879 were $1,419,179.07, and the total expenditures $443,693.68.

Through the agency of the Philadelphia Fountain society 61 public drinking-fountains have been established within the limits of the city. Seven additional fountains have been added by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They are kept in order by a fund appropriated for the purpose.

The works for the manufacture of gas are the City, Point Breeze, Spring Garden, and Frankford works, owned by the city, and the Northern Liberties gas-works: which are the property of a private corporation.

The City gas-works were authorized by an ordinance of the council in 1835. This company has a capital stock of $125,000, but the city reserved the right to purchase the works from the shareholders at any time, which right it claimed in 1841, when it bought out the stockholders for $173,000, and took possession of the works through the agency of a board of trustees. In 1859 the remaining independent companies were bought out, and the whole service, with the exception of the gas-works of the Northern Liberties, was brought under the control of the city. Great care was taken in the outset to secure the best improvements then effected in the manufacture of coal-gas in Europe, and the Philadelphia works have always furnished gas cheaper than is usual in other American cities. The total amount of gas made during the year 1879 by the combined works was 2,180,625,000 cubic feet.

The buildings owned or occupied by the city for municipal purposes are: The state-house or Independence hall; the city hall; the county court-house building; the quarter-sessions building; and the hall of the American Philosophical Society, in Independence square; the new city hall, in Penn square; the house of refuge, in Poplar street; the house of correction, on the south bank of Pennypack creek at its junction with the Delaware; the morgue, on Noble street, between Front street and Delaware avenue; the Philadelphia almshouse, with which is connected the Philadelphia hospital, on the west side of the Schuylkill: south (If the Darby road; and the lazaretto or quarantine station, on Tinicum island. The west room on the first floor of the state-house, in which the sittings of the second Continental Congress were held, was formally withdrawn from public use about 1830 and held as a national museum, to be devoted to "dignified purposes only ". It now holds a valuable collection of relics, including the original charter of the city of Philadelphia, with Penn's signature and the great seal of the state, and the liberty bell, now cracked and soundless, which rang forth the declaration of American independence. The old Congress hall was begun in 1790 and finished in 1791. The hall of the American Philosophical Society was erected in 1789. The society took its origin from Franklin's famous club, "The Junto," established in 1743. The new city hall, in Penn square, was begun in August 1871, and it is expected will be open for use a few months from this date (1880). The dimensions of this magnificent building are 470 feet from east to west by 486 1/2 feet from north to south, and the area covered by it is equal to about 4 1/2 acres. The building contains 520 rooms and is supposed to be absolutely fire-proof.
<<PAGE 814>>
The Philadelphia almshouse consists of 5 main buildings, each 3 stories in height and 500 feet long, and extending from a central building. The grounds comprise 130 acres. The buildings, which are managed by a board of guardians elected by the councils, are devoted to the poor and sick, to the insane, and to friendless children. The guardians also grant out-door relief in the various wards. The average daily population of the almshouse is over 4,000, and out-door relief is afforded to nearly 80,000 annually.

To this list of buildings for municipal purposes should be added nearly or quite 200 public-school buildings, the total real-estate value of which is, including their furniture, nearly $6,000,000.

The buildings owned or occupied by the United States government in the city of Philadelphia are the United States custom-house and sub-treasury, on Chestnut street, between Fourth and Fifth, built in 1824; the United States appraiser's building, on Second street; the post-office, on the south side of Chestnut, between Fourth and Fifth; the United States courts, on Library street; the new post-office, on the corner of Ninth and Chestnut; the United States naval hospital; the United States naval asylum; the United States navy yard, on League island, in the Delaware; the Schuylkill arsenal, on the Gray's Ferry road; and the Frankford or Bridesburg arsenal, on Tacony road and Bridge street; and the United States mint, on Chestnut street, corner of Juniper. The mint was established by act of Congress on the 2d of April 1792. The corner-stone of the present building was laid in 1829. It was made fire-proof in 1854, and the interior has been frequently altered. It is a marble building with a Grecian portico, and contains on the main floor, first, the deposit-room, where gold and silver bullion is received and weighed; second, the copper-melting room, where ingots are cast for the minor coinage; third, the gold- and silver-melting room; fourth, the rolling and cutting room; fifth, the coining-room. The building contains 12 strong vaults, securely guarded, and a cabinet containing the largest and most valuable collection of coins in the United States.

The deposits of gold of domestic production made at the United States mint from its earliest period to the close of 1880 amount to $873,097,015.62. The deposits of native silver during the same time are $121,924,919.14.

There are 23 hospitals within the limits of Philadelphia, and 13 dispensaries at which gratuitous medical and surgical treatment are given to the poor. The list of these is as follows:

The Pennsylvania Hospital, founded in the year 1752 by the exertions of Benjamin Franklin and his friends. The western wing was not built until after the Revolution, and the central building was finished about 1805. This hospital occupies the square bounded by Eighth, Ninth, Spruce, and Pine streets, the entrance being on Eighth street. The entire frontage is 278 feet in width. Over 100,000 patients have been admitted to this hospital since its establishment, of whom more than one-half have been poor patients supported by the institution.

The Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane (male department), between the West Chester and Haverford roads, west of Forty-third street, opened for the reception of patients in 1841. The principal building and wings have a front of 436 feet, 3 stories in height, and the institution accommodates 250 patients.

The Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane (female department), on Forty-ninth street, opened for use in 1859. It has an equal capacity.

Philadelphia Hospital, conducted as a branch of the Blockley almshouse. The insane department of this
hospital contains on an average over 1,000 patients.

Wills Hospital for Diseases of the Eye, on Race street, between Eighteenth and Nineteenth, opened March 3, 1834. This institution furnishes clinical assistance gratuitous to all who desire it.

Friends' Asylum for the Insane, Adams street, founded in 1811 by members or the society of Friends, has accommodations for about 75 patients. This institution was one of the first for the accommodation of the insane in the United States.

Preston Retreat, Hamilton street, opened in 1866. This is a lying-in hospital for the use of "indigent married women of good character, residents in the city and county of Philadelphia and the county of Delaware".

Municipal Hospital, Hart lane, near Twenty-first street, for the treatment of persons laboring under infectious diseases.

Saint Joseph's Hospital, south side of Girard avenue, from Sixteenth to Seventeenth street, under the care of Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity, but non-sectarian in its management. Capacity, 250 beds.

Charity Hospital, 1832 Hamilton street, chartered in 1858, and supported by private subscription. Daily clinics given, with advice and medicines to the respectable poor.

Hospital of the Protestant Episcopal Church, southeast corner of Lehigh avenue and Front street, occupying a square of ground. This fine building, whose doors are open to patients of all creeds and nationalities, has a capacity of 300 beds.

German Hospital, southwest corner of Girard and Corinthian avenues, founded by the efforts of citizens of German descent in 1860. Both the German and English languages are spoken in the institution, which is open to the sick and injured of all nationalities.

Saint Mary's Hospital, corner of Frankford road and Palmer street, under the care of the Franciscan Sisters of the Roman Catholic church, and entirely supported by voluntary contributions.

<<PAGE 815>>

Jewish Hospital, Olney road, near the York pike, founded in 1866. It admits all sufferers without regard to religious belief, but with special arrangements for Jewish patients so far as regards the peculiar observance of their religion.

Orthopedic Hospital and Infirmary for Nervous Diseases, northeast corner of Seventeenth and Summer streets. The cases annually treated number 600.

Presbyterian Hospital, corner of Thirty-ninth and Filbert streets. Accommodation for 100 patients.
Germantown Hospital, Shoemaker lane, near Chew street.

Children's Hospital, Twenty-second street, below Walnut. Children under the age of twelve received.
Accommodations for about 50 patients. The Children's Sea-shore hospital, at Atlantic City, may be considered a branch of this institution.

Homeopathic Hospital, Cuthbert street, west of Eleventh; under the control of the Hahnemann Medical college.

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, south side of Spruce street, between Thirty-fourth and Thirty-fifth; founded in 1871; opened in part for use in 1874. This splendid hospital is entirely free to all residents of Pennsylvania who may need its services. Its endowment amounts to nearly or quite $1,000,000.

Woman's Hospital, corner of North College avenue and Twenty-second street; under the care of women, and for the reception of women and children only. It was established in 1861 in connection with the Woman's Medical College.

Lying-in Department of the Northern Dispensary, 608 Fairmount avenue.
State Hospital for Women and Infants, 1718 Filbert street.
Mission Hospital for Women and Children, corner of Eighth and Mary streets.

DISPENSARIES.

Philadelphia Dispensary, erected in 1801, on Fifth street, between Library and Walnut.
Eye and. Ear Institute of the Philadelphia Dispensary, southeast corner of Thirteenth and Chestnut streets.
Northern Dispensary, 608 Fairmount avenue.
Northeastern Dispensary, corner of Tulip and Fox streets.
Northeastern Dispensary (homeopathic), 1520 North Fourth street.
Southern Dispensary, 318 Bainbridge street.
Howard Hospital, 518 Lombard street.
Germantown Dispensary, connected with Germantown hospital.
Infirmary for Eye and Ear, 419 Wetherill street.
Moyamensing Dispensary, at House of Industry, Catherine street, below Seventh.
Dispensary for Skin Diseases, Eleventh street, above Locust.
Church Dispensary of Southwark, 1017 Morris street.
Philadelphia Lying-in and Nurse Charity, 126 North Eleventh street.