Overheard outside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia a few months ago:
Man A: “Philly’s a shitty city. All we have is cheesesteak and Rocky.”
Man B: “Yeah. And the founding of the nation.”
This conversation, recalled by historian Bryant Simon, captures something of the wry, earthy, friendly and frank city hosting this week’s Democratic national convention.
In Philadelphia there is no escaping cheesesteak, the sandwich conceived by hot dog vendor Pat Olivieri for his taxi driver customers in 1930, or Rocky, the Oscar-winning boxing movie starring Sylvester Stallone. But it is also perfectly fitting that the historic first presidential nomination of a woman by a major political party should take place here.
Philadelphia is the birthplace of America. From 1774, it was the meeting place of the Continental Congress that drew up the declaration of independence and it became the national capital until the torch passed to Washington in 1800. It is the first Unesco World Heritage city in the US.
“Democracy was started here,” Mayor Jim Kenney told the Associated Press. “The first fire department, library; the first woman president is going to be nominated and elected from Philadelphia.”
Philadelphia has a story seemingly familiar to many major American cities: from late 20th century decline to early 21st century revitalisation and gentrification with its attendant winners and losers. There has a been an influx of young people and surge in bars and restaurants – it was this year named the top destination in the country by travel guide publisher Lonely Planet – but also a stubborn persistence of poverty, racial segregation and political corruption.
There is a flavour of the vital chaos of the city at the Reading Terminal Market, which opened for business in 1892 with sawdust on the floor and the sound of trains rumbling overhead. It is now a no-frills, unpretentious medley of characters buying burgers, cheese made on site, coffee, cookies, fish, fresh fruit, hot dogs, ice cream, lobster, soft pretzels, sausages, scrapple, turkey and of course cheesesteaks, as well as food from China, Germany, Mexico, India, Pakistan and the Amish community. There is a baker, shoe doctor, kitchenware store, dedicated nuts seller and a shop selling 22 varieties of honey.
Ruth Silverton, 73, has been coming here half a century. “They expanded it, they really did, but some of the items haven’t changed,” the retired medical clerk said on Sunday over Chinese chicken. “Take away the market and you won’t have Philadelphia.”
Sitting at a nearby table, Nicholas Corti, 27, a freelance creative producer, agrees: “This is one of the hearts of Philadelphia, everything from food to culture. You have cops coming in with Bernie bros [male supporters of Bernie Sanders].”
What is the essence of the city? Corti replied: “Philadelphia does have a blue collar attitude that shines through. There’s a spirit, a dialect, a language. There’s a unique kind of Philly pride. And there’s sports: the Philadelphia Eagles’ fan base is maniacal, insane.”
The city’s millennial population – those aged 20 to 34 – rose by about 100,000 from 2006 to 2012, according to the Pew Research Center, the biggest percentage increase of any major US city.
But Shannon Runion, a singer sitting with a coffee in the market, said: “Philadelphia has been super-gentrified over the past 10 years. There’s a Starbucks on every corner. There’s also more homelessness and a big drugs problem. They will sweep all the homeless people around the convention centre away to make it look better.”
Runion, 36, added: “Philadelphia is a melting point but racism has gotten worse. Lots of people moved here from around the world and say it’s great, but I think people from here would say no, it’s ruined it.”
Patrick Cheston, 50, who is African American, sees things differently, however. “The joy of Philadelphia is that it is hugely racially integrated,” he said, carrying a turkey wrap and sweet tea. “In my first home, we had Vietnamese on the left and Muslims on the right. When it first snowed, we shoveled each other out. The culture and the history of the town is wonderful in terms of diversity.”
Back in 1790 there were 6,500 free black people and nearly 4,000 slaves in Philadelphia, including nine slaves owned by George Washington; the site of the first president’s mansion is now an exhibit near the celebrated Liberty Bell, which was in the tower above Independence Hall during the Continental Congress.
Philadelphia was the home of Benjamin Franklin, author, civic activist, diplomat, intellectual, inventor, lover, musician, printer, political theorist, politician and postmaster and scientist, celebrated for his part in the American revolution and experiments with electricity. In signing the declaration of independence, he warned colleagues: “We must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall surely all hang separately.”
Bill Cosby, the actor and comedian now facing sexual abuse allegations, the jazz singer Billie Holiday and the actor Will Smith were born here. Film director M Night Shyamalan grew up here and John Coltrane, saxophonist and composer, moved here after he left school. The city has featured in movies such as Philadelphia, with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, and Twelve Monkeys, Witness and Trading Places.
But a big draw for tourists is Rocky, released 40 years ago this November and spawner of multiple sequels. An 8ft 6in statue of Stallone in the role stands next to the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art that Rocky, a working class Italian-American who gets an unlikely shot at the world title, sprints up to the strains of Gonna Fly Now.
Simon, professor of history at the city’s Temple University, said: “Rocky embodies the way the Philadelphians view themselves in some ways. There are few more romanticised phenomena than the white working-class hero.”
The city’s real-life boxing hero, Joe Frazier, who died in 2011, finally got a statue last year. Simon added: “Joe Frazier is so classically Philly. He’s the second-greatest fighter of all time. He’s gritty, he’s tough, he’ll never ascend to the level of Ali. He can’t transcend Philly.”
Like many US cities, Philadelphia slumped in the 1960s and 1970s and was hit by riots. “It suffered white flight and disinvestment,” Simon said. “It lost an industrial base and became a city of intense disparity between the rich and poor and really a place to avoid. I remember as a kid, when you crossed the bridge you would put your wallet in your front pocket.
“Now millennials are moving in and people are moving back. It’s much more vibrant. It’s the great American city because it offers a lot of what New York offers but at half the price. Everyone says they have friends from New York who come and say, ‘I could live here!’ because it’s so affordable.”
Not everything is rosy, however. “The narrative playing out across a lot of the US is definitely playing out here. You can’t hide from the fact there are still a lot of issues of poverty and race. The schools are still largely segregated. I’m sure people are going to write the ‘tale of two cities’ article this week.”
