The larger neighbor
Philadelphia is by far the larger of the two cities on the Delaware, and for most of the last three centuries it has set the economic and cultural frame for the Camden side. A basic picture of it helps explain much of Camden’s own history, as well as why the two cities are so often discussed together.
A short history
Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn as the center of the Pennsylvania colony. Penn laid out a planned grid of streets between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, with public squares, and the city grew quickly as a port and trading center.
Over the following century it became one of the most important cities in the British colonies. The Continental Congress met there, the Declaration of Independence was adopted there in 1776, and the Constitution was drafted there in 1787. Philadelphia also served as the temporary capital of the United States in the 1790s. The Revolutionary War years affected both banks of the river, a subject covered in the article on the Revolutionary War around Camden and Philadelphia.
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Philadelphia was a major manufacturing center, with textile mills, shipyards, locomotive works and many smaller factories. That industrial base is one reason industrial Camden grew alongside it on the opposite shore.
How the city is arranged
Philadelphia’s historic core, often called Center City, lies between the two rivers. The old street grid is relatively easy to read: numbered streets run north-south, and named streets run east-west. The Delaware waterfront forms the eastern edge, directly facing Camden, and the Schuylkill River forms the western edge of the core.
Beyond Center City are many neighborhoods, each with its own character, and the city also includes areas of former industry and large parks. Philadelphia is a consolidated city and county, with one government covering both functions, which differs from the New Jersey arrangement described in the piece on county government.
Two shores, two states
The river is also a state line. The Pennsylvania and New Jersey sides have different laws, tax systems, agencies and public services. People often live on one side and work or study on the other, which means that daily life regularly crosses the boundary.
Several connections make this possible:
- Bridges. The river bridges are the road links, and they carry large volumes of commuter and freight traffic.
- Rail. The PATCO Speedline connects Center City with Camden and then continues into the New Jersey suburbs.
- Ferries. Earlier generations depended on ferries, and seasonal passenger boat service has operated on the waterfront in more recent times. Check current schedules before relying on it.
These links are why Camden is considered part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area, a relationship explored in the article on Camden within the metropolitan area.
How the relationship has changed
For much of the nineteenth century, Camden grew with Philadelphia’s economy, and many people crossed the river for work or markets. In the twentieth century, highways, suburban growth and the loss of manufacturing changed both cities, and population shifted away from the urban cores. The reasons are explained in the discussion of suburban flight and the way urban highways cut through older neighborhoods.
In recent decades, both cities have pursued waterfront investment and new institutions, though results differ from place to place and views vary about who benefits.
A note on perspective
It is tempting to treat Philadelphia as the “real” city and Camden as an appendage, or the reverse. Neither view is accurate. Camden has its own municipal government, history, neighborhoods and civic life, and it also had a role in the region that predates modern suburban patterns. Philadelphia, for its part, is a very large city with its own challenges.
For visitors, the two shores can be combined into a single trip, which the article on a combined itinerary discusses. Whitman, who lived in Camden for the last two decades of his life and often crossed to Philadelphia by ferry, is one example of a person whose life tied the two shores together, and his story is told in the article on Walt Whitman.
Where to look next
Readers who want current information about Philadelphia attractions, transit service or events should use official sources. The facts above are the broad outline of history and geography, which changes slowly, rather than a guide to current conditions.