: In the 18th and 19th centuries, the city became a leader in trade and shipbuilding. However, by the 1800s, it lost its political and banking dominance to Washington, D.C., and New York City.
: Supported heavily by the polymath Benjamin Franklin , Philadelphia became home to the nation’s first hospital, library, and bank. Filadelfia
: For nearly a century, a "gentleman’s agreement" kept buildings shorter than the William Penn statue atop City Hall. This tradition broke in 1987 with the construction of One Liberty Place , leading to a modern skyscraper boom. History in Philadelphia : In the 18th and 19th centuries, the