William Penn's vision of a “Greene countrie towne” which balanced urban opportunities with rural atmosphere is best realized in Philadelphia's extensive network of parks and recreational facilities. In fact, the city has the largest municipally owned landscaped park in the world, Fairmount Park. The Fairmount Park system contains well over 3500 hectares (8700 acres) of land, and the major portion of the park, which extends along both sides of the Schuylkill River on the city's western side, includes well over 2000 hectares (4000 acres). It contains forests, meadows, an 8.9 km (5.5 mi) gorge as well as tennis courts and athletic fields. Also in the park are some of Philadelphia's old mansions, which are now managed as museums by the city or community groups. Philadelphia's Zoological Gardens, first opened in 1874, also lie within the boundaries of the Fairmount Park system. The historic Bartram's Gardens in southwest Philadelphia are America's first experimental botanical gardens developed by the father of American botany, John Bartram. In addition, the city is home to the Morris Arboretum, designed in an English Victorian-era style and donated to the University of Pennsylvania by a local family in 1833.
In the 1890s Philadelphia boasted two professional baseball teams, the Athletics and the Phillies, and became one of the most avid baseball towns in the country. The Phillies, who were first organized in 1883, continue to play in Philadelphia. The Phillies use Veterans Stadium along with the Philadelphia Eagles, the city's professional football team. Since 1963 Philadelphia's professional National Basketball Association (NBA) team has been the Philadelphia 76ers. Led by Wilt Chamberlain, one of the NBA's leading scorers and a Philadelphia native, the 76ers won the NBA championship in 1967. They also participated in four more NBA finals, winning the title again in 1983. The 76ers play in the First Union Center, also home to the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League. Other professional sports teams in the city include the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League and the Philadelphia KiXX of the National Professional Soccer League.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Philadelphia Information info
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