Erie, Pennsylvania

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Template:US City infobox Image:Erie bay.jpg Image:Presque isle from plane.jpg Erie is a city located in Erie County, Pennsylvania, on the coast of Lake Erie. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 103,717. It is the county seat of Erie CountyTemplate:GR.

Erie is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania, behind, respectively, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Allentown. Erie lost its status as the state's third-largest city to Allentown after the 2000 census, likely because Allentown is located in the fast-growing Lehigh Valley area.

Erie is the home of the US Brig Niagara. This wooden brig is a replica of the flagship once commanded by Oliver Hazard Perry in the 1812 Battle of Lake Erie. Due to the Niagara's presence, Erie's nickname is "The Flagship City." Perry's report to General Harrison of victory in the Battle of Lake Erie, "We have met the enemy and they are ours..." has become a classic quote from American history. The flagship Niagara is usually docked at the Erie Maritime Museum in Erie, and was even featured on a Pennsylvania License Plate.

Erie was the hometown of The Oneders (pronounced "Wonders"), in the Tom Hanks film "That Thing You Do".

Erie is named after the adjacent lake, which is named after the Erie tribe of Native Americans who lived along its southern shore before European contact. Erie's was also called the Gem City because of the sparkling lake.

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History

Erie was first settled by the French, who built Fort Presque Isle in 1753, as part of their effort to garrison New France against the encroaching English. Presque Isle means "almost an island" in French. The fort was surrendered to the British, along with the rest of New France, at the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763.

The City of Erie was part of the Erie Triangle that was claimed by the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut (as part of its Western Reserve), and Massachusetts. It officially became part of Pennsylvania in 1792, after all four states renounced their claims and the federal government sold the area to Pennsylvania. The city was founded in 1795.

During the War of 1812, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry built his fleet that successfully fought the British in the historic Battle of Lake Erie.

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Culture and Art

Erie is home to a number of professional and amateur performing-arts groups. Most significant is the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra, in continuous existence since 1913 (with the exception of an interregnum during World War II). This group of professional musicians also has a full chorus and a Junior Philharmonic division which actively tours the area.

The Lake Erie Ballet is a professional ballet company which puts on a number of performances of well-known ballets throughout the year.

The Erie Civic Music Association attracts, sponsors, and books performances by professional musicians, singers, entertainers, and ensembles from the world over.

Downtown Erie's historic and ornate Warner Theater hosts performances by all three groups. Renovated in the 1980s, the Warner serves as the hub of Erie's Civic Center.

The Erie Art Museum is Erie's premier art gallery, located in a former U.S. Customs House on lower State Street near the bayfront. Its collection has a particular emphasis on folk arts and modern styles. It also hosts a popular blues and jazz concert series.

Along West 6th St. is Millionaire's Row. There stands a collection of 19th century Victorian houses/mansions. The oldest lighthouse on all of the Great Lakes stands at the foot of Lighthouse Street in the city. The lighthouse was built in 1818 and replaced in 1867.

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Transportation

Erie is well-situated on major transportation lines, leading in part to its relative health as a light-to-medium industrial center in the face of dramatic declines in the Great Lakes states.

Three interstate highways join in or near the city: Interstate 90 (Boston to Seattle); Interstate 79, which begins in Erie and ends in Charleston, West Virginia; and Interstate 86 (east), the "Southern Tier Expressway," which begins in Erie and runs along the southern half of New York State to Binghamton and beyond. Also running through or near the city are the arterial roads U.S. Highway 20, U.S. Highway 19, and U.S. Highway 6N.

The former "Water Level Route" of the New York Central Railroad (now the CSX mainline) travels directly through Erie. This is a major mainline for the railroad and sees scores of trains a day. Less busy is the mainline of the Norfolk Southern Railroad. This line was once notable for running directly down the middle of 19th Street in the city.

An Amtrak train calls on the city twice daily (actually, in the middle of the night) at Union Station in downtown Erie: the Lake Shore Limited, running between New York, Boston, and Chicago. Although there has been much discussion in recent years in favor of adding daylight trains along the southern shore of Lake Erie to link Buffalo with Cleveland, and beyond, in light of Amtrak's perpetual budget woes, this will likely not take place in the near future.

Erie International Airport (IATA: ERI; IACO: KERI), located 5 miles southwest of the city, hosts general aviation, charter, and scheduled airline service. Airlines currently serving Erie include Comair (Delta Air Lines Connection), Continental Connection, US Airways and Northwest Airlines. The Erie airport has recently been recognized by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation as the fastest-growing airport in the state.

Greyhound Lines runs regular scheduled bus service to and from Erie from many hubs, including Pittsburgh, Chicago, and New York City.

The Port of Erie is an under-utilized facility located within Presque Isle Bay, a fine natural harbor. Currently, there is very little commercial shipping activity through the Port, save sand and gravel and miscellaneous coal shipments.

The EMTA runs seven days a week in the city.

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Geography

Image:Erie PA on Lake Erie 1.png Erie is located at 42°6'52" North, 80°4'34" West (42.114507, -80.076213)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 72.5 km² (28.0 mi²). 56.9 km² (22.0 mi²) of it is land and 15.6 km² (6.0 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 21.54% water. Erie is home to Presque Isle State Park (known to the locals as "The Peninsula"), a peninsula that juts out into Lake Erie and boasts numerous public beaches, wetlands, and good fishing locations.

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Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 103,717 people, 40,938 households, and 24,480 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,823.6/km² (4,722.9/mi²). There were 44,971 housing units at an average density of 790.7/km² (2,047.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 80.56% White, 14.20% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.75% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.92% from other races, and 2.32% from two or more races. 4.41% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Erie has long been declining in population due to the leave of many businesses and factories. Recently however, due to large revitalization projects and other factors, Erie is expected to have gained people by 2010. Erie has become a popular home because of the beautiful beaches, revitalized downtown, and a suburban feel, even though Erie's population is over 100,000.

There were 40,938 households out of which 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.2% were married couples living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,387, and the median income for a family was $36,446. Males had a median income of $30,714 versus $21,828 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,972. 18.8% of the population and 13.8% of families were below the poverty line. 27.0% of those under the age of 18 and 10.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

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Ethnicities and Religion

Like many cities in the so-called "Rust Belt," Erie is home to a substantial Polish-American community, consisting of descendants of immigrants from the 20th Century. The traditional Polish roots can be found on the lower East side, formerly a Polish, Irish, and Italian neighborhood. Along with Poles, there is a strong presence of Irish, Slovakians, and Italians in Erie.

The Roman Catholic Church has a significant presence in Erie, with over 75 percent of the population claiming to be Catholic. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie, under Bishop Donald Trautman, is the largest diocese, geographically speaking, in the state, covering some 13 counties. In Erie are three Catholic high schools, Cathedral Preparatory School, Mercyhurst Preparatory School, and Villa Maria Academy, and numerous Catholic grade schools, all served by the Diocese of Erie. Its cathedral church is St. Peter Cathedral, at 230 W. 10th Street. St. Peter's steeple is the highest structure in the city.

Recently, Erie has seen a great influx of families from Kosovo and Bosnia, to the extent that the city now has a Bosnian-American Cultural Center and a Bosnian Festival. Many of these immigrants are Muslims and Orthodox Christian.

In the early 20th Century, Erie had a significant Russian immigrant community, many of whom worked in the now-closed shipbuilding plants along the bayfront. Unusually for a Great Lakes city, a substantial number of these Russian immigrants were Old Believers. Even today, the gold-domed Church of the Nativity, on the bayfront near the former heart of the Russian community, is an Old Believer church. Bishop Daniel of Erie, of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, is based in Erie and is the Vicar President of the Synod of Bishops for the Old Believers.

Erie has a vibrant Jewish community that is over one hundred-fifty years old. Temple Anshe Hesed, a member of the Union for Reform Judaism, is served by its spiritual leader, Rabbi John L. Bush.

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Economy

As of 2004, the city's largest single employer is the locomotive builder GE Infrastructure-Rail, formerly known as GE Transportation Systems, located in neighboring Lawrence Park Township to the east. Apart from the General Electric plant, heavy industry is rapidly on the decline. However, smaller, high-precision companies are growing in size and scope. For example, the Lord Corporation, which specializes in shock- and vibration-damping products, has a plant in Erie.

The plastics industry is also a significant employer, although most of these companies are small to medium-sized. Over 10% of the nation's plastics are manufactured or finished in Erie-based plastics plants. These plants are supported by many locally owned CNC machine tool job shops. Boldt Machinery is based in Erie and is one of the largest CNC machine tool distributors in the Great Lakes region.

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Sports

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Colleges and universities

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Recent Major Political Events

Image:ErieCtyCourthouse EriePA.JPG The most recent significant political battle in the city was the mayor's race in the 2005 Democratic municipal primary, held May 17. Six candidates vied for the nomination, which was eventually won by first-term City Councilman Joe Sinnott with 5,856 votes, 752 more than runner-up Barry Grossman, a local businessman.

Mayor Rick Filippi came in a distant fourth, becoming Erie's first incumbent mayor in 40 years to lose a re-election bid. Filippi was dogged by pending public-corruption charges that the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office filed against the mayor and two of his associates. State prosecutors claim that in 2003, the trio used insider information from the Mayor's Office to buy four properties near the now-defunct International Paper plant at the same time that a gaming company was considering buying the site and using it for a horse-racing track and slots casino. The charges against Filippi were bound over for trial in the Erie County Court of Common Pleas less than a week after his defeat in the primary.

Filippi suffered further embarrassment when the local political smear Web site Expose Erie Politicians, which popped up a few weeks before the 2005 Democratic municipal primary, was linked to Erie City Solicitor Paul F. Curry, whom Filippi appointed. The Web site threw mud at Filippi's political opponents, and was set up on a Web server in Singapore using false domain-name whois information. In the end, the site was shut down for fraud by the Germany-based domain-name registrar. Curry and Filippi refused to talk to any local news reporters about it after that.

The Republican nomination went to Red Cross official Tim Zarnik, who defeated retired police officer Jack Anderson by a margin of 2,688 to 1,840. But on July 8, less than two months after winning the GOP primary, Zarnick announced he was dropping out of the race since he felt he could not win in a such a heavily Democratic town. On July 21, the Erie County Republican Party leadership chose Anderson as the new mayoral candidate. In a surprise twist, the party also put Zarnick back on the ballot, this time as an Erie County Council candidate. Zarnik and Anderson both lost their respective races in the general election.

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Famous Erieites

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Points of interest

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External links

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