Chester, Pennsylvania This article is about the town/city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
Chester, Pennsylvania .
Chester, Pennsylvania Delaware County Pennsylvania incorporated and unincorporated areas Chester highlighted.svg Chester is a town/city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a populace of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the metros/cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.
The current mayor of Chester, Thaddeus Kirkland, was propel on November 3, 2015 and served his first day in office on January 4, 2016.
Hendrickson House, assembled in Chester in 1690 by Swedish farmers, was moved to Wilmington, Delaware, in 1958.
Chester served as the governmental center of county for Chester County, which then stretched from the Delaware River to the Susquehanna River.
In 1789, the town/city became the governmental center of county for the newly created Delaware County (whereupon Chester County became landlocked, with West Chester as its county seat), but the governmental center of county was moved to the borough of Media in 1851.
Chester's naval shipyard supplied the Union amid the Civil War, and the United States in subsequent wars until the shipyard at Philadelphia became dominant after World War II.
America's biggest postbellum shipyard, John Roach's Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works, was also positioned in Chester, and the locale was repurposed by the Ford Motor Company with the Chester Assembly factory until 1961.
The Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., later Pennsylvania Shipyard & Dry Dock Company, was positioned in Chester until it closed in 1990.
Two ships of the United States Navy have been titled USS Chester with respect to the city.
Chester is one of various places that claim to be the place of birth of the hoagie sandwich. It is also known as the "Cradle of Rock 'n Roll", as Bill Haley & His Comets first performed and maintained their command posts in the Chester area.[better origin needed] The following are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Delaware County National Bank, 1724 Chester Courthouse, Chester Waterside Station of the Philadelphia Electric Company, Old Main and Chemistry Building, William Penn Landing Site, and the former Second Street Bridge. Chester, A City Working on a New Narrative, 43:46, Grapple, Keystone Crossroads In 1995, the state designated Chester as a financially distressed municipality.
Soon after that, the city's schools ranked last among the state's 501 districts, dominant Pennsylvania education officials in 2001 to hire the for-profit Edison Schools to run the small-town school precinct for three years. When Chester became eligible for Pennsylvania's Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) program, firms began to accept state and small-town tax breaks to invest in KOZ-designated areas.
The Wharf at Rivertown, a $60 million renovation of the Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO)'s 396,000 sq ft (36,800 m2) generating plant, which was originally assembled in Chester in 1918, has returned the waterfront to the small-town residents, providing both recreational and office space for new small-town endeavors. One of its tenants is Admin - Server, which makes software for the insurance industry.
Sun Shipbuilding converted part of the shipyard to a lesser shipping concern and sold its interest, then sold off portions of the rest to new users, such as the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution Chester.
Chester has a mayor-council government system, consisting of a popularly propel town/city mayor and town/city council.
The terms of the mayor and members are four years. The Chester City Council is made up of four members, Councilwoman Elizabeth Williams, Portia West, William A.
The current mayor of the City of Chester is State Rep.
Chester is a Third Class City, and was allowed by the people on April 20, 1980, as a Home Rule Charter Community. Under the home rule form of government, the town/city council has been given all the legislative power to problematic ordinances, rules and regulations so the town/city can furnish for the health, safety and well-being of its people. The act provides for municipalities that are near bankruptcy. The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections operates the State Correctional Institution Chester, a drug treatment facility, in Chester. The town/city is scheduled to exit the program in May 2018, which may force it into bankruptcy. Additionally, the town/city is expected to face an operating deficit of $9.2 million for 2016 which has led the new administration to address cutting government spending.
The United States Postal Service operates the Chester Post Office. He has been working for the department since 1993, and has served various other part s such as captain, major, and deputy chief. The department responds to about 4,900 calls to action each month, but they are a more proactive crime fighting organization. For example, in 2013, the town/city period its law enforcement as summer was approaching because crime generally rises amid that time and the addition was done in anticipation of more calls to action.
The United States Department of Justice gave them a Community Oriented Policing Services (C.O.P.S.) grant in 2012 that allowed the department to problematic five new positions that were implemented in this plan.
Even with its accomplishments, the Chester Police Department still has a strained relationship with its people which led to a probe in May 2016 and the hope was that it would change the relationship between the department and the community. The probe follows a March 2016 shootout that saw the department claiming the suspects fired first, but the inhabitants of the region where the incident took place believed the police fired first. In June, the United States Department of Justice came to Chester to hear the concerns of the people and it heavily criticized the department, pointing out deficiencies inside the department.
Recommendations will be made early in 2017 and a task force will be in Chester for two years to oversee any department changes. Crime is a heavy part of the daily life in Chester along with all the violence and economic hardships. The town/city of Chester has one of the highest per capita murder rates in the country.
People in the town/city of Chester have a 1 in 37 chance of being the victim of a violent crime.
Recently, a origin stated that there were 73 registered sex offenders living in the area. Other sources say that the crime in Chester, PA is roughly about 114% higher than crime in the rest of Pennsylvania, and close to 330% greater than the rest of the nation.
Safety in Chester is not so great overall. It was shown that Chester rates safer than only 3% of other metros/cities in Pennsylvania, and is only safer than 5% of the metros/cities in the entire United States. The threat of falling victim to crime in Chester is indecently high.
The rate of just regular crime in the town/city of Chester is 1 in 22 citizens will be the victim of it. To combat these crimes, the town/city of Chester has a law enforcement of 112 police officers.
Chester borders on (clockwise from southwest to northeast) Trainer Borough, Upper Chichester Township, Chester Township, Upland Borough, Parkside Borough, Brookhaven Borough, Nether Providence Township, Ridley Township, and Eddystone Borough in Pennsylvania.
Across the Delaware River, the town/city faces Gloucester County, New Jersey, and while most of its riverfront borders Logan Township, the easternmost portion of the town/city borders Greenwich Township.
Being at a low altitude between Philadelphia and Wilmington, Chester experiences a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) bordering a humid continental climate (Dfa.) The hardiness zone is 7b.
In Chester, east-west streets are numbered, while north-south streets carry names.
The chief bisecting street, known as The Avenue of the States south of 9th Street and Edgmont Avenue north of it, is signed as both Pennsylvania Route 320 (southbound only; northbound PA Rt.
Between 1993 and 2006, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (Penn - DOT) widened and realigned Pennsylvania Route 291 from Trainer to Eddystone from a two-lane roadway to a five-lane roadway.
Commodore Barry Bridge athwart the Delaware River at Chester Chester is served by two interstate highways: Interstate 95 and Interstate 476, which meet in close-by Eddystone.
An exit in Ridley Township at Mac - Dade Boulevard (which becomes 22nd Street in Chester) allows access to I-476 without having to use I-95.
Route 322, also run through Chester.
US 13 follows Morton Avenue in the city's Sun Village section until it crosses Ridley Creek and becomes Chester Pike in Eddystone.
US 322 enters Chester as a part of I-95 (merging on at Highland Avenue) and then departs I-95 at the Commodore Barry Bridge exit.
291 and the redevelopment of the Chester Waterfront, both the Delaware River Port Authority and Penn - DOT assembled a pair of entrance (westbound) and exit (eastbound) ramps to PA Rt.
Such a primary comprehensive would result in the demolition of various homes in the city's crime-plagued Highland Gardens section, along with condemning properties in close-by Chester Township, as I-95 passes through both municipalities between US 322 and the Commodore Barry Bridge.
Chester Transportation Center Public transit in Chester is provided by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), which acquired the former Suburban Philadelphia Transit Authority (aka "Red Arrow" Lines) in 1968.
Seven bus routes (Routes 37, 109, 113, 114, 117, 118, and 119) serve the city, with the Chester Transportation Center in the city's company district, serving as the hub.
Route 37 joins Chester with Philadelphia and the Philadelphia International Airport, while Route 113 from 69th Street Terminal joins Chester with the state of Delaware.
Both Routes 37 and 113 furnish direct service to the Harrah's Philadelphia Racetrack and Casino positioned inside the city, with Route 113 also providing service to the Philadelphia Union's Talen Energy Stadium soccer-specific stadium on the city's waterfront.
The Chester Transportation Center, serves as the chief bus core and the chief train station in the city, while the Highland Avenue station, positioned approximately 4 miles (6 km) southwest of Chester T.C.
A third station, at Lamokin Street, positioned approximately a mile east of the Commodore Barry Bridge at the junction of the NEC and the abandoned Penn Central Chester Creek Secondary Branch, was directed by SEPTA as a flagstop station until it was closed and completed in 2003 due to low usage.
Historically, the Chester Transportation Center was, like the Paoli station on the Paoli/Thorndale Line, both a commuter and intercity stop on the former Pennsylvania Railroad's New York Washington route.
But when Amtrak took over intercity rail passenger services in 1971, the Chester Transportation Center was bypassed, except from April 30, 1978, to October 29, 1983, when the Chesapeake stopped once daily in each direction between Philadelphia and Washington.
Chester High School The Chester-Upland School District serves the city, along with close-by Chester Township and Upland.
Chester High School is presently the district's sole high school, but a recent approval by the district's empowerment board will see the evolution of two magnet schools; one dedicated to the arts and another for science and technology. Katharine Drexel Parish, established in 1993 by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia with the consolidation of all Roman Catholic churches in the city, maintains the city's only parochial school.
James High School for Boys, the city's "other high school" and for many years, the chief football rival for Chester High School, closed its doors in 1993 due to decreased enrollment.
The nearest Catholic high school to Chester is Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield or, to parts of Chester, Archmere Academy in Claymont, Delaware.
Chester Community Charter School is a charter school established in 1998 that serves over 2,000 students in grades K-8. It is presently run by Steven Lee.
New school Chester Charter School for the Arts was established in 2012 and presently home 460 kids K-9 (adding on until 12).
Widener Partnership Charter School was first launched in 2006, and is presently positioned athwart from the chief campus college of Widener.
The college of Widener provides various support options to the charter school including educating staff, providing work to there graduate students, and use of the college facilities to help further the education of the charter school.
The school also has a number of outside partners that include 21st Century Learning Communities, Andrew Hicks Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Big Friends, Chester Education Foundation, Earth Force, Exelon Foundation, Incredible Years, PECO, and Soccer for Success. Widener Partnership Charter School also has been proven to be efficient in helping kids gain scholarships, and academic awards.
Twenty Five eighth graders that graduated from the first class received scholarships to Philadelphia Catholic high schools, and where also given 100,000 dollars to attend Widener as undergraduate students if the students meet the requirements through high school.
This marked the first graduating class of a college partnered charter school. Other news involving the charter school includes the new principle April Thomas who replaced Dr.
She has been in this position since February 27 of 2014. The Widener Partnership Charter School also has a number of after school programs.
The Widener Cares Tutoring Project is a program dedicated to connecting Widener students, faculty, and staff volunteers with the elementary school students.
Widener Partnership Charter School also offers the Widener Reads and Widener Counts.
This program is dedicated to students in Chester Community Charter School, Chester Upland School of the Arts, Drexel Neumann Academy, Stetser Elementary School and the Widener Partnership Charter School, and helps advancement students reading skills through tutoring. The Widener Partnership Charter School also has recently added a new $4.6 million wing of the school at 1450 Edgmont Ave.
The New wing was funded by the university, and the college charges the school rent on an annual basis, but no college tuition dollars or precinct reimbursement funds were put into the new wing of the school. Widener University, formerly the Pennsylvania Military College (PMC), is in Chester.
The college is very involved with the town/city of Chester, and the encircling communities.
Widener has in place certain organizations/clubs to help advancement the town/city of Chester.
Such organizations include Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center, Philadelphia Speaker Series, University Technology Park, and the Widener Observatory.
Widener University is presently in an active universal that is called the Chester revitalization project.
The benefits the universal can be seen in Chester, PA with building such as coffee shops, hotels, a bookstore, restaurants, and some apartements. Widener also serves the improve in other ways.
Widener works to educate the youth of Chester to inform them about the legal system, and avoiding juvenile detention by having students from criminal justice, and law talk to the youth. The University has a United States Postal Service postal service positioned in the University Center making it easy for college students to send and receive mail.
One origin claimed that the fraternities and sororities complete more than 2500 hours of service per academic year. Three-quarters of the students in the school participate in improve service while ranking 19th nationally on Newsweek's list of service-minded colleges. Widener Offers eight schools and universities that offer liberal arts and sciences, experienced and pre-professional curricula dominant to associate's, baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degrees. Widener also offers a number of athletics that compete at the NCAA Division III intercollegiate level.
These range from intermural sports, radio shows, and improve service. Widener University is a lesser private school that feels there class size is an favor to the students overall character of education.
To the left is the Chester End and the right The River End, which is separate from the rest of Talen Energy Stadium.
Chester is the home of the Philadelphia Union, which plays its home games at Talen Energy Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium at the base of the Commodore Barry Bridge.
"Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Chester city, Pennsylvania".
Narratives of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware 1630 1707, ed.
"City of Chester, PA".
"Chester, A City Working on a New Narrative".
"City of Chester Mayor Butler".
City of Chester.
"Kirkland leads in Chester mayor race".
City of Chester Home Rule Charter".
"Consultants recommend police, firefighter layoffs to bolster Chester's finances".
"Will Chester go broke? "Post Office Location - CHESTER Archived September 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.." "New Chester Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland appoints Darren Alston top cop in city".
"Chester Police Department".
"Chester adds nine officers, 10 cadets to law enforcement".
"How big a change might Justice review bring to Chester police?".
"Department of Justice begins review of Chester Police".
"Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Enumeration Summary File 1 (DP-1): Chester city, Pennsylvania".
"Selected Economic Characteristics: 2010-2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (DP03): Chester city, Pennsylvania".
"Construction to start on 8 I-95 bridges in Chester City".
Morton was born in close-by Ridley Township and is buried in Chester.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chester, Pennsylvania.
City of Chester official website History of the City of Chester, PA none County seat of Chester County US 322.svg Concordville, West Chester I-476.svg Media, Plymouth Meeting I-95.svg Philadelphia Articles relating to Chester, Pennsylvania
Categories:
Chester, Pennsylvania - Cities in Delaware County, Pennsylvania - Port metros/cities and suburbs of the United States Atlantic coast - Cities in Pennsylvania - Populated places established in 1641 - 1641 establishments in North America17th-century establishments in New Sweden - 1641 establishments in the Swedish colonial empire
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