Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown, Pennsylvania Municipality of Norristown, Norristown Municipality Norristown PA Central Norristown Historic District County Montgomery Map of Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Location of Norristown in Montgomery County Norristown, Pennsylvania is positioned in Pennsylvania Norristown, Pennsylvania Location of Norristown in Pennsylvania Norristown is a borough (with home rule status) in and the governmental center of county of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located along the Schuylkill River approximately six miles from the Philadelphia town/city limits, Norristown has a populace of 34,324 as of the 2010 U.S.
The region where Norristown sits was originally owned by the family of Isaac Norris, who purchased the territory from William Penn in 1704.
Montgomery County Courthouse Named the governmental center of county in 1784 when Montgomery County was formed, Norristown was incorporated as a borough in 1812 and later enlarged in 1853.
Growing quickly after the Civil War, it swelled to 22,265 citizens by 1900 and by 1940 it was home to 38,181 Norristonians, making it the most crowded borough in Pennsylvania before declining in the decades after World War II.
At its height, Norristown was an industrial, retail, banking, and government center.
Norristown is positioned in southeastern Pennsylvania, approximately 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Philadelphia.
Norristown has four distinct neighborhoods: the West End, the East End, the North End, and the downtown.
As of the 2010 census, Norristown's populace is 34,324, which represents a 9.7% increase since 2000.
Norristown's economy is based largely on establishments in the government, healthcare, legal, and civil services sectors.
The Montgomery County government is the municipality's biggest employer. Other primary Norristown employers with a considerable existence are the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, USM (formerly U.S.
Roofing Corporation, Barton - Partners Architects+Planners, Chandler Bats, and the Norristown Area School District.
Norristown is home to the corporate command posts of both USM and U.S.
Norristown has been a home rule municipality since 1986 when voters adopted a charter with a manager/council form of government and a seven-member municipal council.
Norristown sits at the junction of a several major roads in the Philadelphia region.
Main Street (also known as Ridge Pike outside of the municipality) and Airy Street run east west through the downtown, eventually dominant to interchanges for I-476 (the Blue Route) and the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-276), in the order given, in Plymouth Meeting.
Norristown is the biggest multi-modal transit hub in Montgomery County.
Numerous rail lines, bus routes, multi-use trails, and parking areas converge at the Norristown Transportation Center (NTC).
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) operates eight bus routes (90, 91, 93, 96, 97, 98, 99, and 131), one light rail route (the Norristown High Speed Line), and a county-wide rail line (the Manayunk/Norristown Line) out of the NTC complex.
Norristown Transportation Center The Schuylkill River Trail, which joins Philadelphia to Phoenixville and runs through downtown Norristown, also passes through the NTC complex.
The Times Herald is the city's daily newspaper, printing seven days a week and serving most of Montgomery County.
Even with the loss of its historic movie and vaudeville theaters, Norristown is home to two performing arts centers (the Montgomery County Cultural Center and Centre Theatre) and one experienced theater company, Theatre Horizon.
These theaters form the nucleus for Norristown Arts Hill, a compilation of theaters, art arcades, and experienced firms on the 300-500 blocks of De - Kalb Street in downtown.
Norristown's Main Street contains a wide range of upscale ethnic restaurants providing Korean/Japanese, Mexican, Ethiopian, Vietnamese, and Italian food.
Norristown has seen a several new office buildings constructed or rehabbed over the last a several decades.
One Montgomery Plaza, the municipality's iconic downtown 10-story office building, was assembled in the early 1970s, and is now owned by Montgomery County.
Two newer mid-rise downtown office buildings, the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit Building and the Department of Environmental Protection Building, were assembled in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Two new downtown parking garages were assembled in the late 2000s, one at Main and Cherry Streets for visitors and another at SEPTA's Norristown Transportation Center on Lafayette Street.
Several large downtown and neighborhood streetscape projects were instead of by the municipal government to install new street lighting, trees, curbing, and sidewalks along Main Street, De - Kalb Street, and Powell Street.
The Lafayette Street Extension Project, a $60 million accomplishment now underway by Montgomery County, Penn - DOT, and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), will advancement highway access and mobility into downtown Norristown by widening Lafayette Street and extending it eastward toward Ridge Pike and Conshohocken, with eventual connections to the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-276) and the US 202 Dannehower Bridge. Montgomery County Courthouse Montgomery County Historical Society Norristown Arts Hill Norristown Farm Park Norristown State Hospital Norristown Transportation Center Congressman and Norristown Borough council president Maniac Magee, author Jerry Spinelli based the fictional town of Two Mills on Norristown, where he was born. Norristown, 2015 Norristown Academy Demographic and Information Packet, Montgomery County Planning Commission (MCPC), https://webapp.montcopa.org/planning/dataportal/pdfs/2012demogentiredocument.pdf, page 8.
Montgomery County Federation of Historical Societies, Montgomery County: The Second Hundred Years; Toll, Jean Barth and Michael J.
"Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015".
"Number of Inhabitants: Pennsylvania" (PDF).
"Pennsylvania: Population and Housing Unit Counts" (PDF).
"Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012".
Demographic and Information Packet, Montgomery County Planning Commission (MCPC), https://webapp.montcopa.org/planning/dataportal/pdfs/2012demogentiredocument.pdf, page 11.
"Montgomery County Election Results".
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (Map) (18th ed.).
"overview of Norristown, Pennsylvania" (Map).
Montgomery County Planning Commission, Lafayette Street Extension Project website, https://lafayettestreetproject.com.
"Norristown ready to recognize Mexican IDs".
Norristown Times Herald.
Norristown, 1812-1912.
Norristown.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Norristown.
Municipalities and communities of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States County seats of Pennsylvania Home Rule Municipalities in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Categories:
Boroughs in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania - Home Rule Municipalities in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania - Populated places on the Schuylkill River - County seats in Pennsylvania - Populated places established in 1784
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