article

The City of Camden is the county seat of Camden County, New Jersey in the United States. It is located just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 79,904.

Camden is the home of one of Rutgers' three campuses, with the other two being in New Brunswick, and Newark. Rutgers is the State University of New Jersey.

The USS New Jersey is preserved as a museum on Camden's Delaware River waterfront. It along with the Adventure Aquarium, the Tweeter Center, and Campbell's Field, make up the Camden Waterfornt. Campbell's Field is the home of the Camden Riversharks Minor league baseball team. Riverfront State Prison is immediately adjacent to the ballpark on the other side of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.

Camden may be most well known as the former home of the once vast RCA Victor manufacturing complex (1901 thru 1986) and the Campbell Soup Company. While Campbell's corporate offices have been in Camden for decades, its Camden plant closed in 1996.

The Delaware River Port Authority (or DRPA), which maintains its main offices in Camden, owns the Benjamin Franklin Bridge which connects Camden to Philadelphia, the PATCO Hi-Speedline's three Camden stations, the RiverLink ferry to Penn's Landing in Philadelphia, and numerous area port facilities.

New Jersey Transit's Walter Rand Transportation Center is located at Broadway & Mickle Blvd. Besides being a major hub for New Jersey Transit buses and Greyhound Lines, the Walter Rand Transportation Center is also a PATCO and River LINE station.

In 2004, Camden was declared "America's Most Dangerous City" by the Morgan Quitno Corporation 11th Annual Safest/Most Dangerous Cities Survey: Top and Bottom 25 Cities Overall, accessed June 23, 2006, up from third place in 2003 and topping the 354 cities studied. The city was named "Most Dangerous" again in 2005 out of 369 cities ranked nationwide12th Annual Safest/Most Dangerous Cities Survey: Top and Bottom 25 Cities Overall, accessed June 23, 2006, with Detroit, Michigan and St. Louis, Missouri in second and third place respectively.

History

For over 150 years, Camden served as a secondary economic and transportation hub for the Philadelphia area. Originally a suburban town with ferry service to 'the city,' Camden prospered during strong periods of manufacturing demand and faced distress during periods of economic dislocation. * Currently, government, education, and healthcare are the three biggest employers in Camden; however, most employees commute to Camden and live in nearby suburbs such as Cherry Hill.

From 1901 through 1929, Camden was headquarters of the Victor Talking Machine Company, and thereafter to its successor RCA Victor, the world's largest manufacturer of phonographs and phonograph records for the first two-thirds of the 20th century. RCA Victor contained one of the first commercial recording studios in the United States, where Enrico Caruso, among others, recorded. The RCA plant was also the site where the first color television was manufactured. The General Electric Company acquired RCA in 1986, and subsequently sold the Camden factory to the Martin-Marietta Corporation which closed the plant in 1992. The famous "Nipper Biulding" depicting RCA's famous "His Master's Voice" trademark in its tower windows has since been renovated into a luxury apartment building.

Walt Whitman lived his last years in Camden and is buried in Harleigh Cemetery on Haddon Avenue.

Camden is the place where the first drive-in theater opened, invented by Richard Hollingshead, on June 6, 1933.

From 1899 to 1967, Camden was the home of New York Shipbuilding Corporation, which at its World War II peak was the largest and most productive shipyard in the world. Notable naval vessels built at New York Ship include the ill-fated cruiser USS Indianapolis and the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk. In 1962, the first commercial nuclear-powered ship, the NS Savannah, was launched in Camden.Encarta Encyclopedia: Ship, accessed June 23, 2006 The Fairview section of Camden was a planned European-style garden village built by the Federal government during World War I to house New York Ship workers.

On September 6, 1949 mass murderer Howard Unruh went on a killing spree in his Camden neighborhood. Thirteen people died as a result. Unruh remains confined in a state psychiatric facility.

By 1969, Camden had been losing jobs and residents for a quarter century due in large part to urban decay, highway construction, and racial tensions. The worst racial riots occurred when a Puerto Rican motorist was beaten by city police and died in August 1971. Sections of downtown were looted and torched. *

In 1996, Governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman frisked Sherron Rolax in Camden, which many alleged violated Rolax's civil rights.

The town is mentioned by name in Fountains of Wayne's song, "Places"

High crime rate

Based on statistics reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Camden was the third-most dangerous city in the U.S. during 2002, and has been ranked the nation's most dangerous city in 2004 and 2005 *. "Most dangerous city" is based on crime statistics in six categories: murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and auto theft.

City Councilman Ali Sloan-El, responding to 2004 news about the 2003 statistics, cites Camden's poverty as an important contributing factor to its high crime rate. The demographic data from the Census indicates about a third of the city's residents live below the poverty line.

However, in 2005, homicides in Camden dropped sharply, to 34 — fifteen fewer murders than were reported in 2004Fewer Camden Murders in 2005, WPVI-TV, January 2, 2006. Though Camden's murder rate is still much higher than the national average, the reduction in 2005 was a drop of over thirty percent.

Former mayor, Milton Milan, was infamous for his connections to organized crime. On June 15, 2001, Milan was sentenced to serve seven years on prison on 14 counts of corruption, including accepting mob payoffs and concealing a $65,000 loan from a drug kingpin. Metro Briefing New Jersey: Camden: Milan Begins Sentence, The New York Times, July 16, 2001.

Government

Camden has historically been a stronghold of the Democratic Party. Voter turnout is very low; approximately 19% of Camden's voting age population participated in the 2005 gubernatorial electionVoter Participation in Camden City: Gubernatorial Election, accessed June 23, 2006.

Local government

Since July 1, 1961, the City has operated under a Mayor-Council form of government. Under this form of government, the City Council consisted of seven Council members originally all elected at-large. In 1994, the City opted to modify the form of government to better address the changing needs of the citizenry. To that end, the City of Camden was divided into four councilman districts, instead of electing the entire Council at-large. One Council member was elected from each of the four districts. In 1995, the election was changed from a partisan election to a non-partisan Municipal Election. The Municipal Election is held on the second Tuesday in May.

Gwendolyn Faison is the Mayor of Camden. Members of the City Council are:

  • Angel Fuentes - City Council President and Ward 4
  • Dana Redd - Vice President and Council Member At Large
  • Curtis Jenkins - Council Member At Large
  • Michael McGuire - Ward 1
  • Francisco "Frank" Moran - Ward 3
  • Gilbert "Whip" Wilson - Council Member At Large
  • Ali Sloan-El, Sr. - Ward 2

Federal, state and county representation

Camden is in the First Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 5th Legislative District.

Geography

Camden is located at 39°56'14" North, 75°6'22" West (39.937195, -75.106186).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.9 km² (10.4 mi²). 22.8 km² (8.8 mi²) of it is land and 4.0 km² (1.6 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 15.03% water.

Camden borders Collingswood, Gloucester City, Haddon Township, Pennsauken, and Woodlynne.

Camden contains the U.S.'s first federally-funded planned community, Yorkship Village (now called Fairview). The village was designed by Electus Darwin Litchfield, who was influenced by the "garden city" developments popular in England at the timeA Place Called YORKSHIP - Electus Litchfield's Plan, accessed June 23, 2006.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000 *, there were 79,904 people, 24,177 households, and 17,431 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,497.9/km² (9,057.0/mi²). There were 29,769 housing units at an average density of 1,303.2/km² (3,374.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 16.84% White, 53.35% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 2.45% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 22.83% from other races, and 3.92% from two or more races. 38.82% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 8.9% are foreign-born.

There were 24,177 households out of which 42.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.1% were married couples living together, 37.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.12 and the average family size was 3.62.

In the city the population is quite young with 34.6% under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,421, and the median income for a family was $24,612. Males had a median income of $25,624 versus $21,411 for females. The per capita income for the city was $9,815. 35.5% of the population and 32.8% of families were below the poverty line. 45.5% of those under the age of 18 and 23.8% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

In 2000, 28.85% of Camden residents identified as being of Puerto Rican heritage. This was the third highest concentration of Puerto Ricans on the US mainland, behind only Holyoke, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut.

Camden Waterfront

One of the most popular attractions of Camden is the city's waterfront, along the Delaware River. The waterfront is highlighted by its four main attractions, the USS New Jersey; the Tweeter Center; Campbell's Field; and the Adventure Aquarium.

The Adventure Aquarium was orginally opened in 1992 as the New Jersey State Aquarium at Camden. In 2005 after extensive renovation the aquarium was reopened under the name Adventure Aquarium. The aquarium was one of the original centerpieces in Camden's plans for revitalizing their city.

The Tweeter Center is a 25,000 seat open air concert amphitheater that was opened in 1995. The Tweeter is widely considered one of the best amphitheaters in the country for sound, and is most well known for its extremely large lawn seating area. The Tweeter is the most popular spot for touring artists to perform during the summertime in the Delaware Valley. The Tweeter is also known for its beautiful view of Center City, Philadelphia.

Campbell's Field, opened in 2001, is home the Camden Riversharks Minor League Baseball team, of the Atlantic League; and the Rutgers University-Camden baseball team. The stadium is considered by many ballpark enthusiasts as having one of the best outfield views in all of baseball, as the entire Ben Franklin Bridge can be seen beyond its walls.

The USS New Jersey was a United States Navy battleship that was active between the years 1943 and 1991. After its retirement the ship was turned into a museum along the Waterfront that opened in 2001. The New Jersey saw action in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

Other attractions at the Waterfront are the Wiggins Park Riverstage and Marina, One Port Center, The Victor Lofts, the Walt Whitman House, the Walt Whitman Cultural Arts Center, the Rutgers-Camden Center For The Arts and the Camden Children's Garden.

The Waterfront is also served by two modes of public transportation. New Jersey Transit services the Waterfront on its River LINE, while people from Phiadelphia can commute using the RiverLink Ferry, which connects the Waterfront with Old City Philadelphia.

Education

Camden's public schools are operated by Camden City Public Schools. Camden's school district is an Abbott District.

Natives from Camden, New Jersey

References

External links

Camden County, New Jersey | Cities in New Jersey | Faulkner Act | New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zone

Camden (New Jersey) | Camden (New Jersey) | カムデン (ニュージャージー州) | Camden (Nova Jérsei) | Camden, New Jersey

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Camden, New Jersey".

Home Page • arts • business • computers • games • health • hospitals • home • kids & teens • news • physicians • recreation• reference • regional • science • shopping • society • sports • world