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Erie is a city 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 County. Erie is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania, behind, respectively, Philadelphia, ... more »
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Airports Erie is a city 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 County.
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 was also called the Gem City because of the sparkling lake.
. 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.
Things to do * Arboretum at Penn State Behrend * Lake Erie Arboretum * Erie Maritime Museum * Presque Isle State Park * Millcreek Mall * Peach Street * Waldameer Park & Water World * The Watson/Curtze Mansion/Plantarium
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 (also known as Peach Street), and U.S. Highway 6N.
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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. The mainline of the Norfolk Southern Railroad at one time ran directly down the middle of 19th Street in the city. The 19th Street tracks were recently removed. The 19th Street rail traffic is now routed onto the aforementioned transcontinental mainline.
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 is within a two hour drive of Buffalo-Niagara, Cleveland-Hopkins and Pittsburgh International Airports. The Erie International Airport (ERI) is a medium sized airport that is served by four major airlines: Continental (via Cleveland), Delta (via Cincinnati and new service to Atlanta), Northwest (via Detroit), and US Airways (via Pittsburgh or Philadelphia [former service to charlotte]). Bargains can be had and the airport itself is a breeze to navigate, get in and out of, and also has a full complement of car rental agencies on-site. Parking is easy, but it is also fairly pricey. (Erie's airport is not large enough to justify a competitive parking market like most larger airports have - park on-site, get a friend to drive, or take a cab/bus.) 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.
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Greyhound Lines runs regular scheduled bus service to and from Erie from many hubs, including Pittsburgh, Chicago, and New York City.
A new bus terminal opened in the spring of 2006, located in the heart of the Port of Erie.
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 (Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority) bus system runs seven days a week in the city.
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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.
Site of the 1853 Railroad Gauge War
The city of Erie was the site where two different sets of gauges (width between tracks) met. The different gauges became a huge problem for western expansion because of the delays caused by the need to unload, and then reload trains. The delays subsequently created many jobs in Erie which became endangered when a national standardized gauge was proposed. The citizens of Erie, led by the mayor, set fire to bridges, ripped up track, and in general did everything imaginable to delay the inevitable standardization.
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 bay front. 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.
The Bicentennial Tower, located on the Bayfront at the foot of State Street, was built in 1995 to commemorate the city's 200th year. It stands 187ft.
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* This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Source wikipedia.
