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Renting an Apartment in King of Prussia
King of Prussia is an unincorporated community in Upper Merion Township,
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2000 census, its
population was 18,511. The community took its name in the 18th century from a
local tavern named "The King of Prussia Inn", which was named for Frederick II,
King of Prussia. Like the rest of Montgomery County, King of Prussia continues
to experience rapid development. Residents often refer to King of Prussia in
print as "KoP", and in conversation as "K.O.P." One of the largest shopping
malls in the United States, the King of Prussia Mall, is located here.
History
The original inn was constructed initially as a cottage in 1719 by the Welsh
Quakers William and Janet Rees, founders of nearby Reeseville. The cottage was
converted to an inn 1769 and was important in colonial times as it was
approximately a day’s travel by horse from Philadelphia. A number of settlers
heading from there for Ohio would sleep at the inn for their first night on the
road. In 1774 the Rees family hired James Barry (or Jimmy Berry) to run the inn,
which henceforth became known as "Berry's Tavern". General George Washington
first visited the tavern on Thanksgiving Day in 1777 while the Continental Army
was encamped at Whitemarsh; a few weeks later Washington and the army bivouacked
at nearby Valley Forge.
Parker's spy map, created by a Tory sympathizer of Kingdom of Great Britain,
listed the inn as "Berry's" in 1777, but a local petition in 1786 identified it
as the "King of Prussia". It was possibly renamed to entice German (especially
Prussian) soldiers to remain in and patronize the area; colonial generals such
as Johann de Kalb and Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben had many Prussians as
officers. At some point a wooden signboard of the inn depicted King Frederick
the Great of Prussia. The inn is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places.
The inn was forced to move with the expansion of US Highway 202. US 202 is a
major north-south highway that passes through the town from southwest to
northeast. Its construction as a modern expressway would have caused the
destruction of the King of Prussia Inn; however, historic preservationists
managed to prevail upon the state of Pennsylvania to avoid this important
structure by building north and southbound lanes on either side of it. For more
than a quarter century the inn was marooned on an artificial island, with cars
and trucks roaring past it on all sides. It was sealed up for years, surrounded
by a high fence. The inn was successfully relocated in 2000 and opened to the
public in October 2002.
The extensive suburban development that has taken place since the 1960s in King
of Prussia has led urban planning scholars like Joel Garreau to label the area
as an epitome of the edge city phenomenon, a situation where the most vibrant
economic growth and prosperity in a metropolitan area (in this case,
Philadelphia) no longer occurs in an urban center, but rather at its periphery.
Before 1960, the Greater King of Prussia area was known for little more than
being the place of Washington's winter respite in 1776-77 (see Valley Forge
NHP).
Daniel Berrigan and his brother Philip Berrigan began their Plowshares Movement
at the General Electric Weapons Plant in King of Prussia in 1980.
Geography
There is no incorporated city of King of Prussia, although the United States
Postal Service office there still carries that name (since 1850). King of
Prussia's boundaries are not well defined but focus on the municipality of Upper
Merion Township. The local fire department carries the King of Prussia name,
whereas the police department and the school district carry the Upper Merion
name. Therefore the geographical boundaries of King of Prussia are technically
bound by the limits of Upper Merion Township — these borders include the
Schuylkill River to the north, Valley Forge National Historical Park to the
west, and Bridgeport to the east. However, the Greater King of Prussia Area is
often cited to include Bridgeport, parts of Wayne and Radnor Township, King
Manor, as well as most of Gulph Mills.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 21.9
km˛ (8.5 mi˛). 21.8 km˛ (8.4 mi˛) of it is land and 0.2 km˛ (0.1 mi˛) of it is
water. The total area is 0.83% water.
This area is served by area codes 610 and 484. 484 is an overlay area code.
Infrastructure
King of Prussia has retained its role as an important crossroads throughout
United States history. In addition to the Inn, from the earliest days, the
intersection supported two general stores. Today four major highways meet in or
near the center of King of Prussia. The Schuylkill Expressway (I-76) from Center
City, Philadelphia ends in King of Prussia at the Pennsylvania Turnpike, an
east-west toll road across the southern portion of the state. US 422 begins near
the center of town and heads west to Reading, Pennsylvania; thanks to
reconstruction in 2000, motorists can now travel directly from Reading to
Philadelphia without passing onto US 202. US 202 is the only major highway that
becomes a surface road through the area.
The construction of one of the nation's largest shopping malls, thousands of
homes, various hotels and skyrises, strip malls, restaurants, freeways, a
convention center, and much more has caused King of Prussia to become a highly
developed community. However, homes and farmsteads older than 200 years still
dot the rolling countryside, and much is being done to protect them. Valley
Forge National Historical Park, preserving the site where General George
Washington and his Continental Army spent the winter of 1777-1778, borders King
of Prussia to the west.
Companies
King of Prussia is home to the King of Prussia Mall, the largest shopping
complex in the United States. King of Prussia comprises two malls which are
connected by a short covered crosswalk, originally developed and operated by
Kravco Company, now owned and managed by Kravco-Simon.
The Plaza at King of Prussia originally opened in 1960, and was under a
continual expansion until 1968. The Court at King of Prussia, comprising 900,000
square feet GLA connected by an open-air walkway to The Plaza, opened in 1980.
The Plaza was renovated and expanded between 1991-1996, to include nearly 1.9
million square feet GLA. The Court was renovated during 1996.
When the 180,000 square foot Strawbridge's department store at the far end of
the Court became vacant in the late 1990's, the original Kravco partners bought
the building. Kravco Company re-tenanted it with big box stores and restaurants
such as Cheesecake Factory, reducing GLA slightly, renaming that portion of The
Court "The Pavilion."
Thus the total GLA at King of Prussia is in the vicinity of 2.8 million square
feet GLA, depending on the source used, making it the largest shopping complex
in terms of GLA under one ownership in the United States. Mall of America has
more GLA under one roof, but is actually smaller than King of Prussia in terms
of GLA.
The King of Prussia shopping complex caters to the very broad low-middle,
middle, upper-middle and luxury spectrum of the consumers. Sales per square foot
averages $600, among the highest in the industry. Current department stores at
The Plaza include Neiman-Marcus, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor, JCPenney, and Sears.
Other notable Plaza tenants are Tiffany's, Hermes, Wilson's Leather, and Crate &
Barrel. Current department stores at The Court include Macy*s and Bloomingdales.
Restaurants at the mall include California Cafe, Sullivan's Steakhouse, Ruby's,
Maggiano's Little Italy, TGI Fridays, Bertolini's, Blue Pacific Chinese & Sushi,
Rock Bottom, Bennigan's, Legal Sea Foods, California Pizza Kitchen, Cheesecake
Factory, and three food courts.
The King of Prussia shopping complex is rare among malls, because it is largely
served by a modern energy-saving HVAC central plant and a unique high tension
dual automatic switching electrical feeds, attesting to the foresight and
sophisticated management style of the original Kravco owners and developers.
Other prominent retail space developed by others on the periphery of the mall
includes big box stores such as Best Buy, and Costco Wholesale, Nordstrom Rack,
United Artists theatres, and Bahama Breeze, Champs, Ruth's Chris Steakhouse,
Lone Star Steakhouse, Chili's, and Kildare's Irish Pub all directly across the
street from the massive shopping mall. A large Home Depot is located within 1/4
mile. These retail outlets employ 6,000 people in the area. Visitor traffic on
average shopping day is in the 25,000 range, while on Christmas season weekends,
it reaches over 125,000 daily.
Lockheed Martin has a large facility on a hill overlooking the mall as well.
King of Prussia is also home to roughly to 200 or more companies who have
headquarters or regional offices in the area, Cingular, Trane and General
Electric are a few examples. The Theodore Presser Company, the United States's
oldest music publisher, is also located in King of Prussia.
Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 18,511 people, 8,245 households, and
4,773 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 850.8/km˛
(2,202.4/mi˛). There were 8,705 housing units at an average density of 400.1/km˛
(1,035.7/mi˛). The racial makeup of the CDP was 82.70% White, 10.62% Asian,
4.26% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.04% Pacific Islander,
0.84% from other races, and 1.39% from two or more races. 1.91% of the
population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 8,245 households out of which 21.1% have children under the age of 18
living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were non-families. 33.1% of all
households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was
65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average
family size was 2.89.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 17.6% under the age of 18, 8.4%
from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65
years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there
were 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.1 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $62,012, and the median income
for a family was $75,882. Males had a median income of $50,803 versus $37,347
for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $32,070. 3.2% of the
population and 1.6% of families were below the poverty line. 1.8% of those under
the age of 18 and 2.1% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Education
Public school students in the King of Prussia area attend schools in the Upper
Merion Area School District. The schools include Caley Road, Roberts,
Bridgeport, and Candlebrook Elementary, Upper Merion Area Middle School and
Upper Merion Area High School.