Altoona

Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. The city was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1849 as the site for a shop and maintenance complex. It was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868. Prominent landmarks include the Horseshoe Curve, the Railroaders Memorial Museum, the Juniata Shops, the Mishler Theatre, the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, and the Jaffa Shrine Center. The Altoona Curve baseball team of the Eastern League is the AA affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball team. In the Cherokee language, the word eladuni means "high" or "where it is high"; there is a different meaning for the word Allatoona, which means "the high lands of great great lands" The city's name has no direct or indirect etymological relation to the Latin adjective altus, signifying "elevated, lofty" The German Altona, today a district of Hamburg, lies on the right bank of the Elbe, immediately west of Hamburg city center, and is an important railway and manufacturing center with a population of nearly 200,000. In 1849, David Robinson sold his farm to Archibald Wright of Philadelphia, who transferred the property to his son, John A. Wright, who laid it out in building lots.

History

Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1849 as the site for a shop and maintenance complex. It was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868. The city's name has no direct or indirect etymological relation to the Latin adjective altus, signifying "elevated, lofty" For 60 days in 2011, the city officially changed its name to "POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" in exchange for $25,000 as part of a marketing gimmick for the movie of the same name. In late September 1862, Altoona was home to the War Governors' Conference which brought together 13 governors of Union states. The demand for locomotives during the Civil War stimulated much of Altoona's growth, and in 1870 the city was known as a valuable meeting place for the first Interstate Commission to create the Gettysburg National Cemetery. The curve was built to help cross the Allegheny Ridge, a barrier to trade westward of the New York Canal in 20 years. Heshorsoe Curve, a curved section of track built by the PRR, has become a tourist attraction and National Historic Landmark. It has been named after a former tributary of the Elbe river called Altenawe or Altenah (meaning old meadow) in the 1652 maps by Johannes Mejer (published by Caspar Danckwarth).

Geography

Altoona lies at the base of Brush Mountain within Logan Valley and Pleasant Valley. Summers are hot and winters are moderately cold with wide variations in temperature. The main sections of Altoona are the Downtown, Center City, Logantown, Fairview, Juniata, Wehnwood, Calvert Hills, 5th Ward, Westmont, Eldorado, East End, Dutch Hill, Pleasant Valley, Hileman Heights, Mansion Park, Llyswen, Garden Heights, and Highland Park. Some significant neighborhoods are Little Italy, Gospel Hill, Toy Town, Columbia Park, Knickerbockers, and Curtin. The Texas Hot Dog was originally created in downtown Altoona in 1918, although the Paterson, New Jersey, Texas Hotdog location, which opened in 1924, is more famous. The U.S. post office in Altoona contains two oil-canvased murals painted by Lorin Thompson in 1938, titled Altoona Pioneers of the Pioneers and the Section of the Fine Arts Department of the United States of Painting and Sculpture. The city has a total area of 9.8 square miles (25.4 km²) Altoona is situated in the Allegheny Mountains. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 28.4 °F (2.0 °C) in January to 72.4°F (22.4èm) in July. Total precipitation is greatest in September and least in February. Altoona has several notable churches, including the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and the First Lutheran Church.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, the city was 93.8% White, 3.3% Black or African American, 0.4% Asian, and 2.0% were two or more races. As of the census of 2000, there were 49,523 people, 20,059 households, and 12,576 families residing in the city. The 2000 Census reported the following predominate ancestry/ethnicities: German (35%), Irish (17%), Italian (12%), English (7%), Polish (4%), Black orAfrican American (2), Dutch (2%), Scotch-Irish (2%) French (2!), Scottish (1%), Pennsylvania German (1), Welsh (1%) Swedish (1%), Slovak (1%). The median income for a household in theCity was $28,248, and the median income. for a family was $36,758. About 12.9% of families and 17.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.1% of those under age 18 and 9.0%, of those age 65 or over. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was2.98. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 88.3 males. For each 100 females age 18 or over, there are 84.5 males. The city has a population density of 5,069.7 people per square mile (1,957.1/km²). There were 21,681 housing units at an average density of 2,219.5 per squaremile (856.8/ km²).

Economy

Altoona serves as the corporate home to Sheetz, a rapidly growing convenience store chain in the United States. It now has over 600 locations throughout Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina. Altoona draws the most retail customers in the region due to its centralized location and to the fact that it has the best complementary retail of the three markets with 2,800,000 square feet (260,000 m2) of retail space. A new shopping center, Convention Center Commons, opened in 2015. The new shopping includes an AMC Movie Theater, and a Holiday Inn Express. This area plus Route 764 which runs through Altoona and the northern and southern suburbs is known as the "Green Banana" The Logan Valley Mall which is a major retail staple of the area. The Logan Town Centre which is the newest shopping center in the area and sits directly next to I-99. A bike path connecting the Campus to Downtown Altoona has also been built. The University provides a flow of resources into the downtown, aiding in revitalization efforts. As an example of the university's value to the downtown's economy, the installation of the Blue Lot near the Wolf Court Building has improved the economic attraction of downtown by offering up to three hours of free parking. The town is home to the Boyer candy company, famous for their Mallo Cup, the company was founded in 1936, 42 years after the founding of The Hershey Company. It is the linchpin of the Tri-City Region. Its location draws from a large trade area over a wide geographic area that extends to State College and Johnstown.

Sports

Altoona was the site of a 1.25-mile (2.01 km) board track called Altoona Speedway from 1923 to 1931. On June 15, 1929, just two weeks after winning the 1929 Indianapolis 500, Ray Keech was killed in an accident. Mansion Park Stadium's first artificial surface was installed in 1989. The eight-lane polyurethane running track wasinstalled in 1989 and has been resurfaced several times. The stadium is the home of the PIAA Football Championships from 1992 through 1997. The Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association East-West High School All-Star Game was played at Mansion Park from 2001 to 2010. The Beach Boys, Up With People, the Penn State Blue Band, the Ohio State Pride of the Buckeyes, the University of Notre Dame Band of the Fighting Irish and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Marching Illini have all played at the stadium. The American Cancer Society's Relay For Life is held at the Stadium each year. In early 2010, a new scoreboard featuring a video display board with an improved stadium sound system was erected thanks to the generosity of local sponsors. The Stadium is a source of community pride and regularly serves as the site. of events that benefit the economy of the Altoona-Blair County area. For 22 consecutive seasons, the playing surface has received rave reviews from players and coaches as athletes have experienced controlled footing regardless of the weather conditions. The track is also used extensively on a daily basis by hundreds of community residents who enjoy walking and jogging.

Education

Altoona is the location of the Pennsylvania State University, Ivyside Park campus, also known as Penn State Altoona. The college has approximately 3,903 students as of the 201415 school year. Altoona has three high schools, two parochial, and one public. The high school is much larger than Bishop Guilfoyle, graduating around 500 students annually. D.S. Keith Junior High and Theodore Roosevelt Junior High merged in 2008 to become the Altoona Area Junior High School. The Greater Altoona Career and Technology Center (GACTC) is located on 16th Street next to the high school and offers a variety of technical classes. YTI Career Institute has a campus in Logan Hills on Fairway Drive. South Hills Business School has acampus located on 58th Street. The town also has several technical schools, including South Hills High School and South Hills College of Technology. It is the third largest of the Penn State University Commonwealth campuses. It has a population of approximately 4,000 people. The city is located in Blair County, Pennsylvania, and is located near the Pennsylvania-Pennsylvania border. The population of Altoona is about 4,200 people, and the population of Blair County is about 3,000. The area has a median household income of about $30,000, and a median family income of $35,500. The average household income in the town is about $50,000 and the town has a high school graduation rate of about 70%.

Infrastructure

Altoona is a major center on the Norfolk Southern Railway's (NS) Pittsburgh Line. The Juniata Heavy Repair Shop Complex, originally built by the PRR, is the primary repair and maintenance facility on NS. Amtrak's Pennsylvanian stops at Altoona station once daily in each direction. Local roadways in Altoona tend to be given numerical names, and Streets are aligned northwestsoutheast and Avenues are aligned northeastsouthwest. The AltoonaBlair County Airport provides commercial air service for Altoona, offering daily flights to Philadelphia International Airport on Countor as part of the Essential Air Service. Given the close proximity to Hollidaysburg and Duncansville Boroughs as well as Allegheny and Blair Townships, City, borough and township services will often assist or be called in place of each other. Given that Altoona is entirely encompassed by Logan Township, and some small areas within the city are belonging to the Township, City and Township services often intermingle. In 2007, AMTRAN customers suffered a major loss in service due to cuts in state funding. In May of that year, Governor Rendell visited Altoona to discuss plans intended to rectify this situation. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or see www.samaritans.org for details. In the U.S. call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Altoona, Blair County, Pennsylvania = 72.2. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 93. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 81. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Altoona = 3.6 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 43,963 individuals with a median age of 38.5 age the population dropped by -7.00% in Altoona, Blair County, Pennsylvania population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 4,490.14 residents per square mile of area (1,733.67/km²). There are average 2.32 people per household in the 18,987 households with an average household income of $35,040 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 8.70% of the available work force and has dropped -4.35% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 22.60%. The number of physicians in Altoona per 100,000 population = 247.8.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Altoona = 43 inches and the annual snowfall = 36.3 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 139. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 191. 81 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 16.6 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 57, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Altoona, Blair County, Pennsylvania which are owned by the occupant = 60.26%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 20.2 years with median home cost = $77,020 and home appreciation of 6.95%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $11.71 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $5,228 per student. There are 16.1 students for each teacher in the school, 1367 students for each Librarian and 513 students for each Counselor. 6.20% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 8.28% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 3.92% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).