State College | |
|---|---|
| Borough of State College | |
 Campus buildings on Burrowes Road _near_White_Course_Drive_in_State_College%2c_Pennsylvania.jpg) Campus building spanning across Atherton Street at White Course | |
.png) Logo | |
| Nicknames: "Lion Country", "Happy Valley" | |
 Show State College Show Centre County Show Pennsylvania Show the United States | |
| Coordinates:40°47′29″N77°51′31″W / 40.79139°N 77.85861°W /40.79139; -77.85861 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Pennsylvania |
| County | Centre |
| Incorporated | August 29, 1896; 129 years ago (August 29, 1896) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ezra Nanes[1] (D) |
| • Borough Council President | Evan Myers[2] |
| Area | |
| 4.58 sq mi (11.86 km2) | |
| • Land | 4.58 sq mi (11.86 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,154 ft (352 m) |
| Population | |
| 40,501 | |
| • Density | 8,846/sq mi (3,415.5/km2) |
| • Urban | 87,454 (US:335th) |
| • Metro | MSA:158,742 (US:257th) CSA: 236,577 (US:124th) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 16801,16802, 16803, 16804, 16805 |
| Area code | 814 and 582 |
| FIPS code | 42-73808 |
| School district | State College Area School District |
| Website | www |
State College is aborough andhome rule municipality inCentre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is acollege town, home to theUniversity Park campus ofThe Pennsylvania State University.
State College is the largest designated borough in Pennsylvania.[5] It is the principal borough of the six municipalities that make up theState College area, the largest settlement inCentre County and one of the principal cities of the greaterState College-DuBois Combined Statistical Area with a combined population of 236,577 as of the2010 U.S. census. In the 2010 census, the borough population was 42,034.[5]
TheDelaware,Iroquois,Mingo, andShawnee were some of the first native inhabitants who began establishing settlements, farms, and trails throughout the valley and its water gaps.[6][7]
The name of theNittany Valley and its most prominent feature,Mount Nittany, comes from either Shawnee, Iroquois, or Lenape. It is thought to be a place name roughly translating to "single mountain."[8] A common myth suggests the name comes from princess Nita-Nee, who led her people to the fertile valleys of central Pennsylvania. The author of the story, Henry W. Shoemaker, later admitted that the legend was "purely fictitious," although the myth persists to this day.[9] Waupelani Drive is named after ChiefWoapalanne.[10]
TheFarmers' High School of Pennsylvania was founded in 1855 on 400-acres of land in what wasHarris Township.[11] Although the area was isolated from most of the state,[12] the land was reasonably affordable and the Nittany Valley was rich in limestone, causing exceptional soil fertility.[13] The land was clear-cut for charcoal, powering the adjacentCentre Furnace. In 1862 the school was renamed to The Agricultural College of Pennsylvania.[13]
In 1875,College Township formed, taking up most of what is now State College.[14] In 1885, thePennsylvania Railroad opened a train station two miles from campus inLemont on theLewisburg and Tyrone Railroad.[12] Passengers would have to catch anautobus or ahack to complete the journey to State College from the new station.[12] Construction of the train station on West College Avenue was finally completed in 1892, connecting State College to theBellefonte Central Railroad (BCRR) viaStruble. The journey along the 20-mile-long line took 50 minutes, meandering through theScotia Barrens and theBuffalo Run Valley south of theBald Eagle Ridge before making it toBellefonte.[15] On August 29, 1896, State College officially separated from College Township forming a borough.[16]
In 1909 the hilly area south of Downtown began to be developed under the name Highland Park.[17] The borough began expanding in 1916 with annexations from Ferguson and College Township. In 1917 the borough added the Hamilton,[18] Highland Park,[19] and South Side[20] additions to its boundary. Regular passenger trains were discontinued in 1917, while mixed passenger and freight trains continued until 1945.[21]
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In 1930, the BCRR built a line from State College toFairbrook, though it ceased using the line in 1933 due to the economic impact of theGreat Depression.[21] Compared to the rest the country, State College was much more economically stable due to the expanding Pennsylvania State University.[22] This led to State College and the surrounding townships being nicknamed "Happy Valley."[23] The borough expanded throughout the 1930s with three more annexations, including Lytle's Addition.[24] In 1940, State College eclipsed Bellefonte in population with around 6,226 people.[22]
The influx of veterans returning from the war led to a post-war building boom from 1946 to 1947 especially around the Highlands and South End.[24] Windcrest, a trailer park community built to accommodate returning veterans, was rented to married student veteran families.[25]
In 1951, thePenn State Nittany Lions men's soccer team flew toIran following a request fromU.S. State Department. The team was meant to play several exhibition matches in an attempt to "further goodwill" between the United States and Iran. The Nittany Lions lost their first match inIsfahan 2–0 in front of 5,000 spectators.[26]
On January 21, 1965,Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech ondesegregation to an audience of about 8,000 community members and students inRec Hall.[27]
In 1970 attempts were made by university students to divest money from theApplied Research Laboratory, which producestorpedoes. A sit-in at Old Main led to the arrest of at least 30 people. Protests against the ARL escalated in 1972 when about 2,000 protesters blocking College Avenue and North Atherton Street were met with police inriot gear. The following day more than 5,000 protesters marched to the ARL, which temporarily shut down at the request of the university andLieutenant GovernorErnest Kline.[28]
In 1973, State College adopted a home rule charter which took effect in 1976;[29] since then, it has not been governed by the state's Borough Code, although it retains "Borough of State College" as its official name.
The university has a post office address inUniversity Park, Pennsylvania. When it changed its name from Pennsylvania State College to The Pennsylvania State University in 1953, its president,Milton S. Eisenhower, sought to persuade the town to change its name as well.[30] A referendum failed to yield a majority for any of the choices proposed as a new name, so the town remains State College.
State College remained resistant to the economic shocks of the 2008Great Recession[31] as it did during the Great Depression.[23] This led to a wave of investment intohigh-rises and other construction projects in the area.[32] The tallest building in State College, the Fraser Centre, was finished in 2015.[33] There have been several other high-rises built in Downtown State College since the Fraser Centre was completed, and one in the West End.[34]
Beginning in 2015 the borough council voted to change the name of State College to "City of THON" for 46 hours in honor ofTHON, the largest student-run philanthropic organization in the world,[35] a tradition that would continue every year since.[36]
On March 20, 2019, State College police officer Jordan Pieniazek shot and killed Osaze Osagie, a 29-year-old man, during awellness check.[37] An investigation by thestate police was passed down to thedistrict attorney of Centre County, Bernie Cantorna, who determined that the shooting was justified.[38] Protests began after thedistrict attorney's report was released on May 8, 2019.[38] On May 31, 2020, thousands took part in a protest downtown againstpolice brutality with an emphasis on the murder ofGeorge Floyd and killing of Osaze Osagie.[39] It became one of the largest protests in the county's history.[40] Demonstrations would continue for years, including a 24-houroccupation of the State College Borough municipal building in November 2020[41] and a march in 2021 outside the Marvin Gardens apartments where Osagie was fatally shot.[42][43] In 2023, thefederal judge for theMiddle District of Pennsylvania,Matthew William Brann, dissmised a lawsuit against the borough and police involved.[42] March 20 was declared “Osaze Osagie Day of Remembrance” by the State College Borough in 2023.[44] Osagie's parents established two scholarships, The Osaze's Heart Community Service Scholarship for racially underrepresentedState High seniors,[45] and The Osaze Olufemi Osagie Memorial Scholarship for Educational Equity for Penn State students with intellectual and mental health diagnoses.[46][47]
The borough became the first municipality in Pennsylvania to pass aresolution for a ceasefire in theGaza war.[48] The measure passed unanimously on December 20, 2023[49] after months of marches and demonstrations.[50] A copy of the resolution was forwarded to PresidentJoe Biden; senatorsJohn Fetterman andBob Casey Jr.; and representativeGlenn Thompson.[48]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 4.5 square miles (12 km2), all land. It is surrounded by large tracts of farmland and an expanse ofAppalachian Mountain ranges and forests. Its location within a valley makes it prone to frequent rain, snowfall, and flooding.[51] State College is in theSusquehanna watershed.[52] The borough is the nexus, and most populous municipality inHappy Valley. State College is also a part of the largerNittany Valley. The Nittany Valley is part of the geologicridge-and-valley province of theAppalachian Mountains.[53] It is located at the approximategeographic center of Pennsylvania. The borough is bordered byFerguson andCollege Township.
The Borough of State College has twelve neighborhoods and half of University Park. The Highlands have around ten thousand people, making it the largest neighborhood in the borough, followed by Downtown and Orchard Park.[54] The Highlands are a mix of apartments, townhouses, single-family homes, businesses, and parks. The neighborhood features working class areas like Lytle Hill and Marvin Gardens, and student areas like Frat Row. TheHolmes–Foster–Highlands Historic District includes parts of Holmes-Foster, the Highlands, and the West End. Holmes-Foster and the West End were two of the first neighborhoods to be developed due to their proximity to Downtown, University Park, and theBellefonte Central Railroad.[55] Part of College Heights makes up theCollege Heights Historic District which was created in 1935 and features the College Heights Service Station.[56][57] It took six annexations from College Township from 1930 to 1968 to officially bring the South End and Nittany Hills (also Penfield) neighborhoods in the borough.[24] Vallamont and Penfield are the least populated neighborhoods, both of which are in the foothills of Mount Nittany on the east side of town.[54] Parkway, short for Westerly Parkway Plaza, is home toState High, the Delta Program, the Westerly Parkway Wetlands,[58] and the Parkway Plaza Apartments, which were built in the 1960s.[59] Orchard Park is home to the South Hills School of Business & Technology. Residents of Downtown (99%), the West End (96%), and Orchard Park (89%) are largely renters; whereas Greentree (93%), College Heights (70%), and Penfield (68%) residents are predominately homeowners.[54]
Downtown bring in over two million tourists a year, and features 25 major festivals, including Arts Fest,[60] Latin Festival,[61] Fall Festival,[62] and First Night festival.[63] The neighborhood is home toSchlow Library, Memorial Field, Sydney Friedman Park, MLK Plaza, theState Theater, and several murals and art installations including the Calder Way Fresco, Dreams Take Flight, and the MLK Plaza mural depicting King's 1965 speech at Penn State.[64][65]
The 2010s saw a construction boom downtown, with several mixed-use towers developed, including Rise, Metropolitan, Fraser Centre, and Here State College, and others. Unlike older towers, many of the newer buildings are mixed-use, with retail on the ground floor, offices on the next couple floors up, and apartments on the top floors.[66][67]
The Downtown area has seen large protests over past the couple of decades,[68] particularly at the Allen Street Gates and the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza. In recent years, marches forMay Day,[69]Black Lives Matter,[70]trans rights,[71] and againstIsraeli war crimes have taken place in the Downtown streets.[72]
University Park is the main campus of Pennsylvania State University, and its split between the Borough of State College and College Township. It is home toOld Main, Penn State's first building of major significance, completed in 1863;Palmer Museum of Art, visual arts facility and cultural resource for Penn State and local community; andPenn State Creamery, the world's largest university creamery. University Park is also home toBeaver Stadium, the second-largest stadium in theWestern Hemisphere and the home ofPenn State Nittany Lions football and theBryce Jordan Center, home of the Men's and Women's Penn State basketball and other indoor sports and entertainment events; although these structures are located in College Township.[73]
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The Holmes–Foster–Highlands Historic District with 727 contributing buildings, and College Heights Historic District with 278 were added to theNational Register of Historic Places in 1995.[74] Houses come in popular early twentieth-century architectural styles includingColonial Revival,Tudor Revival, andBungalow. The historicCamelot house is also in the Holmes–Foster–Highlands Historic District[75] while the College Heights Service Station and College Heights School are in the College Heights Historic District.[57][76]
State College has ahumid continental climate (KöppenDfa). Temperatures average 27.2 °F (−2.7 °C) in January and 72.2 °F (22.3 °C) in July.[77] Annual precipitation averages 41.53 inches (105 cm), with 43.8 inches (111 cm) of annual snowfall on average.[77] With a period of record dating back to 1893, the lowest temperature recorded was −20 °F (−29 °C) onFebruary 10, 1899, and the highest was 102 °F (39 °C) on July 17, 1988, and July 9, 1936.[78]
Weather in State College is strongly influenced by the mountain and valley topology of the area. The surrounding mountains cause significantly lower temperatures in the winter, and make summer heat waves much rarer than in the rest of the state. Precipitation is about 20% lower than areas at comparable elevations, again due to the surrounding mountains. Snowfall typically occurs between October and April, but has happened as late as June.[79]
| Climate data for State College, Pennsylvania (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 71 (22) | 74 (23) | 86 (30) | 94 (34) | 93 (34) | 96 (36) | 102 (39) | 101 (38) | 98 (37) | 90 (32) | 81 (27) | 71 (22) | 102 (39) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 56.5 (13.6) | 58.9 (14.9) | 69.0 (20.6) | 81.3 (27.4) | 86.7 (30.4) | 89.2 (31.8) | 91.0 (32.8) | 89.3 (31.8) | 85.9 (29.9) | 78.1 (25.6) | 68.7 (20.4) | 58.2 (14.6) | 92.4 (33.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 33.9 (1.1) | 36.8 (2.7) | 45.6 (7.6) | 59.2 (15.1) | 69.4 (20.8) | 77.0 (25.0) | 81.1 (27.3) | 79.3 (26.3) | 72.3 (22.4) | 60.7 (15.9) | 48.8 (9.3) | 38.4 (3.6) | 58.5 (14.7) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 27.2 (−2.7) | 29.1 (−1.6) | 37.0 (2.8) | 49.3 (9.6) | 59.8 (15.4) | 68.1 (20.1) | 72.2 (22.3) | 70.4 (21.3) | 63.2 (17.3) | 51.9 (11.1) | 41.2 (5.1) | 32.2 (0.1) | 50.1 (10.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 20.5 (−6.4) | 21.5 (−5.8) | 28.3 (−2.1) | 39.4 (4.1) | 50.3 (10.2) | 59.3 (15.2) | 63.3 (17.4) | 61.6 (16.4) | 54.1 (12.3) | 43.0 (6.1) | 33.5 (0.8) | 26.0 (−3.3) | 41.7 (5.4) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 2.8 (−16.2) | 5.6 (−14.7) | 11.6 (−11.3) | 25.8 (−3.4) | 36.4 (2.4) | 45.9 (7.7) | 52.9 (11.6) | 51.1 (10.6) | 41.2 (5.1) | 30.7 (−0.7) | 20.4 (−6.4) | 11.3 (−11.5) | 0.5 (−17.5) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −18 (−28) | −20 (−29) | −9 (−23) | 1 (−17) | 27 (−3) | 34 (1) | 40 (4) | 30 (−1) | 28 (−2) | 16 (−9) | 1 (−17) | −13 (−25) | −20 (−29) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 2.92 (74) | 2.46 (62) | 3.38 (86) | 3.51 (89) | 3.64 (92) | 4.09 (104) | 3.79 (96) | 4.16 (106) | 3.95 (100) | 3.46 (88) | 2.99 (76) | 3.18 (81) | 41.53 (1,055) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 11.3 (29) | 11.6 (29) | 9.4 (24) | 0.9 (2.3) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.4 (1.0) | 2.6 (6.6) | 7.6 (19) | 43.8 (111) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.01 in) | 13.6 | 11.4 | 12.0 | 13.6 | 14.5 | 12.3 | 12.4 | 11.2 | 10.7 | 11.4 | 10.5 | 12.8 | 146.4 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.1 in) | 8.4 | 7.3 | 4.4 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 5.6 | 28.6 |
| Source:NOAA[78][77] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 851 | — | |
| 1910 | 1,425 | 67.5% | |
| 1920 | 2,405 | 68.8% | |
| 1930 | 4,450 | 85.0% | |
| 1940 | 6,226 | 39.9% | |
| 1950 | 17,227 | 176.7% | |
| 1960 | 22,409 | 30.1% | |
| 1970 | 32,833 | 46.5% | |
| 1980 | 36,130 | 10.0% | |
| 1990 | 38,923 | 7.7% | |
| 2000 | 38,420 | −1.3% | |
| 2010 | 42,034 | 9.4% | |
| 2020 | 40,501 | −3.6% | |
| Sources:[80][81][82][83][4] | |||
According to the 2010 census,[82] there were 42,034 people, 12,610 households, and 3,069 families residing in the borough. The population density was 9,258.6 inhabitants per square mile (3,574.8/km2). There were 13,007 housing units at an average density of 2,865.0 per square mile (1,106.2/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 83.2%White, 3.8%Black or African American, 0.2%Native American, 9.8%Asian, 1.0%Other, and 2.0% from two or more races. 3.9% of the population were ofHispanic orLatino ancestry. 22,681 or 54.0% of borough residents were males and 19,353 or 46.0% were females.
A 2014 estimate had the racial makeup of the borough as 78.9% Non-Hispanic White, 5.6% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American and Alaska Native, 11.5% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 0.8% Some other race, and 2.2% two or more races. 4.4% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).[84]
Of the 12,610 households, 9.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 18.2% were married couples living together, 3.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 75.6% were non-families. 33.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.71.
The age distribution of the borough was overwhelmingly influenced by its student population: 5.1% of the population was under the age of 18, 70.6% from 18 to 24, 13.1% from 25 to 44, 6.5% from 45 to 64, and 4.7% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years.
The median income for a household in the borough was $23,513, and the median income for a family was $58,953. The per capita income for the borough was $13,336. 46.9% of the population and 9.8% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 10.6% of those under the age of 18 and 2.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. However, traditional measures of income and poverty can be very misleading when applied to a community like State College that is dominated by students.
The population of theState Collegemetropolitan statistical area was 153,990 as of the 2010 U.S. census.
Pennsylvania State University is the largest single employer in the region, employing over 27,000 full- and part-time workers as of 2016. Other industries in the area include health care, retail, hospitality services, construction, and government.[85]
| # | Employer | # of employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pennsylvania State University | 27,029 |
| 2 | Mount Nittany Medical Center | 2,365 |
| 3 | State College Area School District | 1,792 |
| 4 | Government of Pennsylvania | 1,704 |
| 5 | Walmart | 732 |
| 6 | Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc. (construction) | 700 |
| 7 | HRI Inc. (asphalt contractor) | 692 |
| 8 | Weis Markets | 631 |
| 9 | Centre County Government | 586 |
| 10 | Geisinger Medical Group | 563 |
Other notable employers include theFederal Government (452 employees),YMCA (446 employees),Wegmans (430 employees), Shaner Corporation (380 employees),McDonald's (263 employees),Giant Food Stores (255 employees), Hotel State College & Company (251 employees),Raytheon (251 employees),Sheetz (251 employees), Foxdale Village (250 employees), State College Borough Government (213 employees),Minitab (211 employees), andPenn State Hershey Medical Group (200 employees).[85]
TheCentral Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts,[86] usually referred to as "Arts Fest", is held downtown every July. The five-day festival features artists from around the country and draws more than 125,000 visitors.[87] Streets are closed off and lined with booths where people can buy paintings, pottery, jewelry, and other hand-made goods. There borough hosts musical performances, plays, and food vendors selling everything fromfunnel cakes to Indian cuisine.
ThePenn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, commonly referred to as THON, is a 46-hour dance marathon that takes place every February on theUniversity Park campus with the goal of raising money for the Four Diamonds Foundation.[88] A number of events throughout the year pave the way to February's THON weekend.
Blue-White Football Weekend occurs in April and includes a carnival, fireworks, food vendors, a student entertainment stage, live music, a parade, and more.[89] On game day, autograph sessions with the football student-athletes is held inBeaver Stadium prior to kickoff of the Blue-White football intra-squad scrimmage game.
Other annual events in the area include "First Night State College", a New Year's Eve celebration with carved ice sculptures and musical performances that takes place in downtown State College, and "Central PA 4th Fest", a day-long event that includesFourth of July fireworks, crafts, food vendors, and entertainers.
On Saturday, February 4, 2017, State College set aGuinness World Record holder with Light Up State College organizing 5,226 lighted ice luminaries that were displayed across South Allen Street in Downtown State College. This is the most ice luminaries in any one location to date. The previous record was held by Vuollerim, Sweden, with 2,652 ice luminaries.
State College is served by theSchlow Centre Region Library.
State College is most known forPenn State Nittany Lions football, which draws over 100,000 fans to Beaver Stadium on home games.[90] The borough is home to theState College Spikes, a minor league baseball team that is part of theMLB Draft League and plays their home games atMedlar Field at Lubrano Park, andPenn State baseball.[91] Penn State also has Division 1 teams in basketball, ice hockey, soccer, volleyball, and wrestling.
The Lemont Ducks play at the Community Field in State College.[92] The team is a part of the Centre County Baseball League, Pennsylvania's oldest amateur baseball league,[93] which began in 1932.[94]
Rec Hall is afield house located on theUniversity Park campus of thePennsylvania State University. It was opened on January 15, 1929, and remains in use. It is home to the Penn State Nittany Lionswomen's andmen's volleyball teams, andPenn State Nittany Lions wrestling. Rec Hall has a banked indoor track of approximately 257 yards around, or roughly 6.85 laps per mile.
Pegula Ice Arena is a 6,014-seat multi-purpose arena inUniversity Park, on the campus ofPenn State University, which opened October 11, 2013, to replace the 1,350-seatPenn State Ice Pavilion. The facility is located on the corner of Curtin Road and University Drive near theBryce Jordan Center.
In 1914, the State College School Board purchased asinkhole along Fraser and Nittany avenues to build a football field and track in the “natural amphitheater.” During theGreat Depression the project received a $40,000 grant from theWorks Progress Administration, $5,000 from the school district, and additional federal funds.[95] The sinkhole was originally nicknamed "The Hollow", though it would later be named Memorial Field in dedication to State College High School graduates killed in both World Wars.[96] In September 1937, the stadium hosted its first football game between State College andYeagertown. State College would win 52–7 in front of an audience of 3,000 spectators. $500,000 was spent on drainage to protect against flooding in the former sinkhole.[95] In 1966 the area between Memorial Field and the post office was turned into a parklet. Originally named Central Parklet, the parks name was changed in 2009 to Sidney Friedman Park afterAltoona-born business owner and real estate mogul Sidney Friedman died.[97]
The Westerly Parkway Wetlands Education Center was transformed from a drainage basin into a functional, sustainablewetland.[58]
Sunset Park in College Heights is connected to Gerhold Wildflower Trail;[98] Walnut Springs in Vallamont and Lederer Park in Penfield are largely forested;[99] South Hills Park, Tussey View Park, and Nittany Village Park are in Tusseyview; Orchard Park is split between the Orchard Park neighborhood and Greentree; High Point Park is also in Orchard Park and is the proposed site of askate park;[100] Holmes-Foster Park is in Holmes-Foster and Greentree; Community Field is in Parkway; East Fairmount Park is in the Highlands; and Smithfield Park is in the South End.[54] Additionally half of theArboretum including the H.O. Smith Botanical Gardens are in the borough.
The mayor is Ezra Nanes.[101][102]
State College is a member of theCentre Region Council of Governments (CRCOG).[103] Other members are:
The county seat ofCentre County isBellefonte, approximately 12 miles northeast of State College.
Alpha Fire Company, a volunteer service, covers State College and surrounding townships.[104]
The State College Police Department patrols the borough as well asCollege andHarris Townships.[105] Penn State operates its own police agency, covering University Park and 21 other campuses.[106]
At the federal level, State College is located inPennsylvania's 15th congressional district, represented by RepublicanGlenn Thompson.
RepublicanGreg Rothman representsPennsylvania Senate, District 34, and DemocratScott Conklin representsPennsylvania House of Representatives, District 77.
State College Borough falls under jurisdiction of the following district courts.[107] The jurisdictions include civil claims and summary offenses. Higher level courts are located in Bellefonte:
The Pennsylvania State University, founded in 1855 as Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania,[108] is apublicland-grantresearch university with campuses and facilities throughout the state, with its largest and main campus,University Park, being located in the borough of State College and College Township north of College Avenue.
The South Hills School of Business & Technology, founded in 1970, is avocational school located in the Orchard Park neighborhood of State College.[109]
TheState College Area School District operates eight elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school in and around State College, enrolling 6,712 students.[110] The borough is home to three out of the eight elementary schools: Coral Street, Radio Park, and Easterly Parkway. Mount Nittany Middle School serves most of the borough except for College Heights, while the entire district is served by theState College Area High School.
The school district began in 1896 in the two-story Frazier Street school.[111] In 1914 the State College High School, now known as the Fairmount Building, opened on Fraser Street. In 1957 high school students began moving into a new school on Westerly Parkway. In 1981 the Delta Program, a democraticcharter school governed by students, moved into the Fairmount Building.[112] In 2019 the Delta Program moved into the North Building on Westerly Parkway.[113] The Fairmount Building now hosts the Reclaiming Individual Talent (RIT) program.[114]
The Borough is home to other charter schools, such as Centre Learning Community Charter School,[115] Nittany Valley Charter School,[116] and Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania.[117]
Private schools include Our Children's Center Montessori School,[118] Our Lady of Victory Catholic School,[119] and the State College Friends School.[120]
State College's daily newspaper isCentre Daily Times, first published in 1898. Originally published under the nameState College Times, the paper would change its name in 1932 to theCentre Daily Times.[121] TheTimes is now part of theMcClatchy Company newspaper chain. The paper had a daily circulation of 9,279, a Sunday circulation of 11,521, and over four million average monthly page views in 2020.[122] There is also a weekly version published asCentre Weekly.Centre County Gazette is an alternative town newspaper.[123] Newspapers ofPennsylvania State University'smain campus includeThe Forum, the student-runDaily Collegian andOnward State is a student-run digital media blog.[124]
Other publications includeState College Magazine, a monthly regional magazine;[125]Blue White Illustrated, a magazine for fans of thePenn State Nittany Lions;[126]In The Belly, a quarterlyabolitionist publication written by incarcerated contributors;[127]Centered Magazine, a quarterly health and wellness publication;[128] andValley Magazine, a student-run quarterly life and style magazine;[129] as well asPennsylvania Business Central,[130] andTown & Gown Magazine.[131]
State College is part of theJohnstown/Altoona/State College television market, which is ranked as the 102nd largest in the nation as of 2016.[132] Television stations broadcasting out of State College includeWPSU 3 (PBS),WHVL-LD 29 (MyNetworkTV), and C-NETCentre County's government and education access television network, which broadcasts on two cable channels: CGTV (Government Access TV) onComcast and Windstream Channel 7 and CETV (Educational Access TV) on Channel 98.WATM-TV 23 (ABC) produces a Centre County focused newscast, anchored from a studio on West College Avenue.WJAC-TV 6 (NBC),WTAJ-TV 10 (CBS), andWWCP-TV 8 (FOX) also maintain satellite studios and offices in State College.
In 2013, the State College MSA ranked as the fifteenth lowest in the United States for percentage of workers who commuted by private automobile (79.2 percent). During the same year, 9.9 percent of State College area commuters walked to work.[133]
In 1892, theBellefonte Central Railroad extended its tracks fromStruble to a new station in the West End of State College.[21] State College was initially connected to Bellefonte viaWaddle through theScotia Barrens andBuffalo Run Valley.[15] In 1896, State College would be connected toPine Grove Mills via Struble and Bloomsdorf. In 1930, the Fairbrook Branch was finished connecting State College toFairbrook,Tyrone, and Altoona. The tracks were abandoned in 1976.[21]
Centre Area Transportation Authority provides local bus service with fixed routes between the borough and the surrounding townshipsCollege,Ferguson, andPatton Township;[134] andon-demand routes forHarris Township.[135]
Fullington Trailways,Greyhound Lines,Megabus, andOurBus provide inter-city bus service.
State College'scycling infrastructure includesbike lanes as well as a fewshared-use paths.[136] In 2021, the borough partnered withSpin to provide ane-bike service.[137]
Highways include:
The borough is also served byState College Regional Airport with daily flights toChicago,Philadelphia, andWashington-Dulles onboardUnited Express andAmerican Eagle
Electricity in State College is provided byWest Penn Power, a subsidiary ofFirstEnergy.[138] Natural gas service in the borough is provided by Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, a division ofNiSource.[139] The State College Borough Water Authority provides water service to State College and Patton, Ferguson, college, Harris, and Benner townships. Sewer service in State College is provided by the University Area Joint Authority.[140] Trash and recycling collection is provided by the borough's Public Works department.[141]
Healthcare providers for the area include Mount Nittany Health,Geisinger, and Penn State Health.Mount Nittany Medical Center is a 260-bed hospital with an emergency department.Penn Highlands State College opened in 2024.[142] Geisinger Healthplex State College is Geisinger's largest multi-specialty clinic.[143] The primary ambulance service for State College is Centre Lifelink EMS, although Mount Nittany and Penn State both offerEMS as well.[144][145][146]
The following individuals were born and/or raised in State College:
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The following were/are residents of State College:
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