Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district, and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City and Chicago. This number can rise to over 235,000 during the working hours due to the daily influx of commuters and tourists.
Center City is bounded by South Street to the south, the Delaware River to the east, the Schuylkill River to the west and either Vine Street or Spring Garden Street to the north (though the 88,000 population figure corresponds to an expanded area of roughly Poplar Street south to Christian Street). If Vine Street is considered the northern border, then Center City occupies the boundaries of the city before Philadelphia County was added in 1854. The Center City District, which has special powers of taxation, uses a complicated, irregularly shaped boundary that includes much of this area but also extends beyond it.} The Philadelphia Police Department patrols two districts located within Center City. The two patrol districts serving Center City are the 6th and 9th districts.
Among Center City's neighborhoods and districts are Penn's Landing, Old City, Society Hill, South Street/Head House District, Washington Square West, Market East, Chinatown, Logan Circle, the Museum District (located along the Ben Franklin Parkway), Rittenhouse Square, Fitler Square, the Avenue of the Arts (South Broad Street), and Jewelers' Row.