King of Prussia, sometimes abbreviated to K.O.P., is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community took its unusual name in the 18th century from a local tavern named the King of Prussia Inn, which was named after King Frederick the Great of Prussia. As of the 2020 census, its population was 24,695.
Located south of Allentown and approximately northwest of Philadelphia, King of Prussia is considered to be an edge city of Philadelphia and part of the larger Philadelphia metropolitan area. It is situated at the convergence of four highways and consists of large amounts of retail and office space, with one of the highest concentrations of hotels, businesses, residences, and entertainment venues in Pennsylvania.
King of Prussia is best known for its mall of the same name, the fourth-largest shopping mall in the U.S. It also hosts the headquarters of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Region I and American Baptist Churches USA.
History The community of King of Prussia developed at the crossroads of two significant early roads, Swedesford (or Swedes Ford) Road (now U.S. Route 202) and Gulph Road, and was originally known as Reesville. The eponymous King of Prussia Inn was originally constructed at the crossroads as a cottage in 1719 by the Welsh Quakers William and Janet Rees, from whom the community took its name. The cottage was converted to an inn in 1769 and did a steady business in colonial times, as it was approximately a day's travel by horse from Philadelphia. Settlers headed west to Ohio would sleep at the inn on their first night on the road. In 1774 the Rees family hired James Berry to manage 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. J. Michael Morrison, King of Prussia, Images of America series (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2005); Accessed 26 Oct 2016.
Parker's spy map,See also Morrison, King of Prussia, 2005 (above). created by William Parker, an American Loyalist, 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 in honor of Benjamin Franklin's pro-American satirical essay "An Edict by the King of Prussia".Franklin, Benjamin. reprinted on The History Carper. At some point a wooden signboard of the inn depicted King Frederick II (Frederick the Great) of Prussia. The inn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Greater Valley Forge Chamber of Commerce. "King of Prussia's name". Accessed June 23, 2006.
20th century In 1935, Swedesford Road was designated as part of U.S. Route 202. In 1952, the Pennsylvania Highway Department proposed its conversion from a two-lane road to a four-lane divided highway in a plan that called for the demolition 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. Today, U.S. 202 is a major north–south highway that passes through the town from southwest to northeast.
In the latter half of the 1950s, major highways were constructed near King of Prussia's central crossroads, including the Pennsylvania Turnpike just to the north and the Schuylkill Expressway just to the south, which ignited a construction boom in the region. 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 the 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 1777-8 (see Valley Forge National Historical Park). The growth in King of Prussia developed around the convergence of four highways with the construction of the King of Prussia mall, a large business park, and housing developments.
Daniel Berrigan and his brother Philip Berrigan began their Plowshares Movement at the General Electric Weapons Plant in King of Prussia in 1980. That event and the subsequent court proceedings surrounding the 'Plowshares Eight' were dramatically depicted by Emile de Antonio in the 1983 motion picture In the King of Prussia.
21st century For more than a quarter century, the King of Prussia Inn remained marooned on a median island, with motor traffic whizzing past on both sides. It was sealed up for years, surrounded by a high fence. With the further expansion of U.S. Route 202 proposed in 1997, the inn's future was once again threatened, but it was successfully relocated to a nearby site in 2000. Today, only one historic building from King of Prussia remains at its original location, the former Dr. Henry DeWitt Pawling house/Peacock Gardens at 826 W. DeKalb Pike.
By the 2000s, the business park in King of Prussia was outdated and was losing tenants. By 2009, several office building owners pushed for Upper Merion Township to improve the business park. Improvements were made to King of Prussia including landscaping the median of US 202, installing King of Prussia signs at the borders to the community, creating a shuttle service connecting the business park to nearby train stations, and changing the zoning laws to allow for apartments and townhouses to be constructed in the business park. The vacancy rates at the business park have since dropped.
In the late 1980s, developer Dennis Maloomian acquired a golf course near the King of Prussia mall and planned a mixed-use residential and retail development that would include a town center for King of Prussia. The proposed development needed to be rezoned but Upper Merion Township officials and local residents were opposed to the plans. After several court battles, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in Maloomian's favor in 2003. The planned development became known as the Village at Valley Forge and would include a suburban downtown, apartments, townhouses, and offices. The retail area would be known as the King of Prussia Town Center. The first part of the town center was completed in 2014 with the opening of a Wegmans grocery store. This was followed by the construction of the downtown area with several stores and restaurants. Offices are being constructed and residential areas are in development.
In 2016, the two sections of the King of Prussia mall, The Plaza, and The Court, were joined to create one large shopping mall after an expansion corridor was built.
Geography
There is no incorporated city of King of Prussia, although the United States Postal Service office there has carried that name since 1837. Its ZIP Code is 19406.John L. Kay and Chester M. Smith, Jr., Pennsylvania Postal History: the Post Offices and First Postmasters from 1775 to 1994 (Lincoln, MA: Quarterman Publications, 1995), p. 305. The first P.O. in what is now King of Prussia was established in Reesville in 1820, changing to Upper Merion in 1829, and becoming King of Prussia on 5 April 1837. Initially it received service from Bridgeport and became a branch of Norristown in 1935 (pp. 309, 311). King of Prussia's boundaries, as defined by the Census Bureau, are the Schuylkill River to the north, U.S. Route 422 to the west, Bridgeport to the east, and I-76 to the south. 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 and extreme eastern Tredyffrin Township, Chester County. The local fire department carries the King of Prussia name, whereas the police department and the school district carry the Upper Merion name. King of Prussia is located northwest of Philadelphia.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.83%, is water.
The area is served by area codes 610 and 484.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, King of Prussia had a population of 24,695. The median age was 37.2 years. 17.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.8 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 11,034 households in King of Prussia, of which 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 43.5% were married-couple households, 23.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 12,272 housing units, of which 10.1% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.6%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 14,863 60.2% Black or African American 1,881 7.6% American Indian and Alaska Native 45 0.2% Asian 5,782 23.4% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 9 0.0% Some other race 606 2.5% Two or more races 1,509 6.1% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 1,500 6.1%
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, the CDP was 69.4% White Non-Hispanic, 5.7% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 18.6% Asian, and 2.1% were two or more races. 4.2% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. 22.4% of the population was foreign-born.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 18,511 people, 8,245 households, and 4,773 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were about 8,705 housing units at an average density of . 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% had 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.
Climate The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and cool to cold winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, King of Prussia had a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfa" on climate maps. The most recent numbers show all months averaging above freezing so that the climate is now humid subtropical (Cfa). Three months are above 22°C (71.6°F) and seven months are above 10°C (50°F). The hardiness zone is 7a bordering 7b to the east.
Economy