Old City is a neighborhood in Center City, Philadelphia, near the Delaware River waterfront. It is home Independence National Historical Park, a dense section of historic landmarks including Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the First Bank of the United States, the Second Bank of the United States, and Carpenters' Hall. It also includes historic streets such as Elfreth's Alley, dating back to 1703. Old City is also home to several hotels, with the Independence Park Hotel on Chestnut Street the only hotel listed on the National Registry of Historic Places Old City borders Northern Liberties to the north, Penn's Landing to the east, Society Hill to the south, and Chinatown and Market East to the west. Boundaries The Old City special services district stretches from Front to Sixth Streets between Walnut and Vine. The Philadelphia Almanac and Citizens' Manual gives a larger set of boundaries to the Old City area, defined as the area within Spring Garden Street, 4th Street, the Delaware River, and Walnut Street. The Old City Redevelopment Area is bounded by Vine Street, the Delaware River, Lombard Street and 7th Street. History Along with the northern part of Society Hill, Old City is one of Philadelphia's oldest neighborhoods and part of the area where William Penn and the Quakers first settled. It hosted the governments of Pennsylvania and the United States of America for most of the period from 1776-1800, and was North America's most important financial center through the 1830s. As Philadelphia's central business district gradually moved west, it became a warehouse and light industrial district. Many historical sites were restored or reconstructed in the twentieth century, especially during the development of Independence National Historical Park after 1943 and culminating with the United States Bicentennial in 1976. In the 1980s, the warehouse area north of Chestnut and especially Market Streets became popular for art galleries and artist's studios (the latter mostly displaced by gentrification in the 1990s) as well as bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. Architecture In addition to Independence Hall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Old City includes hundreds of important examples of Georgian and Federal public buildings, churches, a historic boutique hotel ( Independence Park Hotel ) and houses; Greek Revival and Italianate banks and exchanges; and cast iron warehouses and was as the Old City Historic District added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. In 2003, the district was also added