Lansdale, Pennsylvania

Lansdale is a town in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 28 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Early in the 20th century, its industries included agricultural implement works, a canning factory, foundries, brickyards, a silk mill, and manufacturers of cigars, stoves, shirts, rope, iron drain pipe,tinfoil hats, and glue. In 1900, 2,754 people lived here; in 1910, 3,551; and in 1940, 9,316 people were inhabitants of Lansdale. The population was 16,269 at the time of the 2010 census.

Geography
Lansdale is located at °N, °W (40.241956, -75.284083).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 3.1 sqmi, all land.

Demographics
As of the 2010 census, the borough was 75.9% White, 5.9% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 13.3% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian, and 2.7% were two or more races. 5.0% of the population were of Hispanic or Latino ancestry.

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,071 people, 6,620 households, and 4,051 families residing in the borough. The population density was 5,245.8 people per square mile (2,027.8/km²). There were 6,893 housing units at an average density of 2,250.0 per square mile (869.7/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 85.40% White, 3.94% African American, 0.09% Native American, 7.98% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 0.73% from other races, and 1.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.90% of the population.

There were 6,620 households out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the borough the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $46,232, and the median income for a family was $54,891. Males had a median income of $40,009 versus $29,825 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $22,096. About 4.1% of families and 5.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.4% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.

Politics and government
Lansdale has a city manager form of government with a mayor and a nine-member borough council. On Wednesday June 4, 2008, local chiropractor G. Andrew Szekely was appointed by council resolution to serve the remaining 18 months of the term of Mayor Michael DiNunzio. Szekely won a full four-year term in November 2009.

The borough is part of the Thirteenth Congressional District (represented by Rep. Allyson Schwartz), Pennsylvania's 53rd Representative District (represented by Rep. Robert Godshall) and the 24th State Senate District (represented by Sen. Bob Mensch).

Council members
Ward I: Ward II: Ward III:
 * Paul Clemente, Vice-president
 * Mary Fuller
 * Anne Henning-Scheuring
 * Richard DiGregorio
 * Jack Hansen
 * Michael Sobel
 * Daniel Dunigan
 * Michael Riccio
 * Matthew West, President

Schools
K-6 public elementary schools in Lansdale include Gwynedd Square Elementary, Knapp Elementary, Oak Park Elementary, Inglewood Elementary, Walton Farm Elementary, and York Avenue Elementary. St. Stanislaus School is a Catholic K-8 school. Calvary Baptist School is a pre-K-12th grade Christian school.Penndale Middle School serves grades 7-9. Lansdale area high schools include Lansdale Catholic High School, Christopher Dock Mennonite High School, and North Penn High School. The latter two high schools are located outside Lansdale Borough in neighboring Towamencin Township.

Culture
Lansdale is home to the Lansdale Center for the Performing Arts, which opened its inaugural season on September 25, 2009 with a performance by the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. The first phase of the center is a 240-seat chamber music hall. The reception area also serves as an art gallery. A second phase is planned, which would include a second hall that would be twice as large as the existing hall. The center is located in the building that once served as Lansdale's Masonic Temple.

An episode of the Fox television series Fringe, which aired on September 24, 2009, was set in Lansdale. The scenes that took place in Lansdale were filmed in British Columbia, and the town was depicted as a rural area consisting primarily of corn fields and not as the densely populated suburban town that it actually is.

In the 1981 novel A Natural Weapon by Garry Mitchelmore, Lansdale is one of two towns (the other being Cache, Louisiana) that has its natural gas supply poisoned by terrorists.

Lansdale is served by The Reporter, a broadsheet daily newspaper. It was a Gannett Company newspaper from 1980 until 2001 when it was sold to the Journal Register Company. The 16,364-circulation newspaper has a 33% penetration of households in Lansdale, Hatfield, and Souderton, and 29% penetration of Harleysville.

Lansdale is also served by Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch, a hyperlocal daily online newspaper. It is a subsidiary of Patch Media Corp. and owned by Aol. The site launched Dec. 30, 2010 and covers government news and community features of Lansdale Borough and Montgomery Township, and school news of North Penn School District.

According to the book "Weird Pennsylvania," Lansdale was also once home to one of the world's three "H Trees," which are believed to mark portals to Hell. An individual had only to circle the trees a certain number of times and jump off a small cliff, on the ledge of which the trees grew. Upon doing so, the portal would open and transport the individual to Hell.

Kugel ball
Lansdale is home to a Kugel ball, which is a dark grey granite sphere supported by a very thin film of water pumped from beneath its base. The Kugel Ball is located in Railroad Plaza, adjacent to the SEPTA Lansdale/Doylestown Line train station in downtown Lansdale. The plaza consists of a bricked patio with benches centered around the Kugel Ball and closes at 11:00 pm.

History
Lansdale was named for Phillip Lansdale Fox, chief surveyor of the North Penn Railroad. By the naming conventions of the time, it should have been called Jenkintown, since the land immediately surrounding the train station was owned by the Jenkins family, but there was already a town by that name along the rail line.

Notable people

 * Ralph F. Hirschmann (1922–2009), biochemist who led synthesis of the first enzyme.
 * Liza Weil (1977-), actress known for her portrayal of Paris Geller on the television series Gilmore Girls; was born in New Jersey but her family has resided in the borough since 1984.
 * Margaret Battavio (Little Peggy March) (1948-), American pop singer. Her song I Will Follow Him was number one in April 1963.
 * Best-selling personal finance author Eric Tyson (Personal Finance for Dummies) grew up in Lansdale.
 * Cult writer Russell Hoban, author of Riddley Walker and the Frances the Badger children's books, was born and grew up in Lansdale.
 * The Wonder Years, a pop-punk band signed to Hopeless Records
 * Little Joe (1977-), local "celebrity" and townie. LJ is known for delivering psychotic rants while pushing a cart up and down Main St. He is credited with starting the OCCUPY LANSDALE movement. LJ can be found hanging around the Kugel Ball or at the LukOil.