Metropolis, Illinois
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A statue of Superman in front of the Metropolis courthouse |
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1850 map of the planned Western District of Columbia |
Metropolis is a city located along the
Ohio River in
Massac County, Illinois, in the
United States. As of the
2000 census, the city population was 6,482. It is the
county seat of
Massac County.
On January 21, 1972 DC Comics declared Metropolis "Hometown of
Superman". On June 9, 1972 the Illinois State Legislature passed Resolution 572 that declared Metropolis the "Hometown of
Superman," the comic book superhero who is based in the
fictional city of Metropolis. The real city celebrates its "local hero" in every possible way that it can. Among the ways it celebrates the character are a large Superman statue in the city, a small Superman museum, and an annual Superman festival that is in June. Also, it has a local newspaper, known as
The Metropolis Planet, a name inspired by the newspaper in fictional Metropolis,
The Daily Planet.
In the
1850s the city was planned as part of the
Western District of Columbia, a new capital of the U.S. to replace
Washington, D.C., along with
Fort Massac east of Metropolis and the never-built
Capitol City, Kentucky across the Ohio River.
Metropolis is located at (37.153332, -88.725374).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.1
km² (5.1
mi²). 13.0 km² (5.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.18%) is water.
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Photo of the Superman Museum from the main street |
As of the
census of 2000, there were 6,482 people, 2,896 households, and 1,708 families residing in the city. The
population density was 499.5/km² (1,295.1/mi²). There were 3,265 housing units at an average density of 251.6/km² (652.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.53%
White, 7.61%
African American, 0.20%
Native American, 0.20%
Asian, 0.45% from
other races, and 1.02% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.
There were 2,896 households out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were
married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.77.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 24.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 79.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,371, and the median income for a family was $33,979. Males had a median income of $27,630 versus $17,561 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $15,967. About 12.5% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 21.8% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over.
*
Jack Smith,
NASCAR driver
The town of Metropolis has no movie theaters, meaning that residents who want to see the "Superman" movies set in their town's fictional namesake must travel to another town to do so.
["Metropolis, Ill., Basks in Ties to the Man of Steel"--story broadcast on National Public Radio's Morning Edition, Tuesday, 2006-06-27]*
List of cities and towns along the Ohio River}}}
*
The Superman Collectors webpage including the history of Metropolis, Il*
Story that was broadcast on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" profiling the town's links to "Superman"
