Camden, New Jersey is located across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. About  77,344 reside in the city as of the 2010 U.S. Census. At its peak, its  population swelled to nearly 125,000 in the 1950s. Over the years, Camden has  been an economic and transportation hub for the area, and it is well known for  its port and waterfront.  

 Early Years

 The Dutch West India Company built Fort Nassau (located within the present  boundaries of nearby Gloucester City, New Jersey), around 1626, and was the  first European settlement in the area occupied by Camden. The area in the  vicinity of Camden was central to the local fur trade. Europeans continued to  settle there throughout the 17th century. Much of its growth directly resulted  from the success of another Quaker colony across the Delaware River known as  Philadelphia. The City of Brotherly Love, which was founded in 1682, soon had  enough population to attract a brisk trade from West Jersey and Camden.  Ferryboats soon sprung up to accommodate the river trading.  

 An economic and transportation hub, Camden’s status began to change in the early 19th century with the advent of the  railroad. One of the U.S.'s first rails, the Camden and Amboy Railroad, was  chartered in Camden in 1830. The Camden and Amboy Railroad allowed travelers to  go between New York City and Philadelphia via ferry terminals in South Amboy,  New Jersey and Camden. The railroad’s opening in 1834 spurred an increase in population and commerce in Camden.  

 Originally a suburban town with ferry service to Philadelphia, Camden evolved  into its own city, as industry and neighborhoods grew. Camden prospered during  strong periods of manufacturing demand. But like most American cities, Camden  declined in the 20th century as its manufacturing base diminished and people  moved away. Government, education and health care are the three biggest  employers in Camden today; however, most employees commute to Camden and live  in nearby suburbs such as Cherry Hill. Revitalization has occurred along the  Camden waterfront and in the neighborhoods of Cooper Grant, Cramer Hill, and  Fairview that have direct access to Philadelphia.  

 Birth of the Recording Industry

 From 1901 through 1929, Camden served as the headquarters of the Victor Talking  Machine Company, and its successor RCA Victor, the world's largest manufacturer  of phonographs and phonograph records for the first part of the 20th century.  RCA Victor contained one of the first commercial recording studios in the  United States, where noted opera singer Enrico Caruso, among others, recorded.  GE reacquired RCA in 1986.  

 In 1992, the state under the Florio Administration signed an agreement with GE  to ensure that the Camden site would not close. The state planned to build a  new high tech facility on the site of the old Campbell Soup Company factory and  trade these new buildings to GE for the existing old RCA Victor Buildings.  Later on, the buildings changed hands.  

 Housing and Neighborhoods

 The so-called "Nipper Building" depicting RCA's famous "His Master's Voice"  trademark in its tower windows has since been renovated into a 340-unit luxury  apartment building called "The Victor." Building 8 of the complex will be  rehabbed into luxury condominiums called "Radio Lofts." Both projects are the  work of Dranoff Properties, a well-known Philadelphia development corporation  that has specialized in these types of constructions. Another older building,  Victor Building No. 2, is used to this day to house the Camden City Board of  Education. Most of the other old RCA Victor buildings have long since been  demolished.  

 From 1899 to 1967, Camden was also the home of New York Shipbuilding  Corporation, which at its World War II peak was the largest and most productive  shipyard in the world. Notable naval vessels built at New York shipyard include  the ill-fated cruiser USS Indianapolis and the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk.  In 1962, the first commercial nuclear-powered ship, the NS Savannah, was  launched in Camden. The Fairview Village section of Camden (initially Yorkship  Village) was a planned European-style garden village built by the federal  government during World War I to house New York Shipbuilding Corporation  workers.  

 At Camden's peak, 10,000 workers were employed at RCA while another 40,000  worked at New York Shipbuilding. RCA had 23 out of 25 of its factories inside  Camden and Campbell Soup was also a major employer. Situated on the Delaware  River, with access to the Atlantic Ocean, the Port of Camden handles bulk cargo  for transport throughout the globe.  

 Dysfunction in Government

 Once thriving, Camden is today perhaps best known for its urban struggles. Three  Camden mayors have been jailed for corruption, the most recent being Milton  Milan in 2000. Since 2005 the school system and police department were taken  over and operated by the state; the takeover will expire in 2012. In 2008,  Camden had the highest crime rate in the U.S. with 2,333 violent crimes per  100,000 people while the national average was 455 per 100,000. Two out of every  five residents are below the national poverty line.    

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