Editing Altoona, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
{{See also|Pennsylvania in the American Revolution|Pennsylvania in the American Civil War}}

===Etymology===
One explanation of the city's name is that the word Altoona is a derivative of the Latin word ''altus'', meaning high.<ref>{{cite book |last= Gannett |first= Henry |author-link= Henry Gannett |title= The origin of certain place names in the United States |year= 1905 |publisher= [[United States Government Printing Office|Government Printing Office]] |url= https://archive.org/details/origincertainpl00ganngoog |page= [https://archive.org/details/origincertainpl00ganngoog/page/n28 22]}}</ref>

An alternate theory is given in ''Pennsylvania Place Names'', a compendium published in 1925.<ref name="Espenshade">Espenshade, A. Howry: Pennsylvania Place Names, pp. 175–176. Genealogical Publishing Co, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland, 1970</ref> It suggests that Colonel Beverly Mayer of [[Columbia, Pennsylvania]], a civil engineer of the Pennsylvania Central Railway, was the person who named Altoona after the city of [[Altona, Hamburg|Altona]] in the [[Duchy of Holstein]], which became part of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] in [[Second Schleswig War|1864]] and of Germany in 1871.<ref name="Espenshade"/> The German Altona, which is today a district of [[Hamburg]], lies on the right bank of the [[Elbe]] and is an important railway and manufacturing center.

Popular belief has it that the Hamburg district of [[Altona,_Hamburg|Altona]] owes its name to its close vicinity to Hamburg. Supposedly, Hamburg's merchants considered their rival to the west 'all zu nah' ('far too close'), which over time became Altona.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.hamburg.com/residents/neighbourhoods/altona-19296 | title=Hamburg Neighbourhood Altona }}</ref>

In 1849, David Robinson sold his farm to Archibald Wright of [[Philadelphia]], who transferred the property to his son, John A. Wright, who laid it out in building lots, became one of the founders of Altoona, and is considered another person who may have named the city. According to his own statement, he had spent considerable time in the [[Cherokee]] country of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. Here he had been attracted to the name [[Allatoona, Georgia|Allatoona]], which he believed meant "the high lands of great worth." An 1883 publication favored the Cherokee derivation, stating that "Its name is not derived from the Latin word altus nor from the French word alto, as has frequently been asserted and published, but from the beautiful, liquid, and expressive Cherokee word Allatoona."<ref>Africa, J. Simpson: History of Huntingdon and Blair Counties, Pennsylvania, page 135. J. B. Lippincott & Co. Philadelphia, 1883.</ref>

For 60 days in 2011, the city officially changed its name to "POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold" in exchange for $25,000 as part of a marketing gimmick for the [[POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold|movie of the same name]].<ref>Mandak, Joe. [[Associated Press]], April 26, 2011, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20110527141516/http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110426/ap_on_en_mo/us_sponsored_city Altoona, Pa., changes name to Spurlock movie title]". Accessed February 27, 2019.</ref>

===Founding and growth===
[[File:Thaddeus M. Fowler - Penn'a R.R. Car Shop's, Altoona, Pennsylvania, 1895.jpg|thumb|''Altoona in 1895: a [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] town'', a lithograph by [[Thaddeus Mortimer Fowler]]]]
Prior to European settlement, the Altoona area was inhabited by the [[Iroquois Confederacy]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.altoonapa.gov/history-of-altoona | title=- History }}</ref> Altoona was founded by the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] (PRR) in 1849 as the site for a shop and maintenance complex. Altoona was incorporated as a [[Borough (Pennsylvania)|borough]] on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=I Love Altoona|title=History of Altoona|url=http://ilovealtoona.com/Altoona/history/|access-date=2013-09-08|archive-date=February 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150201215639/http://ilovealtoona.com/altoona/history/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In late September 1862, Altoona was home to the [[War Governors' Conference]] which brought together 13 governors of Union states. This body gave early approval to the [[Emancipation Proclamation]]. The town grew rapidly in the late 19th century, its population approximately 2,000 in 1854, 10,000 in 1870, and 20,000 in 1880. The demand for [[locomotive]]s during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] stimulated much of this growth, and by the later years of the war, Altoona was known as a valuable city for the North. Altoona was also the site of the first Interstate Commission meeting to create and design the [[Gettysburg National Cemetery]] following the devastating [[Battle of Gettysburg]]. The centrality and convenience of the town's rail transportation brought these two important gatherings to the city during the war.{{Citation needed|date=October 2013}}

===Horseshoe Curve===
{{Main|Horseshoe Curve (Pennsylvania)}}
[[File:The Horseshoe Curve, Pennsylvania, by H.C. White Co. crop.jpg|thumb|A [[Stereoscopy|stereo card]] of a train on the [[Horseshoe Curve]], {{Circa|1907}}]]
[[Horseshoe Curve (Pennsylvania)|Horseshoe Curve]], a curved section of track built by the Pennsylvania Railroad, located at MP 242 on the NS Pittsburgh line, has become a [[tourism|tourist]] attraction and [[National Historic Landmark]]. The curve was built to help trains cross the Allegheny Ridge, a barrier to westward trade. Construction of the [[Erie Canal]] in New York 20 years earlier had diverted much port traffic from Philadelphia to New York City, feeding that city's commercial dominance. Because the curve was an industrial link to the western United States, Horseshoe Curve was a primary target of eight [[Nazism|Nazi]] [[saboteurs]] who had landed during [[World War II]] from [[U-boat]]s of [[Nazi Germany]]'s ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' during [[Operation Pastorius]].<ref name="Altoona mirror">{{cite web|url=http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/591073.html|title=Event to revisit Nazi plot that ratcheted up security at Horseshoe Curve - AltoonaMirror.com - Altoona, PA &#124; News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information - The Altoona Mirror|publisher=altoonamirror.com|access-date=2015-09-29}}</ref>

At its peak in the early 20th century, PRR's [[Altoona Works]] complex employed about 15,000 people and covered three miles (5&nbsp;km) in length, {{convert|218|acre}} of yards and {{convert|37|acre}} of indoor workshop floor space in 122 buildings. The PRR built 7,873 of its own locomotives at the Works, the last in 1946.<ref name="NPS" /> PRR shaped the city, creating the city's fire departments and moving the hospital to a site nearer to the shop's gates. Today, the [[#Fire|fire department]] employs 65 people and is the largest career department between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.altoonafirefighters.org|title=Altoona Firefighters Local 299|access-date=2007-09-22| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070928021223/http://www.altoonafirefighters.org/| archive-date= 28 September 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> PRR sponsored a city band and constructed Cricket Field, a sports complex. In 1853, the PRR built the Mechanic's Library, the first industrial library in the nation, which exists today as the Altoona Area Public Library.<ref name="Historical Society of Pennsylvania">{{cite web|url=http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=477|title=Historical Society of Pennsylvania}}</ref> With the decline in railroad demand after World War II, things began to decline. Many treasures of the city's history disappeared, including the Logan House Hotel and railroad shops.<ref name="NPS">{{cite web |title = History of the Altoona Railroad Shops: The Creation And Coming Of The Pennsylvania Railroad |work = National Park Service Special History Study |publisher = United States National Park Service |date = 2004-10-22 |url = http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/railroad/shs1.htm |access-date = 2007-08-21 }}</ref>

Horseshoe Curve is a popular tourist attraction, particularly for train aficionados. There is a [[funicular]] that takes visitors to a viewing area, or it can be reached by climbing 194 steps to the top.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uncoveringpa.com/altoona-horseshoe-curve|title=Altoona's Horseshoe Curve: A Must-See for Train Lovers|date=26 August 2013}}</ref>

===1949 tornado===
On May 22, 1949, at about 6 pm, a [[tornado]] moved through the southern part of Altoona. According to the ''[[Altoona Mirror]],'' the tornado touched down near Sugar Run Road in the [[Canan Station, Pennsylvania|Canan Station]] area of [[Allegheny Township, Blair County, Pennsylvania|Allegheny Township]] and cut a {{Convert|100|yd|m|adj=on}} swath of destruction through the southwestern portion of Altoona. Houses lost shingles and there was extensive tree damage in the [[Eldorado, Pennsylvania|Eldorado]] and Llyswen sections of town.

Another tornado touched down in [[Morrisons Cove]], {{convert|20|mi}} south of Altoona. Houses were unroofed and barns were destroyed in the [[Henrietta, Pennsylvania|Henrietta]] and [[Millerstown, Blair County, Pennsylvania|Millerstown]] area. A 17-year-old girl was injured in Henrietta. The damage done by these tornadoes is consistent with winds of {{Convert|105-110|mph|km/h}}.<ref name="newspaper archive">{{cite web | url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/altoona/altoona-mirror/1949/05-23/page-55 | title=Altoona Mirror Newspaper Archives &#124; NewspaperArchive }}</ref>

A map made by [[Ted Fujita]] in 1974 of all of the tornadoes in the U.S. between 1930 and 1974 shows these two tornadoes mapped as F1 tornadoes on the [[Fujita Scale]].<ref name="wordpress">{{cite web|url=https://southwestcollection.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/us-tornado-map-1930-74-9x12.jpg|date=2013-07-15|title=Image: us-tornado-map-1930-74-9x12.jpg, (3600 × 2709 px)|publisher=southwestcollection.files.wordpress.com|access-date=2015-09-29}}</ref>

===Present===
Altoona is one of the dual seats of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona–Johnstown]]. The [[Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament (Altoona, Pennsylvania)|Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament]] was made a [[cathedral]] and rechristened from St. John's Church in 1851.

The ''[[Altoona Mirror]]'' newspaper,<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.altoonamirror.com/|title=Altoona Mirror|access-date=2007-09-22}}</ref> founded in 1876 by Harry Slep, is Altoona's oldest media outlet. Today, the newspaper has a daily circulation of 32,000 and a Sunday circulation of 39,000. Approximately 13,000 people read the online edition of the newspaper each day.

Altoona is home to the world's oldest wooden roller coaster, the [[Leap-The-Dips]], located in [[Lakemont Park]].