Camden, New Jersey: The Soup Capital That Ran Out of Soup (And Other Delights)

Welcome to Camden, New Jersey, a city with a world-famous soup brand, a retired battleship, a hippo habitat, and the best view of Philadelphia that money can buy. This post is a love letter wrapped in a roast, delivered via the Ben Franklin Bridge.

Camden's Soup Problem: Home of Campbell's, Minus the Soup

Camden's claim to fame is a red-and-white can that hangs in every pantry in America and in Andy Warhol's art. Campbell's made its name here, then closed the Camden factory in 1990. The company headquarters stuck around, like a guy who left the party but kept his coat on the chair.

So the city that gave America condensed soup now has no soup production. Condensed is the one thing Camden's reputation has never been.

The story of Camden is, in a lot of ways, the story of the population chart. Camden's population was 71,791 at the 2020 census, and the city's historical table shows it peaked at 124,555 in 1950. That is a lot of people who went looking for a better bowl.

Sleep Near a Gun, Swim Near a Shark: Camden's Waterfront

Camden's tourism pitch is, to put it kindly, distinctive. Your options along the Delaware River:

• The Battleship New Jersey, a floating museum where you can pay to sleep in a real crew bunk. If you ever wanted to feel like a 19-year-old sailor with no legroom, it's your lucky day.
• Adventure Aquarium, which proudly advertises hippos and a shark exhibit big enough to brag about.

That is, no joke, the pitch: come sleep near a gun and swim near a shark. Honestly, it's more fun than it sounds. Kids love it. Adults love it more when they remember there's a bar nearby.

The waterfront is also where the city's future is being sketched out in real time. The Sixers stayed in Philly for their games, which is the most Philly-Camden dynamic imaginable. Their practice facility and headquarters did cross the river, though, so Camden at least gets the sweat and none of the sellouts. The waterfront has views of the Center City Philadelphia skyline across the river.

Camden's best feature, in other words, is the skyline of the city next door. Real estate agents call this "location."

The Ben Franklin Bridge: Camden's Greatest Civic Asset (Because It Leaves)

Let's talk geography. Camden sits directly across the Delaware from Philadelphia, which means its most celebrated piece of infrastructure is the Ben Franklin Bridge. It's a gorgeous suspension bridge that gets you out of Camden and into Philly with great efficiency. Philadelphia drives through Camden on purpose, mostly to reach somewhere else.

Meanwhile, the rest of South Jersey has an unofficial mental map where Cherry Hill is the center of the universe and Camden is described, charitably, as "Mad Max meets Boyz n the Hood." That's harsh. It's also a reputation the suburbs have spent decades happily cultivating while Camden did the actual work of being a city.

And it is a city, with real stuff going on:

• It is the county seat of Camden County.
• Camden is majority Hispanic and about two-fifths Black, making it one of the most culturally rich corners of South Jersey.
• Roughly 30 percent of residents live below the poverty line, which is the part the jokes tend to skip.
• It's home to a Rutgers University campus, which is a big part of the "eds and meds" economy that officials keep betting on.
• The city has a building boom underway, with market-rate, owner-occupied housing as a new direction after years focused mostly on subsidized and affordable housing.

Whatever Happened to the Riversharks?

Camden's big sports moment was the Camden Riversharks, an independent-league baseball team that played at Campbell's Field. The stadium was named after a soup company that had already stopped making soup there, which is a bit like naming your gym after a guy who quit.

The team ceased operations after the 2015 season. It is the most Camden thing imaginable: a lot of heart, a corporate sponsor, and fans wondering where everybody went. Even the sports teams here are a tribute to something that left.

But here's the twist, and it's the reason this post isn't just a roast. Camden keeps building. It has new townhouses, a renovated battleship, redevelopment plans for a former prison site, and nonprofits like Heart of Camden, which has spent decades improving quality of life in the Waterfront South neighborhood. The soup left. The people, stubbornly and admirably, did not.

So, Should You Visit Camden?

If you want a weekend in Camden, New Jersey, here's the itinerary: board a battleship, stare down a hippo, take photos of Philadelphia from the best angle available, and cross the Ben Franklin Bridge to brag about it. Come for the history, stay for the waterfront, and leave with a newfound respect for any town that keeps showing up after everyone else has left.

Think we were too nice? Too harsh? Either way, see the full roast on RoastMyTown.com and tell us what we missed.