Philadelphia’s first municipal water supply, 1801-1815
I recently created three galleries of rarely-seen drawings done by Benjamin Latrobe, architect and engineer of the Center Square works, and Frederick Graff, Sr., Latrobe’s assistant. This page has links to those collections, and to other information on on WaterHistoryPHL pertaining to the city’s first water works.
For an overview of the history of Centre Square, you can peruse Chapters 4 and Chapter 6 of the PWD Water and Drainage History Course.
For in-depth details about the engineering at Centre Square, you can read Walter A. Graf’s 1931 history of the city’s water pumping stations.
