Down Under!
October 27, 2023
A classic page from my old website, documenting my first sewer walk in 1997, now updated with a fresher look and new photographs.
Panoramic Manayunk: Views Past and Present
October 24, 2023
Manayunk has changed dramatically in the past 100 years, but the view from the bridge is still spectacular.
Imagine a Day Without Water
October 19, 2023
Putting the water woes of a modern city in perspective
The Sad History of Frankford Creek
October 3, 2023
A video recording of an illustrated talk given by Adam Levine in 2023 to the Historical Society of Frankford.
James W. Phillips Letter Book, 1904-1913
September 9, 2023
James Walter Phillips (1860-1938) was an engineer who worked more than 40 years for the Bureau of Surveys in Philadelphia’s Department of Public Works. He ultimately rose to head the Grade Crossing Removal Division, in charge of removing dangerous street-level railroad crossings, which was usually accomplished by building bridges over the streets to carry the […]
Two reports on the state of the Schuylkill River, 1867
September 8, 2023
Covering water pollution and the silting of the river bed, both these reports were eahed of their time.
Streams, islands, and ferries of early Philadelphia
September 8, 2023
Three articles from 19th-century almanacs reveal many lost landscape features, including streams, islands, and ferry crossings.
2,000 Turn Out for ‘Be-In’ To Promote ‘Flower Power’
September 8, 2023
A story from the Sixties that was too good not to share, about an event organized by Ira Einhorn.
Schuylkill Navigation Company Scrapbook
September 8, 2023
The Schuylkill Navigation Company maintained a system of canals, locks, dams and slackwater pools that followed the river from coal country in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania down to the Fairmount Dam and locks in Philadelphia. The system, built in the second decade of the 19th century, is now defunct, but pieces of its infrastructure still exist. […]
Archival Storytelling: A snowy Super Bowl Sunday at Sydenham & Dauphin
July 13, 2023
That “every picture tells a story” is an old cliché. But for me, after years of examining and cataloging thousands of photos as the archivist for the Philadelphia Water Department, I have found this cliché to be mostly true.
Exploring the Lenapehoking Watershed on Native American Heritage Day
November 25, 2022
For Native American Heritage Day, we wanted to share this beautiful map featuring some of the natural features, plants, and animals important to the Lenni-Lenape Nations.
Half a Century of Clean Water
October 29, 2022
The 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act, and a video by Adam Levine highlighting the Rebirth of the Rivers.
Travel through the Philadelphia of a century ago, with a severely erudite guide
April 2, 2020
PWD’s web editor wonders how he can solace himself with the amber.
Flashback Friday … the 13th!
December 13, 2019
A story for Friday the 13th about my close encounter with a demizen of the sewers.
Be Thankful You Don’t Live in Pre-Flush Philly
November 22, 2019
A post to commememorate World Toilet Day.
The Day Fairmount Dam Vanished
October 4, 2019
Marking the 150th anniversary of the Schuylkill River’s worst-ever flood.