Located on the Delaware River just below where the Aramingo Canal emptied into the river, the Kensington Water Works served up a disgusting brew of polluted drinking water for decades after it was opened in 1851. Health records from the period show a higher death rate from typhoid fever and other water-borne diseases in the […]
Adams Run, in Philadelphia’s Oak Lan neighborhood, could have been saved – but wasn’t.
One of many small streams in Manayunk and Roxborough that became part of the city’s sewer infrastructure.
How trolley cars played a part in the landfill operation in the city’s Logan neighborhood.
The story of one of many highways in Philadelphia that never got off the drawing board.
Some statistics about early indoor plumbing, illustrated with pictures of early toilets.
Records of “voluntary” donations by Philadelphia Department of Public Works employees to the city’s Republican Party, 1903-1914
The bare-bones report of the Delaware River Harbor Police in 1884 gets some tasty fleshing out, thanks to online newspapers from that year.
Activity along the Schuylkill River, as reported by the Harbor Police in 1884.
A collection of concise, informative pamphlets about water problems of the time.
Images from the Castner Scrapbooks of the Free Library of Philadelphia Print & Picture Collection, and others (along with my musings on changing technology)
A video of Adam Levine’s fascinating illustrated talk, “High Water,” along with links to printed resources on flooding for Philadelphia residents.