Items

Historic resources from our archives - images, maps, documents, and more.

A Brief History of Water in Northwest Philadelphia

Ghosts of Water in Fairmount Park, Part 1, with Adam Levine

Sandy Run Watershed and the Holmesburg Water Works

Birch’s Views of Philadelphia, 1800

Fairmount Park topographical map, showing East Park Reservoir, 1872

Thomas Mill Covered Bridge on the Wissahickon

Thomas Mill Covered Bridge over Wissahickon Creek (Picturesque America)

Wingohocking Sewer across Penn St.

Wingohocking Sewer across Penn St.

Fairmount Gardens, with the Schuylkill Bridge. This 1839 engraving, published in London, shows a view of the South Garden from the walkways that brought visitors up the cliffside to the overlooks at the height of the reservoirs. The fountain used the pressure of the reservoirs and was a a delightful refreshment in hot weather, and a wonder at all times. One anachronistic element of this engraving is the Upper Ferry Bridge, which burned the year before the print was published. Harding’s Hotel, a popular resort, is at the western end of the bridge.

Fairmount Gardens with the Schuylkill Bridge, 1839

Black-and-white image of workers in a pit with a sewer opening behind them and text

Frankford Creek: Sad History of an Urban Stream title page

Duplex Pumping Engine, Belmont Works

Duplex Pumping Engine, Belmont Works

View of Fairmount Water Works, ca. 1827

Dock Creek Watson's Annals

Drawbridge and Dock Creek, Watson’s Annals