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

Philadelphia from Belmont, West Park (Picturesque America)

Thomas Mill Covered Bridge on the Wissahickon

Thomas Mill Covered Bridge over Wissahickon Creek (Picturesque America)

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

Fairmount Water Works, by W. H. Bartlett, 1839. This engraving from an 1839 painting by William Bartlett shows the porch added to the Engine House about 1835 and the two gazebos built at the same time, all added to welcome visitors to the Water Works and a new saloon, or restaurant, in the Engine House. The powerful jet of water rising from the fountain in the South Garden, fed by a dedicated pipe under the full pressure of the reservoir, was depicted against the green foliage on the west slope of Faire Mount, near the east end of the Colossus. A barge is making its way downstream through the canal, headed under the Colossus to the busy port city of Philadelphia.

Fairmount Water Works, W.H. Bartlett, 1839

State House Garden, Philadelphia, 1800

The City and Port of Philadelphia on the River Delaware from Kensington, 1800

Race Bridge, Fair Mount Water Works, 1834 (Graff05.63)

Race Bridge, Fairmount Water Works, 1834

View of Fairmount Water Works, ca. 1827

A black-and-white image of a small ship with white sails on a river in front of a landscape of trees and the riverbank

The Shield passing the site of Philadelphia (Watson’s Annals)

Penn's Treaty with the Lenape

Penn’s Treaty with the Indians (Watson’s Annals)

Penn landing at Chester

Penn landing at Chester (Watson’s Annals)

Pegg's Run

Pegg’s Run, Northern Liberties (Watson’s Annals)