Items

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

A Brief History of Water in Northwest Philadelphia

High Water: An Informal History of Flooding in Philadelphia

Pennypack Park and Creek map, Roland Williams, 2005

Pennypack Park Map

Philadelphia from Belmont, West Park (Picturesque America)

Schuylkill River above Belmont (Picturesque America)

Wissahickon near Paper Mill Bridge, 1873

Wissahickon Creek near the Paper Mill Bridge (Picturesque America)

Drive Along the Wissahickon

Drive along the Wissahickon Creek Vallley (Picturesque America)

Thomas Mill Covered Bridge on the Wissahickon

Thomas Mill Covered Bridge over Wissahickon Creek (Picturesque America)

Anglers Club member Louis Cook with a 16lb mirror carp caught in Wissahickon Creek

Photos from the Philadelphia Anglers’ Club

Visionary planning report for Philadelphia region, 1928

Black-and-white image of an ornately lettered document with a decorative border

Images from ‘The Water Supply of the City of Philadelphia by a proposed Aqueduct from Norristown Dam’

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