Items

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

Mill Creek Sewer under construction. Several men standing beside a giant partially constructed sewer pipe.

Mill Creek Sewer under construction, 1883

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

Centre Square Engine House, location of one of two steam engines used in the city’s original water system. Engraving by Birch.

Centre Square Engine House, ca. 1807

Black-and-white image of a man in a boat with a long pole

A Day in the Ma’sh – A Pusher

Black-and-white image of two men in a boat with guns

A Day in the Ma’sh – Rail-Shooting

Black and white photo of a man wearing a hat and standing on a bridge with his arm on a post

Wood truss drawbridge, Orthodox Street over Frankford Creek, 1899 [Detail]

Black and white photo of several men in the foreground, some wearing hats, and a few others standing behind them on a wooden bridge

Bridge Street, intermediate pier, ca. 1896 [Detail]

Black and white image of several workmen and many pieces of wooden timber

Bridge Street Draw, intermediate pier, ca. 1896 [detail]

Black and white photo shows several workmen on a wooden structure

Bridge Street Draw, intermediate pier, ca. 1896

Black and white photo of two men facing the camera and several facing away while standing and sitting on a board

Bridge Street Draw, construction of piers, ca. 1896

Black and white photo of men on a wooden bridge outcropping

Bridge Street Draw, Cofferdam, ca 1896 [Detail]