Items

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

This 1838 view of the Fairmount Water Works with the Schuylkill River in the distance, by John T. Bowen, “captures the pleasures of Fairmount in its heyday,” writes historian Jane Mork Gibson. “The neat beauty of the works set into a gentle landscape, steep paths and steps that offered an exhilirating contrast to the general flatness of Philadelphia, as well as the excitement of boat races on the river and refreshments offered in the former Engine House, all prompted the admiring comments of visitors.”

Fairmount Water Works and the Schuylkill River, 1838

Black-and-white reproduction of the title page of an old periodical

Images from “A Day in the Ma’sh” by Maurice F. Egan, Scribner’s Monthly, July 1881

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

A Day in the Ma’sh – Rail-Shooting

Logan Demanding Flood Relief, 8/18/38

Frankford Creek Overflows, 11/1/32

Sewer Demand Taken to City Hall, 7/25/32

Reproduction of a long newspaper clipping showing headlines and text

In The Storm’s Track, Philadelphia Record, 1882-09-25

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]

Black and white photo of a man checking his watch in front of a creek with construction around it

Bridge Street Draw, looking north, ca. 1896

Bridge Street Draw, southeast corner property, June 12, 1896

Bridge Street Draw, Cofferdam, ca. 1896