Items

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

Fairmount Water Works and the Lemon Hill Observatory

Two views on the water supply, 1939

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

Rebirth of the Rivers: Water History Video 3

Repurposing Old Infrastructure: Water History Video 5

Sandy Run Watershed and the Holmesburg Water Works

Fairmount Water Works (Picturesque America)

Wire Bridge at Fairmount

Schuylkill Navigation lock at Fairmount (Picturesque America)

Visionary planning report for Philadelphia region, 1928

The Water Supply Problem of Philadelphia, 1899

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

“Fairmount Waterworks. From the forebay.” (From nature & on stone G. Lehman; Published by C.G. Childs & G. Lehman, 1833. Free Library of Philadelphia, Print & Picture Collection)

Fairmount Water Works from the forebay, 1833