“A Snake That Will Be Straightened Out,” map of Frankford Creek with proposed changes, 1949
Map showing bends in Frankford Creek that will "be eliminated when work is completed." From the Philadelphia Bulletin, May 18, 1949.
In 1947, Knappen Engineering Co. of New York City was hired by the City to develop a comprehensive flood control plan for Frankford Creek. A newspaper article about the plan features this drawing of the creek with the caption, “A snake that will be straightened out.” The first part of the plan to be completed, in 1949, was the removal of the horseshoe bend in Juniata Park.