Items

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

Gritty and the Phanatic in Ida’s Floodwaters

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

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 showing a wooden truss bridge over a creek

Wood truss drawbridge, Orthodox Street over Frankford Creek, rebuilt 1899

Black and white photo of square archways over a bridge

Bridge Street Draw, view through bridge, July 26, 1897

Black and white image of a drawbrige partially opened with water to the left of it

Bridge Street Draw, draw partly open, July 26, 1897

Black and white photo of a drawbridge over a creek, partially opened

Bridge Street Draw with draw open, July 26, 1897

Black and white photo of a low bridge over a creek

Bridge Street Draw, July 26, 1897

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