Items

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

Benjamin Henry Latrobe, portrait by Filippo Costaggini, 1880

Portrait of Benjamin Henry Latrobe

Vue du Bosquet des trois Fontaines (View of the Grove of the Three Fountains), at Versailles. Painting by Jean Cotelle (the Younger, (c) Réunion des musées nationaux. Used with permission.

Vue du Bosquet des trois Fontaines, 1689-91

Southeast Corner of Third and Market Streets, Philadelphia

Southeast Corner of Third and Market, Philadelphia

Benjamin Franklin was concerned for years about the health of Philadelphia, especially about the unhealthiness of the city’s wells. He left money in his will to provide a clean water supply from outside the built up part of the city. He also helped found the first fire company in Philadelphia.

Benjamin Franklin, the Fireman

Bill for Privy Cleaning, 1869

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

19th century life in South Philadelphia’s marshland

Black-and-white image of two young women hugging

Scenes on 44th Street Photo Album, 1914-1916

Black-and-white photo of a man with a mustache and two girls in dresses and hats walking through an empty intersection.

Coming from West Philadelphia Station, April 18, 1914

Black-and-white photo of two young women standing in the street in front of a large house and many trees

Two young women at 44th and Spruce, April 18, 1914

Black-and-white photo of three women standing on a sidewalk in front of a row of houses.

Minetta, her sister, and an older woman, S. 44th St, April 30, 1916

Black-and-white photo of a young woman in a long dress standing next to a sign in front of a house.

Girl and “Sample House” sign, 313 S. 44th St., April 30, 1916

Black-and-white photo of a young woman wearing a large coat and black hat in front of a house with a yard.

Minetta Baker, southwest corner of 44th and Spruce, October 1917