Places Pennsylvania

Map Lovers’ Monday: Schuylkill River from Wissahickon Creek to Norristown, 1913

Wire Bridge at Fairmount

Schuylkill Navigation lock at Fairmount (Picturesque America)

Scenes on the Wissahickon

Scenes on the Wissahickon Creek (Picturesque America)

Panoramic Manayunk: Views Past and Present

James W. Phillips Letter Book, 1904-1913

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