Places Philadelphia

Bird's eye color view of reservoirs, green areas of foliage, pink roads and blue water, with a dam prominent

Fairmount and vicinity, 1839

Color drawing of an elevated water reservoir on the banks of a river with green land shown on either bank

Isometrical View of Fairmount Water Works, 1843

The 1815 Engine House (shown here in an 1819 print) housed two steam-powered pumps that drew water from the Schuylkill River and pumped it into the reservoirs above the building, on top of Faire Mount. The artist showed smoke pouring from the south chimney, indicating that the South Engine was operating. The bridge just downstream was the covered Upper Ferry Bridge, an incredible 340 feet long, also completed in 1815. Designed and constructed by Lewis Wernwag, a native of Germany who had studied engineering there, the bridge opened in 1813. Formally called the Upper Ferry Bridge, it was also known as the “Colossus of Philadelphia” because — like the mythical Colossus of Rhodes — the bridge was held up only by piers at its two ends, with no intermediate supports. Made entirely of wood, the bridge was destroyed by fire in 1838.

Fair Mount Water Works engine house, 1819

A section of wooden water pipe, long out of service, removed from a Philadelphia street in 1901. It had been installed about 1801.

Wooden Water Pipe, removed from Market Street, December 6, 1901

Black-and-white image of a table with numbers in columns

Bacteria in Delaware River, Torresdale Filters, 1913

Water, Water Everywhere – Philadelphia Record, 1937-03-14

Black-and-white image of the title page of a government report

Perkiomen Water Supply Surveys, 1866

Black-and-white image of workers in a pit with a sewer opening behind them and text

Frankford Creek: Sad History of an Urban Stream title page

The Water Works in Centre Square, Philadelphia

International Exhibition situation plan, 1876

Centennial Exhibition situation plan, 1876

PWD water tech at the Philly Home Show, 1960

PWD water tech at the Philly Home Show, 1960 (detail)

Oak Lane Reservoir pipeline, 1904

Oak Lane Reservoir pipeline, 1904