Subjects City Life

Fairmount Water Works: The Surprising History of an American Landmark

Water Bureau Newspaper Scrapbook, 1942-1952

Map Lovers’ Monday: Philadelphia in 1957, according to the Pennsy

Annual reports and other documents relating to Philadelphia’s water supply system, 1796-1992

Early photographs of Fairmount and vicinity, 1848

Newspaper Clipping Scrapbooks of Frederick Graff Jr., Chief Engineer of the Philadelphia Water Department. Part 2: 1858-1871

The Manayunk Expressway

Schuylkill River Harbor Police Report, 1884

CITIZENS’ BUSINESS: 1939-1946

Petition of manufacturers along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia for a new upstream water supply, 1868

Visions of the Schuylkill, 1884 and Now

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