Subjects Natural Environment

Fairmount Water Works: The Surprising History of an American Landmark

The pipe beneath the rocky path

Rebirth of the Rivers: Water History Video 3

Map Lover’s Monday: Fairmount Park, 1869

Philadelphia from Belmont, West Park (Picturesque America)

Schuylkill River above Belmont (Picturesque America)

Wissahickon near Paper Mill Bridge, 1873

Wissahickon Creek near the Paper Mill Bridge (Picturesque America)

Drive Along the Wissahickon

Drive along the Wissahickon Creek Vallley (Picturesque America)

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

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

Centre Square Engine House, location of one of two steam engines used in the city’s original water system. Engraving by Birch.

Centre Square Engine House, ca. 1807

Lemon Hill and Sedgley Park, Graff Jr., 1851 (Graff05.21)

Plan of Lemon Hill and Sedgley Park, Fairmount and Adjoining Property, 1851