Topics City Life

Birch’s Views of Philadelphia, 1800

Mount Moriah Historic Cemetery and Arboretum

The ecology of Center City, Philadelphia (in case you didn’t know there was any)

MEET YOUR ENEMY: THE RAT

Smith and Windmill Islands

Oak Lane Reservoir pipeline, 1904

The Water and Drainage History of Philadelphia

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

State House Garden, Philadelphia, 1800

The City and Port of Philadelphia on the River Delaware from Kensington, 1800

Race Bridge, Fair Mount Water Works, 1834 (Graff05.63)

Race Bridge, Fairmount Water Works, 1834

View of Fairmount Water Works, ca. 1827

A black-and-white image of a small ship with white sails on a river in front of a landscape of trees and the riverbank

The Shield passing the site of Philadelphia (Watson’s Annals)