Topics Landscape Changes

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

Thomas Mill Covered Bridge on the Wissahickon

Thomas Mill Covered Bridge over Wissahickon Creek (Picturesque America)

Manayunk and the Schuylkill Navigation

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