Topics Landscape Changes

A Brief History of Water in Northwest Philadelphia

Birch’s Views of Philadelphia, 1800

The Discovery Center: The creative reuse of an abandoned city reservoir

Thomas Mill Covered Bridge on the Wissahickon

Thomas Mill Covered Bridge over Wissahickon Creek (Picturesque America)

Plans and maps of the Pennypack Creek Watershed in Philadelphia

Requiem for a stream: Adams Run in Oak Lane

Cobbs Creek: A Brief Historical Overview by Adam Levine

High Water: Flooding in 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

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

View of Fairmount Water Works, ca. 1827