Topics Landscape Changes

Sewers, Pollution, and Public Health in 19th Century Philadelphia

Black-and-white image of a creek with people around it and a large building behind it

Dock Creek Sewer in 1849: A report on its condition made to City Councils

Cobbs Creek: A Brief Historical Overview by Adam Levine

High Water: Flooding in Philadelphia

The Worry of the Wires

From Creek To Sewer

Manayunk and the Schuylkill Navigation

Aramingo Sewer, view near Hughes & Patterson and Beach Street Bridge, March 15, 1902

Aramingo Canal, Then and Now

Drainage and Sewerage Report, 1853

Down Under!

Birkinbine Schuylkill Hydrographical Survey 1861-66

Two reports on the state of the Schuylkill River, 1867

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