Topics Nature

Map Lover’s Monday: Fairmount Park, 1869

Philadelphia from Belmont, West Park (Picturesque America)

Schuylkill River above Belmont (Picturesque America)

Appletons' Journal Schuylkill, 1869

Fairmount and Schuylkill, Appletons’ Journal, 1869

Schuylkill River at Landsdowne

Schuylkill River at Lansdowne (Picturesque America)

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

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

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