Topics Water Supply

Fairmount Water Works, by W. H. Bartlett, 1839. This engraving from an 1839 painting by William Bartlett shows the porch added to the Engine House about 1835 and the two gazebos built at the same time, all added to welcome visitors to the Water Works and a new saloon, or restaurant, in the Engine House. The powerful jet of water rising from the fountain in the South Garden, fed by a dedicated pipe under the full pressure of the reservoir, was depicted against the green foliage on the west slope of Faire Mount, near the east end of the Colossus. A barge is making its way downstream through the canal, headed under the Colossus to the busy port city of Philadelphia.

Fairmount Water Works, W.H. Bartlett, 1839

“Fairmount Waterworks. From the forebay.” (From nature & on stone G. Lehman; Published by C.G. Childs & G. Lehman, 1833. Free Library of Philadelphia, Print & Picture Collection)

Fairmount Water Works from the forebay, 1833

A Roman aqueduct in Segovia, Spain, 2006

Roman Aqueduct in Segovia, Spain

Black-and-white image showing a man standing in a large concrete half-pipe

Thomas Run sewer outlet during construction

Black-and-white image of the title page of a government report

Perkiomen Water Supply Surveys, 1866

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

The Water Works in Centre Square, Philadelphia

Torresdale Conduit work gang, 1906

Torresdale Conduit work gang, 12/18/1906

Cumberland Street pipeline, 1907

Bureau of Water, Cumberland, west of 13th Street, pipe line, 1907

Oak Lane Reservoir pipeline, 1904

Oak Lane Reservoir pipeline, 1904

State Street pipeline construction

State Street pipeline construction, 1904

Finished Upper Roxborough filters, 1903

Finished Upper Roxborough filters, 1903