City in a Park by James McClelland and Lynn Miller

Posted by on Sep 1, 2016 in | Comments Off on City in a Park by James McClelland and Lynn Miller City in a Park: A History of Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park System by James McClelland and Lynn Miller Temple University Press, 392 pp., cloth $39.50 A substantial, richly illustrated book highlighting the significance of Fairmount Park and its place in the larger urban parks movement has been long overdue. City in a Park has finally arrived to fill that void. Augmented with 150...
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William Penn Plans His City

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on William Penn Plans His City William Penn’s plan or the City of Philadelphia was an honest, inspired effort, fully imbedded in-as well as espousing-his Quaker beliefs. His new province and new city would be free of religious persecution and would, at the same time, pro­vide opportunities for even the most humble individual to achieve a level of financial success simply not available in the Europe of that time. In a...
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Benjamin Henry Latrobe: The Artist as Commentator

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Benjamin Henry Latrobe: The Artist as Commentator Benjamin Henry La­trobe (1764-1820) is generally acknowl­edged to be America’s first professional architect and engineer, practicing in the United States from 1796, when he immigrated from England, until his untimely death from yellow fever in New Orleans in 1820. He worked, during that period, in cities as diverse as Richmond, Philadelphia, Balti­more, Washington, D.C., Pittsburgh, and...
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The Wissahickon Valley: To a Wilderness Returned

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Wissahickon Valley: To a Wilderness Returned The rural Wissahickon Valley, near center-city Philadelphia, typifies the rugged landscape which greeted the first white settlers. Today, its huge hem­locks and towering sycamores contrast markedly with the busy factories and row houses only a mile away. But this valley of contrasts has always been different from the sur­rounding region. A century ago, when most of America was rural or wild, the...
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The New Taste in Pennsylvania

Posted by on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on The New Taste in Pennsylvania Like the nation itself during the so-called “Federal” period, the arts in Pennsylvania reached a crescendo in their development that had an unexpected unity, a strong purpose, and a national style. Despite great varia­tions in the Germanic and English traditions, Pennsylvania emerged from the revolutionary period reasonably cohesive. City and country perspectives, naive and...
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Mailbox

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Mailbox For continuing research, as well as a forthcoming article in Pennsylvania Heritage, on Philadelphia’s historic Fairmount Water Works, information and ephemera relating to the Fairmount Park Aquarium are being collected. The attraction, one of the first aquariums in the United States, opened to the public in 1911 in the engine house, began deteriorating after World War II, and finally dosed...
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A Walk on the Wild Side: Philadelphia’s Wissahickon Creek

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Walk on the Wild Side: Philadelphia’s Wissahickon Creek At one time deli­cately depicted on dainty lamp shades, the Wissahickon Creek has offered generations of Philadelphians a verdant retreat from the stress of urban life. It is a place to meet old friends, engage in spirited recreational activities, or simply seek solitude. Each person’s reason for seeking respite along the Wissahickon is as unique as the individual, but all share a common...
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The Fairmount Water Works: “One of the Very Prettiest Spots the Eye Can Look Upon”

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Fairmount Water Works: “One of the Very Prettiest Spots the Eye Can Look Upon” Error and the human condition, being bound tightly together, generally keep a sullen kind of company. Yet as unpromising as that pair might seem, their offspring sometimes attain startling beauty. Certainly the grace and charm of Philadelphia’s Fairmount Water Works, on the east bank of the Schuylkill River, derive both from the human condition and the fitful attempts to improve it....
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Letters to the Editor

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Letters to the Editor Three Cheers Three cheers for Pennsylvania Heritage and William D. Owen for the excellent article devoted to the Fairmount Water Works (see “The Fairmount Water Works: ‘One of the very prettiest spots the eye can look upon'” in the spring 1994 edition). The discussion of the prob­lems associated with the early use of steam power and the impact on the sub­sequent development of...
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Executive Director’s Message

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Executive Director’s Message The city of Philadelphia is facing enormous opportunities and challenges in preserving its rich heritage. Recent initiatives are as impressive as they are legion. The National Park Service (NPS) is developing a new general management plan for Independence National Historical Park. Following an extensive public process and consultation with historians and planners, the NPS will address several...
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