Creator |
Lewis, George, artist. |
Contributor |
Latrobe, Benjamin Henry, 1764-1820, architect. |
|
Rush, William, 1756-1833, sculptor. |
Title |
[View of the water works at Centre Square] [graphic] / Drawn and presented by Geo. Lewis. |
Publisher |
[Philadelphia] |
Publisher |
PA. Philadelphia. 1850 |
Date |
[ca. 1850] |
Physical Description |
1 drawing : charcoal ; sheet 51 x 40 cm (19.75 x 15.5 in.); mount 53 x 41 cm (20.5 x 16.25 in.) |
Description |
View of the neoclassical-style, marble pump house completed in 1800 after the designs of architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe,
in the tree and fence-lined public square at High (Market) and Broad Streets. In front of the pump house stands enclosed within
a circular fence, the ornamental fountain ("Allegory of the Schuylkill River" or "Water Nymph & Bittern") depicting a female
water nymph holding a bittern, designed by sculptor William Rush and installed in 1809. A man and woman admire the fountain
from outside the fence. In the foreground, on the outer grounds, a man and woman ride in a sulky past two imposing trees and
behind a man mounted on the horse of a team pulling a conestoga wagon. Two dogs chase each other nearby. Opposite the sulky,
a boy plays with a dog as a man passes by with a bundle over his shoulder. Also shows a man and woman approaching the gate
to the outer fence of the pump house. The city’s first waterworks delivered water from the Schuylkill River to subscribers
and city hydrants until 1815, when superseded by the Fairmount Waterworks. The pump house was razed in 1827.
|
Notes |
Title supplied by the cataloger. |
|
Date inferred by content. |
|
Manuscript note written on mount below image: Drawn and presented by Geo. Lewis to George Schaeffer, Esq. |
|
Copied after a Cornelius Tiebout engraving made after a John James Barralet drawing. See related: Freedman Collection - Oversize
- View [P.2013.87.9]; ***Ph Pr - Parks & Squares - Centre Square [P.9379].
|
|
Gift of David Doret and Linda G. Mitchell, 2022. |
Subject |
Centre Square Water Works (Philadelphia, Pa.) |
|
Carriages & coaches -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia. |
|
Covered wagons -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia. |
|
Dogs -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia. |
|
Fountains -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia. |
|
Pedestrians -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia. |
|
Waterworks -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia. |
Geographic subject |
Broad Street (Philadelphia, Pa.) -- South -- 000 block. |
|
Centre Square (Philadelphia, Pa.) |
|
Water Nymph and Bittern Fountain (Philadelphia, Pa.) |
Genre |
Charcoal drawings -- 1840-1850. |
Associated name |
Latrobe, Benjamin Henry, 1764-1820, architect. |
Associated name |
Rush, William, 1756-1833, sculptor. |
Location |
Library Company of Philadelphia| Print Department| *Doret and Mitchell Collection – Drawings & Watercolors [P.2022.62.3.14] |
Accession number |
P.2022.62.3.14 |