Contains views of Willow Grove Park, a trolley amusement park located in the Philadelphia suburb of Willow Grove in Montgomery County. Images document buildings, grounds and attractions at the park including night and day time views of the lighted or "electric rainbow" fountain; the music pavilion, a open air theater which served as performance space for summer concert series featuring John Philip Sousa and others; the artificial lakes which were used for boating; popular rides including the Mountain Scenic Railway, the Airships (also known as the Captive Flying Machine), the Coal Mine (a roller coaster), and Venice (a gondola ride); the midway; the lake side pavilion which also served as a soda fountain; the casino; and boat landing. Also contains bird's eye views; views of the grounds and picnic areas; the entranceway; the cafe; a natural spring; and the Women's Building. Two postcards contain group portraits of Sousa's band and Victor Herbert's Orchestra., Postcards issued by a variety of different publishers with the greatest number (over thirty cards each) issued by J.M. Canfield and W.N. Jennings, a Philadelphia photographer. Includes part of two series Philadelphia Post Card Company, no. 1001-1012 and Illustrated Post Card Company, no. P-22 to P-30., Contains 134 postcards printed in color and 22 in black and white. Also includes 4 linen postcards., Digitized with funding from a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (PW-506-19-10), 2010-2012.
Creator
Brightbill, George M., collector
Date
bulk 1902-1907
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Brightbill postcards [Willow Grove - 168]
