Engine house of the Twenty-fourth Ward Water Works. Designed and constructed by Birkinbine & Trotter, engineers and contractors, Philadelphia. [graphic].
Title
Engine house of the Twenty-fourth Ward Water Works. Designed and constructed by Birkinbine & Trotter, engineers and contractors, Philadelphia
Description
View showing the engine house at the water works also known as the West Philadelphia Water Works, completed circa 1855, on the west bank of the Schuylkill River above the Fairmount Dam. The engine house built after the designs of engineers Birkinbine & Trotter, contained two boiler rooms, sleeping rooms for the engineers, and storerooms. Also shows two men standing near a fence in the foreground and the smokestack at the waterworks in the background., Name of photographer from duplicate in private collection., Title from accompanying label., Originally part of a series of eleven scrapbooks compiled by Philadelphia antiquarian Charles A. Poulson in the late 1850s entitled "Illustrations of Philadelphia" volume 5, page 70? The scrapbooks contained photographs of 18th-century public, commercial, and residential buildings in the city of Philadelphia collected by Poulson to document the vanishing architectural landscape., Birkinbine & Trotter was a partnership between Philadelphia engineers Henry P.M. Birkinbine and Edward H. Trotter (1814-1872), Reproduced in Kenneth Finkel's Nineteenth century photography in Philadelphia (New York: Dover Publications, Inc. in cooperation with the Library Company of Philadelphia, 1980), entry #97., McClees, a prominent Philadelphia photographer and daguerreotypist, produced some of the earliest paper photographic views of Philadelphia between 1853 and 1859.
Creator
M'Clees, Jas. E. (James E.), photographer
Date
ca. 1854
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - McClees - Public Utilities [(5)2526.F.4a]
Stand pipe. For West Philada. Water Works.
Title
Stand pipe. For West Philada. Water Works
Description
View showing the proposed design for a standpipe with an ornate spiral staircase and statute of George Washington to be erected at Thirty-Fifth and Sycamore streets as part of the Twenty Fourth Ward Water Works (i.e., West Philadelphia Water Works). Individuals gaze up at the stucture from its base as other men and women ascend the staircase and view the vista from the observation deck. Completed circa 1855, without the statue, after the designs of engineers Birkinbine & Trotter, the standpipe served as a reservoir for the waterworks located on the west bank of the Schuylkill River above the Fairmount Dam. The standpipe was removed in 1870., Manuscript note on recto: height 130 feet. diameter 5 ". Made of of B[?] iron., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 717, LCP exhibit catalogue: Made in America #77., Wainwright retrospective conversion project., See Poulson's scrapbook vol. VII, pg. 119 for clipping concerning the raising of the stand pipe dated December 15, 1853., Trimmed.
Creator
Rease & Schell, artist
Date
[ca. 1853]
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department *W351 [P.2191]
Northern Liberties & Spring Garden Water Works.
Title
Northern Liberties & Spring Garden Water Works
Description
Oblique view of the front and north flank of the one-and-a-half story granite engine house at the Spring Garden and Northern Liberties Water Works (later known as the Schuylkill Water Works) at the foot of Thompson Street on the east bank of the Schuylkill River. In the foreground, an empty horse-drawn cart is stopped near a pump, where a man fills a bucket with water. A man stands with his arms crossed in the side door, a couple strolls arm in arm, and three men stand and converse at the foot of the stairs of the engine house entrance. Includes a canalboat (named the Captain T.M. Scott, after the artist) on the river, along with a partial view of the water basin of the waterworks lined by a fence in the background. The waterworks, completed circa 1845 after the designs of engineer William E. Morris, provided water to the Spring Garden, Northern Liberties, and Kensington neighborhoods., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 512, Wainwright retrospective conversion project, edited., Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Bc88 N 874.
Creator
Kuchel, Charles Conrad, b. 1820, artist
Date
1852
Location
Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department **W254 [P.2128]
[Philadelphia]
Title
[Philadelphia] P.S. Duval & Co. lith, Phila.]
Description
Proof print containing a montage of 14 vignettes (12 captioned) separated by borders of branches and garlands. Vignettes depict the "Custom House," West Philadelphia stand pipe (Twenty-Fourth Ward Water Works), "Independence Hall," Spark's shot tower, Merchants' "Exchange," "Insane Asylum," "Naval Asylum," "Pennsylvania "Hospital," "Philadelphia" near the Naval yard on the Delaware River, "Alms House," "Fair Mount" at the water works, "Girard College," and Eastern State "Penitentiary." Vignettes also include street, maritime, and pedestrian traffic, including horse-drawn carriages, wagons, and omnibuses; sail boats, skiffs, and steam boats; and laborers with hand carts and individuals on horseback. Also contains pictorial details showing an American eagle and shield, William Penn, and a Native American., Title and publication information from published duplicate., Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 569, Library of Congress: DLC-PP-1997: 105 Queen prints 23 (AA size) Philadelphia, See published copy DLC-PP-1997: 105 Queen - 93 prints (AA size) Philadelphia
Creator
Queen, James Fuller, 1820 or 21-1886
Date
[ca. 1855]
Location
Library of Congress | Prints and Photographs Division LOC DLC-PP-1997: 105 Queen prints 23 (AA size) Philadelphia
Philadelphia.
Title
Philadelphia
Description
Print containing a montage of 14 vignettes (12 captioned) separated by borders of branches and garlands. Vignettes depict the "Custom House," West Philadelphia stand pipe (Twenty-Fourth Ward Water Works), "Independence Hall," Spark's shot tower, Merchants' "Exchange," "Insane Asylum," "Naval Asylum," "Pennsylvania "Hospital," "Philadelphia" near the Naval yard on the Delaware River, "Alms House," "Fair Mount" at the water works, "Girard College," and Eastern State "Penitentiary." Vignettes also include street, maritime, and pedestrian traffic, including horse-drawn carriages, wagons, and omnibuses; sail boats, skiffs, and steam boats; and laborers with hand carts and individuals on horseback. Also contains pictorial details showing an American eagle and shield, William Penn, and a Native American., Distributor's imprint printed on recto: For Sale by Drovin & Co., 38 S. 3rd Phila., Not in Wainwright., Philadelphia on Stone, POS 569.1, Drovin & Co. was a Philadelphia stationery business., Library of Congress: DLC-PP-1997: 105 Queen - 93 prints (AA size) Philadelphia, See proof DLC-PP-1997: 105 Queen prints 23 (AA size) Philadelphia
Creator
Queen, James Fuller, 1820 or 21-1886
Date
[ca. 1855]
Location
Library of Congress | Prints and Photographs Division LOC DLC-PP-1997: 105 Queen - 93 prints (AA size) Philadelphia