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Title: [African American construction crew installing a utility pole]
Description: Scene of a crew of African American men construction workers nearing completion of the installation of a utility pole along a cobblestone city street lined with homes and businesses. Most of the crew members hold their mallets on their shoulders and wait on the sidewalk as another laborer retrieves a long pipe from their nearby utility truck. A mound of freshly dug dirt is piled near his feet. A white pedestrian observes the scene. A gas station is visible on the opposite side of the street., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from photographic medium and attire of the sitters., Purchase 1989., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: [ca. 1925]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - unidentified - construction [P.9260.603]

Title: [Group portrait of brick masons]
Description: Depicts seven masons, including two African American men, posed at an outside worksite in front of a partially completed brick wall. They stand on wood scaffolding and look at the viewer. Most hold tools of the trade, including trowels. Bricks, buckets, and other equipment are on the scaffolding around the worksite., Title supplied by cataloger., Purchase 2001., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: [ca. 1910]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department group portrait photographs - occupations - masons [P.9985.3]

Title: Pier 84 South [Philadelphia, Pa.]
Description: Depicts an African American man pier construction worker laboring on rows of steel piping attached to a concrete slab. Shows the man, attired in a brimmed hat, a long-sleeved shirt, and pants, bent over at the waist and touching the metal pipes. In the right background, a white man stands and faces the viewer. Includes a partial view of the adjacent pier in the background., Title inscribed in negative., Negative annotated: Negative No. 657. Contract no. 345; Bulkhead, south side, work completed to July 20: 48.22%. Reinforcing steel for Deck Slab and front of retaining wall., Retrospective conversion record: original entry, edited., Lib. Company. Annual report, 1989, p. 42., Purchase 1989., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Creator: Philadelphia (Pa.), Dept. of Wharves, Docks and Ferries
Date: July 27, 1920
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - unidentified - piers [P.9260.165]

Title: [Construction crew in a fenced ditch below street level, July 12, 1904]
Description: Scene depicting a predominately African American construction crew, working with shovels and picks around a fire hydrant, exposed pipes, and a storm drain within a large fenced off ditch. Planks and sheet metal cover part of the site. Workers place dirt into steel bins. A crane hovers above. Spectators, including white men and boys and African American man, line the fence and pass the construction site. Further down the street another predominately African American construction crew works within another ditch., Title supplied by cataloger., Purchase 1989., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: [July 12, 1904]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - unidentified - Construction [P.9260.423]

Title: [Construction crew near railroad tracks, July 8, 1904]
Description: Scene depicting a predominately African American construction crew working with picks and shovels in a pit deeply dug out of a stone embankment near railroad tracks. Within the pit lined with wood planks, a well-dressed white man, standing near the hook end of a crane hanging above, oversees the work crew. At street level, near a pile of rubble, a horse-drawn flatbed truck loaded with logs and two white workers stand idle. In the foreground, a "P.R.R." (Pennsylvania Railroad) air brake steel car stands motionless on the track., Title supplied by cataloger., Purchase 1989., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: [July 8, 1904]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photos - unidentified - Construction [P.9260.424]

Title: [Progress photographs documenting the construction of the Sesquicentennial Exhibition, South Philadelphia, 1926]
Description: Series of progress photographs of the construction of the Tower of Light and "Progress on Lagoon" west of Broad Street and near Packer Street. Photographs depict the construction of the tower from its foundation to completion and the early stages of development of the lagoon from muddy marshland. Images show construction workers, including African Americans; construction equipment and supplies; automobiles and horse-drawn wagons; and foot traffic, including spectators. Lagoon photographs also show neighboring exhibition buildings under construction. Series also contains a view of the completed exhibition grounds. In the foreground, cars and visitors travel past the "Kodak" building. In the background, other exhibition buildings, including the "Battle of Gettysburg" theater, "Fire and Flame" hall, Alpine Haus restaurant, and Louis Mark Model Shoe Manufactory, are visible. The exhibition near the Navy Yard celebrated the 150th anniversary of independence in Philadelphia through attractions and entertainment in the form of pageants, exhibitions and sporting events., Title supplied by cataloger., Negative numbers written lower right corner. Includes 644; 1257; 1715; 1922- 1923, 1927, 3171; and 4057., Three photographs contain dates. Dates include: June 13, 1926 (Neg. #1257); June 26, 1926 (Neg. #1715); and July 2, 1926 (Neg. #1923)., See also related collection: Brightbill postcards [Sesquicentennial Exposition - 155]., Purchase 2010., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Creator: Cardinell, John D., photographer
Date: [1926]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - Cardinell [P.2010.18.2-9]

Title: Pennsylvania Rail Road Co. connecting bridge at Girard Ave
Description: View of a construction crew working under a viaduct of the bridge to enlarge West River Drive. In the foreground, an African American man crew member lowers a hose into the ditch in which the crew of predominately African American men work. Most of the men sift through a large pile of dirt and rubble near a horse-drawn cart., Title from note on negative sleeve: Penn R.R. Co. connecting bridge at Girard Avenue., Inscribed on negative: 7314., Published in Harry Silcox's Philadelphia: the life of photographer William Nicholson Jennings, 1860-1946 (Philadelphia: Brighton Press, Inc., 1993), p. 85., Purchase 1994., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Creator: Jennings, William Nicholson, 1860-1946, photographer
Date: August 29, 1912
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department Jennings [P.9480.7314]

Title: [Construction of the Frankford Elevated railroad tracks at Front and Arch Streets in Philadelphia, September 6, 1922]
Description: Scene showing predominantly African American construction workers laying down railroad tracks near a block of rowhouses at Front and Arch Streets in Philadelphia. The men are surrounded by piled planks, buckets, and construction debris. Many of the workers have stopped to pose, including a white man, possibly a foreman. In the left, two men continue to work and consult near steps by a curved railing. The half completed tracks, bridge platform, a billboard, factory buildings, and water tower are visible in the background. Constructed under the auspices of the City of Philadelphia's Department of City Transit (later Transit Operations and Planning Division) between 1915 and 1922, the Frankford Elevated Railway consisted of a two track structure six miles in length that extended north over the roadway of Front Street, Kensington Avenue and Frankford Avenue between Arch and Bridge Streets. Operated under lease to the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (later South Eastern Public Transportation Authority or SEPTA), the line opened November 5, 1922., Title supplied by cataloger., Purchase 1989., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022., Part of digital collections catalog through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of the Commonwealth Libraries, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett, Governor, 2013-2014.
Date: [September 6, 1922]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photos - unidentified - Construction [P.9260.419]

Title: [Looking east on the 2100 block of Market Street, Philadelphia]
Description: View showing street construction by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company of the Market Street Subway in a large, deep pit on the 2100 block of Market Street. The construction workers include white and African American men. Shows men spectators looking down at the pit. Men fill horse-drawn carts with dirt, and theater advertisements for the "Famous Ithaca Band" at Willow Grove Park adorn construction equipment., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inscribed in negative: 9-17-04., Inscribed in negative: 579., Gift of Steven Dorfman, 2013., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date: [September 17, 1904]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - unidentified - Construction [P.2013.6.9]

Title: [Looking west on the 2100 block of Market Street, Philadelphia]
Description: View showing street construction by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company of the Market Street Subway in a shallow pit on the 2100 block of Market Street. The construction workers include white and African American men. Also shows cityscape, trollies traveling in the street, spectators, and construction equipment., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inscribed in negative: 7-22-04., Inscribed in negative: 563., Gift of Steven Dorfman, 2013., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date: [July 22, 1904]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - unidentified - Construction [P.2013.6.7]

Title: [Looking east on the 1600 block of Market Street, Philadelphia]
Description: View showing street construction by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company of the Market Street Subway across from the Broad Street Station (built 1879-1882). In the foreground, a number of African American construction workers stand in a pit. In the background is another pit with more construction workers. Pedestrians and spectators look on at the scene. Several businesses on the south side of the 1600 block of Market Street, including "Cronin's," are visible. Also shows several horse-drawn wagons traveling past the rail station, and theater advertisements adorning construction equipment., Title supplied by cataloger., Date inferred from a closely-numbered photograph in the series with an inscribed date., Inscribed in negative: 555., Gift of Steven Dorfman, 2013., Description revised 2022., Access points revised 2022.
Date: [1904]
Location: Library Company of Philadelphia | Print Department photo - unidentified - Construction [P.2013.6.5]

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