Logan Square in Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Useful & Beautiful / Timeline
Water Works Historic Area
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 25, 2022
1. Useful & Beautiful / Timeline Marker
Inscription.
Useful and Beautiful, also, Timeline. Water Works Historic Area.
Useful and Beautiful.
"Philadelphia is most beautifully provided with fresh water … The Water Works … are no less ornamental than useful, being tastefully laid out as a public garden, and kept in the best and nearest order." Charles Dickens, 1847
❶ Esplanade. Along the bank of the Schuylkill River, below the South Garden, the stretch of land now known as the Esplanade was completed in 1835. The Esplanade is reached by stairs behind the Engine House and a spiral staircase near the entrance to the South Garden., ❷ South Garden. Prior to 1830 the area just east of the Engine House was a stone quarry. To welcome visitors to the site, plans for a formalized garden were created by Frederick Graff in 1829. His plan, featuring geometrical paths centered around a Marble Fountain has been recreated. Later additions to the Garden included benches, fountains, and sculptures., ❸ Graff Memorial. Erected to the memory of Frederick Graff (1774-1847), the Superintendent, Chief Engineer and Architect of the Fairmount Water Works, the memorial was installed in 1848 and fully restored in 2006., ❹ Engine House. Built between 1812 and 1815 to resemble a Federal-style country house, it contained two steam engines which pumped water from the Schuylkill up to the Reservoirs. Abandoned in 1823, the steam engines were scrapped and a refreshment saloon opened in the building. In the 20th century, it served as the main entrance to the Fairmount Aquarium. After the restoration, it was converted to a restaurant., ❺ Schuylkill Chained and Schuylkill Freed. These sculptures, located atop the Entrance Houses, are fiberglass reproductions. The original wood pieces, carved by William Rush and his son John in 1825, are housed in Philadelphia Museum of Art. The wild male figure represents the Schuylkill River struggling against the chains of the Fairmount Dam and locks. The female figure personifies the Water Works, using the waterwheel to pump water into the Reservoir on Faire Mount., ❻ Pavilion and Entrance Houses. These wooden structures were completed in 1872 when the deck of the Old Mill House was raised to accommodate large turbines that replaced the original waterwheels. Frederic Graff, Jr. adapted the Great Pavilion's design from earlier drawings by his father. The Entrance Houses allowed visitors to descend into the Old Mill House. The Great Pavilion provided a gathering place, shelter, and spectacular views of the Schuylkill River., ❼ Old Mill House. Completed in 1821 in the neoclassical style, it originally contained three waterwheels. Between 1868 and 1872, the Old Mill House was rebuilt to provide room for turbines. When it was remodeled again for the Aquarium in 1911, most pumping machinery was removed to accommodate the freshwater fish exhibits. The red brick deck is the roof of the building., ❽ Watering Commitee and Caretaker's House. Masonry structures flanking the ends of the Mill House; the Watering Committee Building served as headquarters for the elected officials who developed and maintained the Water Works. The Watering Committee was the precursor to today's Philadelphia Water Department. A custodian lived in the Caretaker's House., ❿ New Mill House. Between 1859 and 1862 a second mill house was constructed in the side of the dam. Designed by Henry P.M. Birkinbine in the Romanesque style, it housed three Jonval turbines. During the Aquarium period, the New Mill House held seawater fish exhibits. When the Aquarium closed in 1962, a swimming pool was built in this structure., ⓫ Fairmount Dam. At 2008 feet long, the Fairmount Dam was the longest in America when completed in 1821. It has been rebuilt many times. Boats were able to bypass the dam through a canal and locks located across the river. These were removed in the 1950s. A fishway, allowing fish to swim upstream, was built in 1979 in the area of the canal., ⓬ Pavilions. Pavilions and gazebos were placed around the site to shelter visitors and provide overlooks. Shown top to bottom: The Eagle Pavilion, designed by Frederick Graff in 1835 and originally topped by a William Rush sculpture. The classical Mercury Pavilion (c. 1835), is located on the cliffside above. Nearby is the more naturalistic Rustic Gazebo, built of twigs and rough-hewn timber in the 1860s, rebuilt in steel in 2009., ⓭ Fountains. Fountains showcased the Water Works' product: pure, plentiful water. The Marble Fountain, erected in 1832, boasted a tall jet of water fed by the Reservoirs above. Drinking fountains were found around the site, including the Peace Fountain, commemorating the end of the Civil War., ⓮ Reservoir / Philadelphia Museum of Art. Rising behind the Water Works was Faire Mount, one of the highest points near the city. Reservoirs were built at the top of the hill to hold water pumped from the river. Water was distributed by gravity throughout the city. In the 1920s the Reservoirs were removed and the Philadelphia Museum of Art was built on the site., ⓯ Cliffside Paths. Paths leading from the Water Works to the top of Fairmount have existed since the 1820s. Originally wooden stairs and boardwalks connected the South Garden up to the Mercury Pavilion and Reservoirs. The current curving paths with the elaborate decorative railing were installed in the 1870s and restored in 2008., ⓰ Forebay. The Forebay was a 20-foot deep channel blasted out of solid rock. The dam diverted the river into this channel. The river then flowed through openings in the Mill Houses to the machinery inside. When the Aquarium opened at this site, sea lions and seals frolicked in the Forebay's waters. The Forebay was filled in by 1923 when the Philadelphia Museum of Art was constructed.,
Timeline
. Welcome to the Fairmount Water Works, a National Historic Landmark, and America's first municipal water works. The buildings here have been altered many times as public needs have changed. For more information on how the site worked, please visit the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center located at the center of the site (see map, other side)., 1798: A Quest for Clean Water. In the late 1700s, yellow fever epidemics , then thought by some to be a water-borne disease , killed thousands in Philadelphia. Civic leaders formed a "Watering Committee" to assure a constant supply of uncontaminated drinking water., 1801: Centre Square Water Works. The city's first pumping station opened at Centre Square (current site of City Hall). The neoclassical structure was designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Inside, a steam engine pumped water to holding tanks at the top of the building., 1811 to 1815: Fairmount Water Works Created. Centre Square Water Works was beautiful but unreliable. Engineers Frederick Graff (right) and John Davis proposed, designed and built a new pumping station on the Schuylkill River, here at Faire Mount. The first building in the complex, the Engine House, was completed in 1815., 1818 to 1822: Water Power Introduced. The Engine House's wood-burning steam engines were expensive and dangerous to operate. To save money and lives, the Water Works was converted to water power. The Old Mill House, was built to house eight waterwheels. A dam, installed across the river, diverted water onto the wheels., 1832 to 1836: A Site to Behold. With the steam engines no longer needed, the Engine House was converted to a 'saloon.' The adjacent area, an old stone quarry, was transformed into the South Garden. Visitors flocked to the site to enjoy fountains, sculpture, and climb up to the Reservoir to behold spectacular views., 1844: Birth of the Park. The City purchased the Lemon Hill estate just north of the Water Works to protect the water supply from pollution. Later, this land was officially named "Fairmount Park.", 1851 to 1862: New Technology Introduced. The growing city needed water pumped 24 hours a day, but the wheels at Fairmount stopped several hours a day at high tide. In 1862 the New Mill House was built to house powerful water-powered Jonval Turbines. The turbines were twice as efficient as the water wheels., 1851: A Helpful Boost. The addition of the Jonval Turbines created the need for another reservoir, located about a quarter mile away. The Italianate-style Standpipe provided the boost which carried the water uphill to the new location., 1868: Early Environmental Protection. Factories built on land adjacent to the Schuylkill River tainted the water. The Fairmount Park Commission was formed to protect the water supply by acquiring land along the river., 1868 to 1872: Water Works Additions. The Old Mill House was reconstructed by Frederic Graff, Jr. The waterwheels were replaced by more powerful turbines. Other changes included construction of the Great Pavilion, a large, temple-like structure inspired by decades-old designs by Frederick Graff, Sr., 1909: End of an Era. Despite the creation of Fairmount Park to protect the City's water supply, the Schuylkill was still being polluted by factories and sewage upstream of the park's boundaries. Due to space constraints, new water-filtration technology could not be introduced here. After nearly a century of service, the Water Works was closed., 1911 to 1962: First Aquarium in the U.S. The Fairmount Park Aquarium opened in the Water Works. Sea lions and seals played in the Forebay. Rows of fish tanks were lit from above the skylights cut into decks of the mill houses. One of the first aquariums in the United States, it attracted millions of visitors until its closure in 1962., 1924: Reservoir Replaced by Museum. The site was radically altered during constructed of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The earthen walls of the Reservoir were removed and used to fill-in the Forebay., 1982 to 2008: Fairmount Water Works Saved! This National Landmark was severely threatened and languished for years after the facilities closed. Over the course of four decades more than $40 million dollars was invested in the buildings, infrastructure and landscape. These efforts were shared by public-private partnerships involving many caring organizations and individuals. This award-winning Philadelphia landmark now stands preserved and remains one of the city's signature sites.
Useful & Beautiful
"Philadelphia is most beautifully provided with fresh water … The Water Works … are no less ornamental than useful, being tastefully laid out as a public garden, and kept in the best and nearest order." Charles Dickens, 1847
❶ Esplanade. Along the bank of the Schuylkill River, below the South Garden, the stretch of land now known as the Esplanade was completed in 1835. The Esplanade is reached by stairs behind the Engine House and a spiral staircase near the entrance to the South Garden.
❷ South Garden. Prior to 1830 the area just east of the Engine House was a stone quarry. To welcome visitors to the site, plans for a formalized garden were created by Frederick Graff in 1829. His plan, featuring geometrical paths centered around a Marble Fountain has been recreated. Later additions to the Garden included benches, fountains, and sculptures.
❸ Graff Memorial. Erected to the memory of Frederick Graff (1774-1847), the Superintendent, Chief Engineer and Architect of the Fairmount Water Works, the memorial was installed in 1848 and fully restored in 2006.
❹ Engine House. Built between 1812 and 1815 to resemble a Federal-style country house,
Click or scan to see this page online
it contained two steam engines which pumped water from the Schuylkill up to the Reservoirs. Abandoned in 1823, the steam engines were scrapped and a refreshment saloon opened in the building. In the 20th century, it served as the main entrance to the Fairmount Aquarium. After the restoration, it was converted to a restaurant.
❺ Schuylkill Chained & Schuylkill Freed. These sculptures, located atop the Entrance Houses, are fiberglass reproductions. The original wood pieces, carved by William Rush and his son John in 1825, are housed in Philadelphia Museum of Art. The wild male figure represents the Schuylkill River struggling against the chains of the Fairmount Dam and locks. The female figure personifies the Water Works, using the waterwheel to pump water into the Reservoir on Faire Mount.
❻ Pavilion & Entrance Houses. These wooden structures were completed in 1872 when the deck of the Old Mill House was raised to accommodate large turbines that replaced the original waterwheels. Frederic Graff, Jr. adapted the Great Pavilion's design from earlier drawings by his father. The Entrance Houses allowed visitors to descend into the Old Mill House. The Great Pavilion provided a gathering place, shelter, and spectacular views of the Schuylkill River.
❼ Old Mill House. Completed in 1821 in the neoclassical style,
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 25, 2022
2. Timeline side of the marker
it originally contained three waterwheels. Between 1868 and 1872, the Old Mill House was rebuilt to provide room for turbines. When it was remodeled again for the Aquarium in 1911, most pumping machinery was removed to accommodate the freshwater fish exhibits. The red brick deck is the roof of the building.
❽ Watering Commitee & Caretaker's House. Masonry structures flanking the ends of the Mill House; the Watering Committee Building served as headquarters for the elected officials who developed and maintained the Water Works. The Watering Committee was the precursor to today's Philadelphia Water Department. A custodian lived in the Caretaker's House.
❿ New Mill House. Between 1859 and 1862 a second mill house was constructed in the side of the dam. Designed by Henry P.M. Birkinbine in the Romanesque style, it housed three Jonval turbines. During the Aquarium period, the New Mill House held seawater fish exhibits. When the Aquarium closed in 1962, a swimming pool was built in this structure.
⓫ Fairmount Dam. At 2008 feet long, the Fairmount Dam was the longest in America when completed in 1821. It has been rebuilt many times. Boats were able to bypass the dam through a canal and locks located across the river. These were removed in the 1950s. A fishway, allowing fish
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 25, 2022
3. Useful & Beautiful side of the marker
to swim upstream, was built in 1979 in the area of the canal.
⓬ Pavilions. Pavilions and gazebos were placed around the site to shelter visitors and provide overlooks. Shown top to bottom: The Eagle Pavilion, designed by Frederick Graff in 1835 and originally topped by a William Rush sculpture. The classical Mercury Pavilion (c. 1835), is located on the cliffside above. Nearby is the more naturalistic Rustic Gazebo, built of twigs and rough-hewn timber in the 1860s, rebuilt in steel in 2009.
⓭ Fountains. Fountains showcased the Water Works' product: pure, plentiful water. The Marble Fountain, erected in 1832, boasted a tall jet of water fed by the Reservoirs above. Drinking fountains were found around the site, including the Peace Fountain, commemorating the end of the Civil War.
⓮ Reservoir / Philadelphia Museum of Art. Rising behind the Water Works was Faire Mount, one of the highest points near the city. Reservoirs were built at the top of the hill to hold water pumped from the river. Water was distributed by gravity throughout the city. In the 1920s the Reservoirs were removed and the Philadelphia Museum of Art was built on the site.
⓯ Cliffside Paths. Paths leading from the Water Works to the top of Fairmount have existed since the 1820s. Originally wooden stairs and boardwalks
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 25, 2022
4. Timeline side of the marker
connected the South Garden up to the Mercury Pavilion and Reservoirs. The current curving paths with the elaborate decorative railing were installed in the 1870s and restored in 2008.
⓰ Forebay. The Forebay was a 20-foot deep channel blasted out of solid rock. The dam diverted the river into this channel. The river then flowed through openings in the Mill Houses to the machinery inside. When the Aquarium opened at this site, sea lions and seals frolicked in the Forebay's waters. The Forebay was filled in by 1923 when the Philadelphia Museum of Art was constructed.
Timeline
Welcome to the Fairmount Water Works, a National Historic Landmark, and America's first municipal water works. The buildings here have been altered many times as public needs have changed. For more information on how the site worked, please visit the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center located at the center of the site (see map, other side).
1798: A Quest for Clean Water. In the late 1700s, yellow fever epidemics — then thought by some to be a water-borne disease — killed thousands in Philadelphia. Civic leaders formed a "Watering Committee" to assure a constant supply of uncontaminated drinking water.
1801: Centre Square Water Works. The city's first pumping station opened at Centre Square
(current site of City Hall). The neoclassical structure was designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Inside, a steam engine pumped water to holding tanks at the top of the building.
1811 to 1815: Fairmount Water Works Created. Centre Square Water Works was beautiful but unreliable. Engineers Frederick Graff (right) and John Davis proposed, designed and built a new pumping station on the Schuylkill River, here at Faire Mount. The first building in the complex, the Engine House, was completed in 1815.
1818 to 1822: Water Power Introduced. The Engine House's wood-burning steam engines were expensive and dangerous to operate. To save money and lives, the Water Works was converted to water power. The Old Mill House, was built to house eight waterwheels. A dam, installed across the river, diverted water onto the wheels.
1832 to 1836: A Site to Behold. With the steam engines no longer needed, the Engine House was converted to a 'saloon.' The adjacent area, an old stone quarry, was transformed into the South Garden. Visitors flocked to the site to enjoy fountains, sculpture, and climb up to the Reservoir to behold spectacular views.
1844: Birth of the Park. The City purchased the Lemon Hill estate just north of the Water Works to protect the water supply from pollution. Later, this land was officially named "Fairmount Park."
1851 to 1862: New Technology Introduced. The growing city needed water pumped 24 hours a day, but the wheels at Fairmount stopped several hours a day at high tide. In 1862 the New Mill House was built to house powerful water-powered Jonval Turbines. The turbines were twice as efficient as the water wheels.
1851: A Helpful Boost. The addition of the Jonval Turbines created the need for another reservoir, located about a quarter mile away. The Italianate-style Standpipe provided the boost which carried the water uphill to the new location.
1868: Early Environmental Protection. Factories built on land adjacent to the Schuylkill River tainted the water. The Fairmount Park Commission was formed to protect the water supply by acquiring land along the river.
1868 to 1872: Water Works Additions. The Old Mill House was reconstructed by Frederic Graff, Jr. The waterwheels were replaced by more powerful turbines. Other changes included construction of the Great Pavilion, a large, temple-like structure inspired by decades-old designs by Frederick Graff, Sr.
1909: End of an Era. Despite the creation of Fairmount Park to protect the City's water supply, the Schuylkill was still being polluted by factories and sewage upstream of the park's boundaries. Due to space constraints, new water-filtration technology could not be introduced here. After nearly a century of service, the Water Works was closed.
1911 to 1962: First Aquarium in the U.S. The Fairmount Park Aquarium opened in the Water Works. Sea lions and seals played in the Forebay. Rows of fish tanks were lit from above the skylights cut into decks of the mill houses. One of the first aquariums in the United States, it attracted millions of visitors until its closure in 1962.
1924: Reservoir Replaced by Museum. The site was radically altered during constructed of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The earthen walls of the Reservoir were removed and used to fill-in the Forebay.
1982 to 2008: Fairmount Water Works Saved! This National Landmark was severely threatened and languished for years after the facilities closed. Over the course of four decades more than $40 million dollars was invested in the buildings, infrastructure and landscape. These efforts were shared by public-private partnerships involving many caring organizations and individuals. This award-winning Philadelphia landmark now stands preserved and remains one of the city's signature sites.
Location. 39° 57.881′ N, 75° 10.967′ W. Marker is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia County. It is in Logan Square. Marker is on Schuylkill River Trail, 0.1 miles south of Waterworks Drive, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Philadelphia PA 19130, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 2, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 27, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 64 times since then and 5 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on February 27, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
