Fairmount Water Works
- Year
- 1812
- City
- Philadelphia, PA
The Fairmount Water Works was Philadelphia's second municipal waterworks, designed in 1812 by engineer Frederick Graff and completed in 1815 to replace an earlier steam-pumping system that Benjamin Latrobe had built in 1799 after a series of yellow fever epidemics blamed on unclean water. It operated until 1909, drawing acclaim for its design and becoming a popular tourist attraction, and was the nation's first water supply to use paddle wheels to move water. It now houses a restaurant and an interpretive center on the waterworks and the local watershed.
the building
Paddle-wheel pumping. The works were the first water supply in the country to use paddle wheels, powered by the Schuylkill River, to move water into the city system, replacing the steam engines of Latrobe's earlier 1799 design.
the architect
Frederick Graff designed the Fairmount Water Works in 1812, succeeding Benjamin Latrobe, whose 1799 system of steam engines and wooden tanks had been the city's first response to yellow fever epidemics blamed on unclean water.
significance
Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976 for its architecture and engineering innovations, the Fairmount Water Works is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
nearby
- Philadelphia Museum of Art
- Eastern State Penitentiary
- Barnes Foundation
- Cira Centre
- United States Post Office-Main Branch
- Family Court Building