Old Fairmount Engine House, Ridge Avenue at Vine Street
Historical Images of Philadelphia Looney Old Philadelphia in Early Photographs
Item Info
Item No: pdcl00109
Title: Old Fairmount Engine House, Ridge Avenue at Vine Street
Additional Title: Old Fairmount Engine House, Ridge Avenue at Vine Street, circa 1880
Historic Street Address:
Ridge Avenue & Vine Street
Media Type: Albumen Prints
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes: "Shortly before this photograph was made, Thomas Shaw, who advertised as 'Inventor and sole manufacturer of Steam, Vacuum, Hydraulic and Blast Gauges,' and other similar machines, had moved into this old firehouse. The Fairmount Fire Company, to which the house originally belonged, was established in 1823, though the house dates from a later period. Shaw had not yet seen fit to make any structural changes in 1880, for the building still retained its double doors, gallery and watch tower."--OPEP, p. 112.
Notes: The building, facing street. Signs on door and windows read: "Shaw engineering department." Street lamps and telephone poles on sidewalk; people standing near building; one person stands at rail on second floor. On the left, stores with sidewalk signs for " ale vaults", "tobacco" and "carpenters."
Bibliography: Reprinted in: Old Philadelphia in early photographs, 1839-1914/edited by Robert F. Looney. New York: Dover Publications, c1976.
Creation Year: 1880
Geocode Latitude: Geocode Longitude:-75.153973
Geocode Latitude:39.957057
Creator Name: Newell, Robert, 1822-1897 - Photographer