Falls of Schuylkill Branch

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Falls of Schuylkill Branch

Item Info

Item No: pdcf00083
Title: Falls of Schuylkill Branch
Additional Title: Exterior view of the Falls of Schuylkill Branch, ca. 1913
Historic Street Address: 3501 Midvale Avenue
Media Type: Photographic Prints
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes:

This is a ca. 1913 exterior view of the Falls of Schuylkill Branch, opened at its present location, 3501 Midvale Avenue, on November 18, 1913. (The original branch was opened in 1901 as a Deposit Station, and was located in the Old Academy building at 3544 Indian Queen Lane.)  The land for this branch was a gift from the Warden Estate and William H. Merrick. The building is the 14th branch funded by a grant from Andrew Carnegie.

The architects were Rankin, Kellogg, and Crane. The building features English Collegiate architecture, and is constructed from local stone.  Note the catfish weathervane on the cupola: It is a symbol of the thousands of catfish that thronged the Schuylkill River two centuries ago, before the Fairmount Dam, constructed in 1822, raised the river's water level and obliterated the rapids.

This branch serves the East Falls community


Creation Year: ca. 1913
Geocode Latitude: Geocode Longitude:-75.192408
Geocode Latitude:40.014313

Creator Name: Rau, William Herman, 1855-1920 - Photographer

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