Welcome to the Philadelphia Water Department Historical Collection
The PWD Historical Collection is located at 1101 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107. This online catalog is meant to provide answers to most inquiries. For researchers who need more hands-on interaction with any of the material found here, or have questions this site does not answer, please request an appointment with our archivist by using the FEEDBACK FORM found at the top of each individual catalog record. Explain in detail what you are looking for, and include a phone number so we can call and discuss your needs.
Since the 1990s, staff and volunteers have been cataloging the collection of historical material held by PWD, with the goal of making it accessible both to our own staff and to the public. This catalog includes thousands of books, pamphlets, photographs and other material spanning the more 200-plus year history of water supply and drainage in Philadelphia.
Use the navigation buttons above to begin searching the catalog. You'll find many traditional ways to access the collection, using keyword and advanced search techniques.
The site also includes an email feature, in which catalog records can be emailed to friends (or to yourself), and a feedback form. Our hope is that users will give us feedback on how to make the catalog more complete, and perhaps help us identify some of the photographs for which we currently have scanty information. Please feel free to contact us, using the feedback form, with any questions about any of the material you find in the catalog.
You may also be interested in visiting an associated website, WaterHistoryPHL.org (formerly PhillyH2o), which contains complete versions of a number of the documents, maps and photographs listed in the catalog, as well as a wealth of other information on the history of water supply, sewers and watersheds in Philadelphia and vicinity.
A Note on Image Quality
All of the images displayed on this site have been scanned at a resolution of 300 to 600 dpi, or higher. Unfortunately, the site only allows an image to be a maximum of 1200 pixels wide, and offers no ability for a user to zoom in on an image. This may means that the details of many images are unclear, in particular, with the many newspaper scrapbook pages that are displayed. Please use the Feeedback Form to request a higher resolution version of any image. Some of the newspaper scrapbooks are also presented, with their indexes and attached PDF files, on WaterHistoryPHL.org.
Tips for Searching
Keyword Search
The Keyword Search button allows you to perform a general search across multiple fields for any catalog records online. Keyword searches use OR as the default connector between words (e.g. a search for Hanley Ranch will return records associated with Hanley OR Ranch). If you want to find records where both keywords are found, type in AND between the two words. To search for a specific phrase, be sure to put the phrase within quotes (e.g. "Rocky Pine Ranch"). You can also use the asterisk (*) as a wildcard (e.g. a search for histor* would come up with records containing history, histories, historical, etc.). Searches are not case sensitive.
Advanced Search
The Advanced Search button can help you be more specific with your search. You can search for a word or phrase within a particular search category or use multiple categories to further narrow down your search results. For example, searching White in the People field will bring up any records associated with a member of the White family, without having to sift through black & white photographs. You can also search People and Creator records through Advanced Search. Phrase searching with quotes and use of wildcards (*) are available in Advanced Search.
Random Images
The Random Images button is a great way to just browse the collection. Each Random Images page displays a random assortment of images from the records online. If something piques your interest, click the thumbnail to view a larger version of the image.
Catalog Searches (Photos / Libraries / Objects)
The catalog buttons can also help narrow down your search, by only searching with a selected catalog. If you only want to search for Photos, click the Photos button and type in your keyword(s) or phrase. You can also browse records within that catalog without performing a search. Phrase searching, wildcards (*) as well as AND/OR statements are available when performing catalog searches.