Random Old Images of Philadelphia 1700s - 1900s

Published 2019-10-09
Here's a collection of random old photos, woodcuts and drawing of Philadelphia from the time of Ben Franklin up until the 1980s.

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All Comments (21)
  • @BeanBag343
    As someone born in Tacony, it really breaks my heart to see what Philadelphia was once like compared to the way it is now 😢
  • @richw.6296
    I am proud to have grown up in Philly, but I have moved on.
  • That was an awesome presentation of old Philadelphia and surrounding areas. Thanks for sharing.
  • Thank you for these awesome photos. I believe that as time moved on some of these locations are the same with the usual upgrades to match the times that we live in. More please because it is very interesting to see the city that you call home. We always get caught up living our lives that we don't stop to realize the history of our cities. Well done Mr. Jack.
  • @kathiejohns1418
    It would have been nice to know the locations of these photos tho as a Philly native most are familiar to me
  • I've noticed that Philadelphia has a most unique style of architecture so unlike ours here in Chicago. I find that most interesting.
  • @J_Patterns
    At 7:16 mark shows the old Hotel Powelton and that building stands today at N 40th Street. In 1902, young doctor Albert Barnes and chemist Hermann Hille rented rooms there to set up a makeshift pharmaceutical laboratory for producing Argyrol, a silver-derived treatment for gonorrhea and other infectious diseases. After Argyrol’s stupendous success, Barnes purchased the entire building and converted it into a full-blown factory. Picassos, Modiglianis, and de Chiricos hung on the walls. In other words, some of the Barnes Foundation’s most famous paintings made their American debuts on these walls.
  • @faupsy1012
    I saw my neighborhood in the 40s and my high school from the 30s. Thank you!
  • @rsin-uh9ec
    Thank you for a fine video enjoyed it ROBBIE PHILADELPHIA PA FISHTOWN
  • strangely enough although most of these images are over 100 years old many of them are very familiar. there are copies of streets in different parts of the city that are still there. and the sixties only began the destruction of many of these places.
  • @adamschwartz2656
    I love viewing these old time videos of my hometown.... I can identify with a lot of these scenes from the 50s onward...those really were different times ....when you look at the situation today, well, to me, anyway, things on the whole, are a lot worse..
  • @bobwallace9814
    My ancestors arrived in port in the early 1720's. Philadelphia looks a lot like a European city and probably did right up through the 1950's.
  • I thought the first camera was invented in the 1800s so I was wondering how they got images from the 1700s. After some research I found out there was a invention from the 1600s called the camera obscura that allowed artists to draw very detailed images
  • What a great video. It would've been nice to post street names and/or location for point of reference.
  • At the 6.50 mark we see the South Street Terminal of the Market Street Delaware Ave. El that opened in 1907 and demolished in 1939.
  • @ronlevine8873
    Great shots, although documentation (place, year) would be very helpful.
  • @bevygaines
    Divine Lorraine Hotel, Strawbridges, Lit Brothers, and City Hall. All are really old buildings.