Postcards
from West Philadelphia
Some Early Twentieth Century
Views
By the late nineteenth century, printing
technology had progressed to the extent that color
picture postcards were being produced inexpensively
and in large numbers. It seems as if practically
every city and town in the United States had
something deemed worthy of recording on a picture
postcard. Common subjects were street scenes,
schools, historic sites, and feats of engineering and
technology. Below are postcard images of West
Philadelphia from the first decades of the twentieth
century. Click on the images to view them at a larger
size.
If you have other postcards or photographs of West
Philadelphia scenes that you'd like to share, or if
you have more information about the images below,
please send us
an e-mail.
click photo for larger view |
Caption on upper right
reads:
Philadelphia, Pa.
West Spruce Str.
This is a view of the north side of the 4000 block
of Spruce Street, looking west toward 41st Street. It
appears to show a planted median in the middle of the
street, although it is probably just be a
simplification of the image by the postcard artist;
trolleys ran on Spruce Street starting in 1885. The
buildings in the foreground date to around 1896 and
were developed by J. Clark Moore. In the distance, at
the end of the block, are a set of brick rowhouses
built in 1877 by Clarence H. Clark that have been
attributed to the architect Frank Furness.
Postmarked July 25, 1907 in
Tunnelton, PA and Livermore, PA.
Delivered to Livermore, PA.
The Hugh C. Leighton Co.,
Manufacturers, Portland, Me., U.S.A.
Printed in Frankfort o/Main, Germany
No. 785 |
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click photo for
larger view |
Caption on
lower right reads:
Elevated R.R. from 32nd St., West
Philadelphia, Pa.
The Elevated Railroad, or "El," opened
in West Philadelphia in 1907. The opening of the El
initiated a building boom that would lead to the
development of large tracts of rowhouses and
apartment buildings that extended west to the city's
boundary at 63rd Street. Today, the El is only
elevated west of 45th Street in West Philadelphia; to
the east it is now a subway.
No date, postmark, or publisher
information. |
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click photo for
larger view |
Caption on
lower left reads:
Philadelphia, Pa., St. Pauls Presbyterian
Church 50th Street and Baltimore Ave.
This church still stands. Today it houses the
Hickman Temple A.M.E. Church.
Postmarked Dec. 26, 1910 in
Philadelphia.
Delivered to Harrisburg, Pa.
The Hugh C. Leighton Co.,
Manufacturers, Portland, Me., U.S.A.
Printed in Germany |
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click photo for
larger view |
Caption on
upper right reads:
Philadelphia, Pa. College Hall, University
of Pennsylvania
Postmarked July 11 [year not
legible] at Kingsessing Station, Philadelphia
Mailed to Perkasie, Penna.
O.S. Bunnell, Philadelphia, Pa.
Printed in Germany |
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click photo for
larger view |
Caption on lower left
reads:
5536 College Hall University of
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Postcard unmailed.
Copyrighted 1901 by Detroit
Photographic Co.
These two images of College Hall at the University
of Pennsylvania date to the first years of the
twentieth century. The first shows the south side of
the building, facing Spruce Street. The second shows
the north side, facing what is now Locust Walk.
Designed by architect Thomas W. Richards and
completed in 1872, College Hall was one of the first
University buildings constructed in West Philadelphia
after Penn moved from Center City. The east tower,
which housed a clock, was taken down in 1914. The
west tower, which housed a bell, was removed in 1929. |
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click photo for larger view |
Caption at top reads:
170:--Museum of University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, Pa.
Verso caption reads:
"MUSEUM OF the University of Pennsylvania,
located at 33rd and Spruce. The collections are not
only very extensive in American Archaeology and the
illustration of folk-lore, but are among the richest
in the country in remains of the extinct Babylonian
and Egyptian civilizations."
Postcard unmailed. Undated. Published by P. Sander, Philadelphia &
Atlantic City
The Museum's vaguely oriental and Italian
romanesque exteriors display a remarkable melange of
Renaissance and Mannerist inspired sculpture and
mosaic work, a combination which creates a masterful
expression of American Arts and Crafts aesthetic
libertarianism.
The University of Pennsylvania Museum was designed by a team of three
prominent Philadelphia architects, all of whom taught
on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania --
Wilson Eyre, Cope and Stewardson, and Frank Miles Day
and Brother. The first phase was completed in 1899
and housed the discoveries from an expedition to the
ancient site of Nippur. In 1915, the rotunda was
completed. The photograph above most likely predates
1915, because its rotunda has been drawn in. Compare
it to the postcard shown below... |
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click photo for larger view |
... an earlier
edition of the postcard above. The photographic image
is identical, but has been colored differently and
has no rotunda drawn in. Also notice that this
edition has a foreground horse and buggy, which was
later redrawn into a motor car in the postcard above. |
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 click photo for
larger view
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View from
roughly 34th and Walnut, looking southwest along
Woodland Avenue (right) with University of
Pennsylvania's College Hall [note east clock tower]
(center left) and Furness Library (far left) |
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