Rebirth & Renewal

The Fairmount Water Works ceased operations in 1909, and four new pumping stations with sand filtration beds began supplying Philadelphia with purified water. In 1911 the Fairmount Park Aquarium opened in the Fairmount Water Works, and as one of the first aquariums in the united States, it attracted millions of visitors. After it closed in 1962, a swimming pool was built inside the Water Works. Throughout the 1960s and 70s, the site fell into disrepair, but in the mid-1970s growing awareness of its significance led to its designation as a National Civil Engineering Landmark in 1976, a National Historic Landmark in 1976, and a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1977. Over the next three decades a careful restoration continued, and this monumental undertaking was completed in 2008. Restoration work on the Graff Memorial included cleaning the marble, reconstructing eight missing pinnacles, reinstalling the bust of Graff, and reconstructing sections of the decorative iron fence designed by Graff. The Cliffside Paths, altered by the removal of the Reservoir in the 1920s and fallen into disuse by the 1960s, reopened in 2008 with new paving and lighting, and elaborate railings recreated from historic photos and original remnants. The Engine House underwent restoration in the 1990s and reopened as a restaurant in 2006 after façade restoration, retrofitting of the interior, and creation of a new kitchen area, and workers reconstructed the New Mill House floodgates in 2007.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · United States