Philly H2O: Upcoming Lectures

Upcoming Lectures and Tours
with ADAM LEVINE

General Descriptions
From Creek to Sewer Lecture and
Wingohocking Watershed Tour
Held ocassionally or by request
See below for upcoming events

LECTURE: As you walk on many of Philadelphia’s sidewalks, beneath your feet is a hidden world of streams that once crisscrossed the city. Join us on Wednesday, August 18 for a fascinating illustrated lecture that will uncover part of Philadelphia’s history that few people ever think about – the drastic changes made in Philadelphia’s landscape since its founding in 1682. Historian and archivist Adam Levine has been digging into the history of the city’s sewers and drainage systems since 1998, and his talk will focus on the systematic obliteration of hundreds of miles of surface streams. Buried deep underground in pipes as large as 20 feet in diameter, these former streams – some of which had watersheds that covered thousands of acres – became main drainage arteries in the city’s 3,000 mile sewer system. These massive alterations to the landscape, undertaken over two centuries, have environmental repercussions that are still being felt today. This lecture is guaranteed to reveal a side of the Philadelphia you have never seen, and change the way you think about cities in general.

TOUR: Like any natural area in this well-watered part of the country, Philadelphia was once laced with a complex system of streams and their tributaries, many of which are now hidden underground. To provide level land for new homes, protect the health of our citizens, and provide drainage for expanding neighborhoods, city engineers in the 19th and 20th centuries re-channeled most of these waterways into massive sewers that now run far beneath the streets. Join me on this fascinating bus tour that will follow the winding course of the Wingohocking Creek. Once a major tributary to Frankford Creek that provided power for many factories, the Wingohocking now runs in a sewer that drains several neighborhoods, including Mt. Airy, Germantown, Olney, Feltonville, and Juniata. We will stop at points of interest along the way, including the Awbury Arboretum and Belfield, home of Charles Wilson Peale, on the LaSalle University campus. You’ll also learn more about watersheds and how you can help protect the streams in your neighborhoods.

UPCOMING LECTURE

From Creek to Sewer
Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 7:00 PM
Meadowood Retirement Community
3205 Skippack Pike, Worcester PA 19490
Open to the Public, and Free.

POSTPONED UNTIL NOVEMBER
SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE
TO ANY WHO DID NOT SEE THIS IN TIME

For more information, contact me.

Past Lectures and Tours (partial list)

Nov. 10, 2010, Falls of Schuylkill Branch, Free Library of Philadelphia
Co-sponsored by the East Falls Historical Society, East Falls Tree Tenders, Free Library of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Water Department

Nov. 3, 2010, 7:30 pm at Haverford College

October 29, 2010, Philadelphia Fire Academy
Streets Working Group, of PWD, PGW and Phila. Streets Department

October 30, Wyck House, Germantown

October 16, 2010
Part of a panel on Philadelphia and the Environment at the annual conference of the Pennsylvania History Association,Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA

September and October 2010
Four lectures for college classes, three at the University of Pennsylvania and one at Arcadia University.

August 18. 2010, Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center
PWD Schuylkill Soundings Lecture Series; more than 100 people attended.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FLYER FOR LECTURE

May 20-22, University of Pennsylvania
Construction History Society of America Second Biennial Meeting
I presented my latest research on the environmental impact of the grid street plan of Philadelphia. This presentation will be based on a paper I recently completed for an anthology on the environmental history of Philadelphia, to be published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in 2011. Besides the long-term, ongoing support of the Philadelphia Water Department, this reseach was also supported by a Charles E. Peterson Fellowship from The Athenaeum of Philadelphia.

May 11, 2010, Morris Arboretum, lecture

May 15, 2010, Morris Arboretum, Wingohocking Watershed Tour


					Upcoming Lectures and Tours with ADAM LEVINE General Descriptions From Creek to Sewer Lecture and Wingohocking Watershed Tour Held ocassionally or by request See below for upcoming events LECTURE: As you walk on many of Philadelphia’s sidewalks, beneath your feet is a hidden world of streams that once crisscrossed the city. Join us on Wednesday, August 18 for a fascinating illustrated lecture that will uncover part of Philadelphia’s history that few people ever think about – the drastic changes made in Philadelphia’s landscape since its founding in 1682. Historian and archivist Adam Levine has been digging into the history of the city’s sewers and drainage systems since 1998, and his talk will focus on the systematic obliteration of hundreds of miles of surface streams. Buried deep underground in pipes as large as 20 feet in diameter, these former streams – some of which had watersheds that covered thousands of acres – became main drainage arteries in the city’s 3,000 mile sewer system. These massive alterations to the landscape, undertaken over two centuries, have environmental repercussions that are still being felt today. This lecture is guaranteed to reveal a side of the Philadelphia you have never seen, and change the way you think about cities in general. TOUR: Like any natural area in this well-watered part of the country, Philadelphia was once laced with a complex system of streams and their tributaries, many of which are now hidden underground. To provide level land for new homes, protect the health of our citizens, and provide drainage for expanding neighborhoods, city engineers in the 19th and 20th centuries re-channeled most of these waterways into massive sewers that now run far beneath the streets. Join me on this fascinating bus tour that will follow the winding course of the Wingohocking Creek. Once a major tributary to Frankford Creek that provided power for many factories, the Wingohocking now runs in a sewer that drains several neighborhoods, including Mt. Airy, Germantown, Olney, Feltonville, and Juniata. We will stop at points of interest along the way, including the Awbury Arboretum and Belfield, home of Charles Wilson Peale, on the LaSalle University campus. You’ll also learn more about watersheds and how you can help protect the streams in your neighborhoods. UPCOMING LECTURE From Creek to Sewer Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 7:00 PM Meadowood Retirement Community 3205 Skippack Pike, Worcester PA 19490 Open to the Public, and Free. POSTPONED UNTIL NOVEMBER SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE TO ANY WHO DID NOT SEE THIS IN TIME For more information, contact me. *Past Lectures and Tours (partial list)* Nov. 10, 2010, Falls of Schuylkill Branch, Free Library of Philadelphia Co-sponsored by the East Falls Historical Society, East Falls Tree Tenders, Free Library of Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Water Department Nov. 3, 2010, 7:30 pm at Haverford College October 29, 2010, Philadelphia Fire Academy Streets Working Group, of PWD, PGW and Phila. Streets Department October 30, Wyck House, Germantown October 16, 2010 Part of a panel on Philadelphia and the Environment at the annual conference of the Pennsylvania History Association,Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, PA September and October 2010 Four lectures for college classes, three at the University of Pennsylvania and one at Arcadia University. August 18. 2010, Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center PWD Schuylkill Soundings Lecture Series; more than 100 people attended. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FLYER FOR LECTURE May 20-22, University of Pennsylvania Construction History Society of America Second Biennial Meeting I presented my latest research on the environmental impact of the grid street plan of Philadelphia. This presentation will be based on a paper I recently completed for an anthology on the environmental history of Philadelphia, to be published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in 2011. Besides the long-term, ongoing support of the Philadelphia Water Department, this reseach was also supported by a Charles E. Peterson Fellowship from The Athenaeum of Philadelphia. May 11, 2010, Morris Arboretum, lecture May 15, 2010, Morris Arboretum, Wingohocking Watershed Tour

	The History of Philadelphia's Watersheds and Sewers

	Compiled by Adam Levine Historical Consultant Philadelphia Water Department