Philadelphia Then and Now (Compact)

by Edward Arthur Mauger

Philadelphia, the “City of Brotherly Love,” is an American institution. Established more than 300 years ago by William Penn, Philly is the birthplace of many American firsts: the first capital city, the first national bank, the first zoo, the first library, and even the first cheese steak. Explore this magnificent city for yourself in the new compact edition of Philadelphia Then and Now.

• Incredible then-and-now photographs detail life in Philadelphia over the centuries. See how much has — and hasn’t — changed!
• One of America’s oldest cities, Philadelphia has a rich and varied architectural heritage.
• Compare an 1855 photo of America’s oldest congressional building — Congress Hall — with a contemporary image, and you’ll notice not much has changed, except for the traffic lights. Like its famous next-door neighbor, Independence Hall (otherwise known as the Philadelphia Statehouse), it has been faithfully restored.
• Visit with some of the city’s most famous residents! Discover who actually lived in the Betsy Ross House (not who you think!) and find out what happened to Edgar Allen Poe’s infamous raven.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Travel, Architecture, American History

144 pages, Paperback

First published December 20, 2002

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book that conveys a great deal of information about Philadelphia history using side-by-side comparison photographs of various buildings, neighborhoods, street scenes - historical photos with excellent photos shot at the time of the book's publication, 2008. No doubt there have been additional changes since then - but the book is nevertheless extremely valuable, highly informative.

I had no idea Philadelphia was first in so many things, such as America's oldest opera house (1851 - the Academy of Music; also, America's first commodities exchange, the Bourse, 1895; America's first art museum organized in 1805, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, ) - not just in American political history, and that Ben Franklin was so multifaceted and innovative, thinking up all sorts of organizations that later became industries or government institutions. For example, Franklin founded the Philadelphia Contributionship in 1752, an insurance company focusing on fire insurance, which is ¨..now America's oldest continuously operating corporation.¨

This is a great reference book for anyone who wishes to tour Philadelphia. I have been to that city many times, including once in the 1980s on a walking tour (which I hardly remember by now except that I think we did go to the Academy of Fine Arts, that I remember) and once possibly in the 1970s to visit friends from college who took me to the (rather bizarre) Mummers Day parade, and many times to simply hang out on South Street, shop, etc., but never actually visited the historical sites, etc. So the book was really an eye-opener for me - a very pleasant way to pick up a sense of the sweep and importance of Philadelphia history. I know next time I visit I will certainly look at the city with a fresh outlook!

[Gordon Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Born on the Philadelphia naval Base I found this book to be insightful and helpful. Lejarn some different things that I didn't know about the great City that I was born in I would recommend this book to anyone especially if you were born and or raised in Philadelphia area

[Marianne Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful little collection and look back at what Philly used to be. Philadelphia seems uniquely quaint as it really does still have so many of the old footprints and structures from its earlier days.

[Yalın · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgia is nice!

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book and fun read. I learned a lot about the city I never knew even though I grew up in the area.

[Mary Forbes · Rating 5 out of 5]

i thought this was a great way to show the developments of famous and well known parts of philly - only critique is i wish there was a bit more order to the photos

[V Gahunia · Rating 4 out of 5]

fascinating seeing pictures of old philly. would have been nice if those depicting "old" came with info on the date the photograph was taken. But comprehensive and teases with quick anecdotes and trivia on philly history.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this as a memento of my husband and my first trip to Philadelphia.

[Eileen Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible photographs of prominent buildings in Philadelphia. With interesting facts and information that you might not know about them.