The many neighborhoods west of the Schuylkill River across from William Pennís ìQuaker Cityî were distinctly rural until 1860, when horsecar lines first crossed the river. The area soon became home to wealthy businessmen who built elegant mansions and villas in University City and Powelton Village. West Philadelphiaís growth accelerated northward into Belmont and Parkside-Girard after the 1876 Centennial Exposition and westward into Cedar Park, Spruce Hill, and Walnut Hill in the 1890s with the introduction of electric trolley lines. ÝÝWest Philadelphia: University City to 52nd Street is the first photographic history of the area in the last one hundred years. Images of the typical, modest West Philadelphia row houses, which slowly took over the open farmland after the Market Street Elevated opened in 1907, tell the story of how Philadelphia became known as the ìCity of Homes.î Countless, rarely seen photographs of the streets where people lived and worked fill this extraordinary history. ÝÝ...

In the 1860s, Broad Street formed the western edge of downtown Philadelphia and was little more than railroad tracks and train depots. However, with the building of Philadelphia City Hall in the 1870s, Broad Street rapidly developed into one of the cityís premier streets. Rows of mansions sprung up south of Spruce Street, and the area north of Spruce became known as ìhotel row.î Four-story brownstones lined both sides of North Broad Street, interspersed with the mansions and gardens of the nouveau riche and punctuated by clubs, theaters, schools, churches, and synagogues. Philadelphiaís Broad Street: South and North is the first photographic history devoted exclusively to Broad Street in its ìgilded age.î These vintage images provide a vivid reminder, if one is needed, of how dramatically the street has changed in the last one hundred years. ÝÝ...