The many neighborhoods west of the Schuylkill River across from William Penn's "Quaker City" 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 Philadelphia's 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. West 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 "City of Homes." Countless, rarely seen photographs of the streets where people lived and worked fill this extraordinary history.
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About the Author
Robert Morris Skaler, a forensic architect and historian, has been collecting historical images of West Philadelphia for more than thirty-five years. A past president of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Victorian Society in America and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's School of Architecture, Skaler has lectured and written extensively on Victorian Philadelphia architecture. In West Philadelphia, he has drawn upon his large collection of vintage photo postcards and other private collections to compile this rare assemblage of images. Its carefully researched narrative makes it an important and timeless book.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
West Philadelphia University City to 52nd Street,
By A Customer
This review is from: West Philadelphia: University City to 52nd Street (PA) (Images of America) (Paperback)
West Philadelphia is a well written history with 200 wondeful and rare vintage photographs of West Philadelphia as it looked 100 years ago. The author explains how West Philadelphia developed and documents many of the architects and owners of the buildings shown.We were thrilled to see a picture in the book of our old family home and local church as they looked in 1905.Those who lived in West Philadelphia at one time or are living in the area now will greatly enjoy the book.It documents an area of Philadelphia that may soon be lost . We gave it 5 stars!
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
All you need to know about West Philly,
By
This review is from: West Philadelphia: University City to 52nd Street (PA) (Images of America) (Paperback)
Forensic architect Bob Skaler really did his homework putting together a pictorial history of West Philadelphia. Though none of my family ever settled in the area, I was fascinated to read about the ethnic makeup of the different neighborhoods in addition to being treated to very rare photos from Skaler's postcard collection (which he has been assembling for the better part of 50 years).He treats the reader to a thorough history of each neighborhood (or village, as it was formerly known) and goes into detailed explanation of the architecture of the houses that once stood in those areas (he rips architect H.E. Flower a new one for his design of rowhomes in the Parkside section of West Philly - homes that had their walls knocked down because the original homeowners weren't crazy about having to share a common stairwell). A University of Pennsylvania graduate, Skaler did an excellent job in handling West Philly's history - from University City to 52nd Street.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The name University City was fabricated in the 1970s by a local real-estate salesman to distinguish the area from the rest of West Philadelphia. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
postcard view Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
West Philadelphia, University City, Chestnut Street, Lancaster Avenue, University of Pennsylvania, Walnut Street, Woodland Avenue, Cedar Park, Center City, Pennsylvania Railroad, Colonial Revival, Queen Anne-style, Mercantile Studio, Powelton Village, Baltimore Avenue, Chester Avenue, Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, Civil War, Haverford Avenue, Locust Streets, Cedar Avenue, College Hall, Courtesy Howard Watson, Schuylkill River, Spruce Street New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The name University City was fabricated in the 1970s by a local real-estate salesman to distinguish the area from the rest of West Philadelphia. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
postcard view Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
West Philadelphia, University City, Chestnut Street, Lancaster Avenue, University of Pennsylvania, Walnut Street, Woodland Avenue, Cedar Park, Center City, Pennsylvania Railroad, Colonial Revival, Queen Anne-style, Mercantile Studio, Powelton Village, Baltimore Avenue, Chester Avenue, Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, Civil War, Haverford Avenue, Locust Streets, Cedar Avenue, College Hall, Courtesy Howard Watson, Schuylkill River, Spruce Street New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 5
books:
- University of Pennsylvania (PA) (Campus History Series) by Amey A. Hutchins on page 17, and Back Matter
- The New Hope by Cheryl Hall on page 82
- A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams in Back Matter
- The Cherry Tree (Oxford Paperbacks) by Adrian Bell on page 50
- Episcopal Church by L. Brown on page 107
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