After a relatively snowless winter last year, we're hoping for some scenic winter wonderland days at Hagley this year. But until then, we just have to flake it 'til we make it with this undated (ca. 1908?) glass negative image of a snowy vista in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park system.
This item is part of Hagley Library's collection of Fairmount Park glass plate negatives (Accession 1971.597). This collection consists of thirty-five glass negatives and one box. It documents locations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s Fairmount Park system.
This network of parks began being developed by the city in 1820 in an effort to establish a sustainable water supply for the city and to preserve its diminishing green spaces. Most of the photographs in this collection appear to have been taken in Wissahickon Valley Park, which, from 1867 to 2010 was also part of and managed by the Fairmount Park System. The Wissahickon Valley Park is located in Northwest Philadelphia, and includes Wissahickon Creek from its confluence with the Schuylkill River, and extends to the northwestern boundary of the city with eastern Montgomery County.
Many of the images in this collection include identifiable landmarks. While the photographs are undated, it is estimated that they were taken no earlier than 1908, based on the presence of what appears to be Walnut Lane Bridge, completed in October of that year, in one of the images.
To view this collection online now, click here to visit its page in our Digital Archives.