Philadelphia in the 1980s Through Fascinating Photos

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States. It is the sixth-most-populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Pennsylvania, and the second-most populous city in the Northeastern United States, behind New York City. It is also the economic and cultural center of the greater Delaware Valley along the lower Delaware and Schuylkill rivers within the Northeast megalopolis.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Philadelphia became a major industrial center and a railroad hub. The Philadelphia area's many universities and colleges make it a top study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational and economic hub. The city is known for its arts, culture, cuisine, and colonial history. It is also a biotechnology hub.

Philadelphia is the home of many U.S. firsts, including the nation's first library (1731), hospital (1751), medical school (1765), national capital (1774), university (by some accounts) (1779), stock exchange (1790), zoo (1874), and business school (1881). It contains 67 National Historic Landmarks and the World Heritage Site of Independence Hall. The city became a member of the Organization of World Heritage Cities in 2015, as the first World Heritage City in the United States.

These fascinating photos were taken by Roy N. Weiner that show what Philadelphia looked like in the 1980s.

Philly girls, 1986

Credit, Philadelphia, 1982

Dead Head, Philadelphia, 1982

Estro, Philadelphia, 1982

Estro, Philadelphia, 1982

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A Day in the Life of Pennsylvania Miners in 1942

In 1942, Office of War Information photographer John Collier visited the Montour No. 4 Mine of the Pittsburgh Coal Company in Washington County, Pennsylvania.

Montour No. 4 was a mine for bituminous coal, one of the most volatile forms, requiring the miners to vigilantly monitor for the presence of flammable gases.

Collier followed the miners as they moved underground through the near-horizontal drift mine, laying track for machinery, drilling and blasting with dynamite, all the while maintaining caution for possible collapses or explosions.

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Beautiful Black and White Photos of Life in Pittsburgh in 1950

In 1950 Elliott Erwitt, then just twenty-two years old, set out to capture Pittsburgh’s transformation from an industrial city into a modern metropolis. Commissioned by Roy Stryker, the mastermind behind the large-scale documentary photography projects launched by the US government during the Great Depression, Erwitt shot hundreds of frames. 

His images recorded the city’s communities against the backdrop of urban change, highlighting his quiet observations with the playful wit that has defined his style for over five decades. After only four months, Erwitt was drafted into the army and sent to Germany, leaving his negatives behind in Stryker’s Pittsburgh Photographic Library. The negatives remained at the Pennsylvania Department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh for decades.

Take a look at life in Pittsburgh in 1950 through these 23 fantastic black and white photographs taken by Erwitt:

Waiting for a streetcar in downtown Pittsburgh, 1950

Downtown hat shop window, September 1950

Workman on wrecking project at the Point, 1950

Gateway Center demolition area, 1950

Lalock Street, 1950

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Amazing Photos of 1970s Philadelphia Folk Festival

The Philadelphia Folk Festival is a folk music festival held annually at Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford, Pennsylvania, in the vicinity of Philadelphia. The four-day festival, which is produced and run almost entirely by volunteers and sponsored by the non-profit Philadelphia Folksong Society, is claimed to be the oldest continually-run outdoor music festival in North America.

The event hosts contemporary and traditional artists in genres under the umbrella of Folk, including World/Fusion, Celtic, Singer/Songwriter, Folk Rock, Country, Klezmer, and Dance.

Gene Shay and folklorist Kenneth S. Goldstein founded the festival, along with George Britton, Bob Seigel, David Baskin, Esther Halpern, and others. Shay has acted as Master of Ceremonies since its inception and Goldstein served as Program Director for the first 15 years.

Originally held on Wilson Farm in Paoli, Pennsylvania, each year the event hosts over 35,000 visitors and nearly 7,000 campers at the Old Pool Farm. The event presents over 75 hours of music with local, regional, and national talent on 8 stages.

These amazing photos from Nancy White that show people at the Philadelphia Folk Festival around 1973-74.

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Philadelphia in 1971 Through Amazing Black and White Photos

Philadelphia is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States. It is the sixth-most-populous city in the United States and the most populous city in the state of Pennsylvania. It is also the second-most populous city in the Northeastern United States, behind New York City. The city is also the economic and cultural center of the greater Delaware Valley along the lower Delaware and Schuylkill rivers within the Northeast megalopolis.

Philadelphia is one of the oldest municipalities in the United States. In the 19th and 20th centuries, it became a major industrial center and a railroad hub. The city grew due to an influx of European immigrants, most of whom initially came from Ireland and Germany. In the early 20th century, Philadelphia became a prime destination for African Americans during the Great Migration after the Civil War. Puerto Ricans began moving to the city in large numbers in the period between World War I and II, and in even greater numbers in the post-war period.

The Philadelphia area’s many universities and colleges make it a top study destination. The city has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city. Fairmount Park, when combined with the adjacent Wissahickon Valley Park in the same watershed, is one of the largest contiguous urban park areas in the United States.

Philadelphia is the home of many U.S. firsts, including the first library (1731), hospital (1751), medical school (1765), national capital (1774), First university in the United States (1779), stock exchange (1790), zoo (1874), and business school (1881). Philadelphia contains 67 National Historic Landmarks and the World Heritage Site of Independence Hall. The city became a member of the Organization of World Heritage Cities in 2015, as the first World Heritage City in the United States.

These amazing black and white photos were taken by Laurence Salzmann that show street scenes of Philadelphia in 1971.

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Photos of Pittsburgh Streetcar System in the Mid-1960s

Pittsburgh is a city in the state of Pennsylvania in the United States and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the 66th-largest city in the U.S. and the second-most populous city in Pennsylvania, behind Philadelphia. The Pittsburgh metropolitan area is the anchor of Western Pennsylvania, is the largest in both the Ohio Valley and Appalachia, the second-largest in Pennsylvania, and the 27th-largest in the U.S.

Pittsburgh is located in the southwest of the state, at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River, forming the Ohio River. It is known both as "the Steel City" for its more than 300 steel-related businesses and as the "City of Bridges" for its 446 bridges. Aside from steel, Pittsburgh has led in the manufacturing of other important materials — aluminum and glass — and in the petroleum industry.

Pittsburgh was listed among one of the most livable cities in the world. The region is a hub for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and energy extraction.

Marty Bernard scanned these vintage photos from Roger Puta’s Pittsburgh PCC Streetcar slides, they show the streetcar system of Pittsburgh in 1965.

A #6 Brighton Road on Penn Ave. at 6th St. in downtown Pittsburgh, PA on September 1, 1965

A #8 Perryville approaching the Keating Car House, Pittsburgh, PA on June 26, 1965

A #8 Perryville leaving the Keating Car House, Pittsburgh, Pa on June 26, 1965

A #10 West View departing Keating Car House and Crossing Perryville Ave. in Pittsburgh, PA on June 26, 1965

A #13 Emsworth car on Lincoln Ave. near Fremont Ave. in Bellvue, PA on June 26, 1965

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The Architecture of Old Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1978 Through Fascinating Photos

Allentown is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It is Pennsylvania’s third-most-populous city and the 233rd-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Lehigh County and the largest city in the metropolitan area known as the Lehigh Valley.

Located on the Lehigh River, Allentown is the largest of three adjacent cities (Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton) in Northampton and Lehigh counties that make up the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania.

Allentown is approximately 55 miles (89 km) north-northwest of Philadelphia, the sixth-most populous city in the US, 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Scranton and the Wyoming Valley, 80 miles (130 km) east-northeast of Harrisburg, the state capital, and 85 miles (137 km) west of New York City, the nation’s largest city.

These fascinating photos were taken by Dave Reese while on a guided tour of the architecture of Old Allentown that show street scenes of Allentown in 1978.

Looking East on Hamilton Street

Allentown street scenes (probably Chew Street)

7th Street row

Ace Supply on North 7th Street

Allentown Art Museum

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1923 Christie Monowheel, the Mother of All Monowheels

The product of the fertile imagination of a Professor E. J. Christie of Marion, Ohio, this gyroscopic unicycle was supposedly capable of speeds of up to 400 miles per hour, although at the time of an article from the April, 1923 issue of Popular Science, it had yet to be tested. To be fair, the inventor only claimed “a speed of at least 250 miles per hour, and possibly 400 miles per hour” though this is the sort of uncertainty that suggests he hadn’t a clue what he was about.

Professor E.J. Christie atop a version of his 14 foot monster monowheel in 1923, which may or may not have been tested. Note the smaller model.

The design had a centre wheel of 14-foot in diameter, and weighed 2400 pounds. The “gyro wheels” on each side of the driver weighed some 500 pounds each. The machine, which was reportedly “being constructed in Philadelphia” at the time, was to have been powered by a 250-horsepower airplane motor.

Here is the text of the Popular Science Monthly article:

Will Gyroscopic Wheel Shatter Speed Records?

DOWN the track of a motor speedway a wheel 14 feet high whirls at such a dizzy speed that racing automobiles traveling at top speed––115 miles an hour––seem almost to stand still. So fast does the giant wheel travel that the details of its design can scarcely be distinguished. This is a possibility prophesied by Prof. E. J. Christie, of Marion, Ohio, for an amazing gyroscopic unicycle of his invention, now being constructed in Philadelphia, Pa. The 2400-pound 14-foot model of the speed wheel is almost ready for a trial spin and Christie confidently predicts that it will develop a speed of at least 250, and possibly 400 miles an hour!

In design, the strange vehicle resembles a giant bicycle wheel with an exceptionally long hub, at the end of which supporting spokes are fastened. Attached to the axle, on each side of the center are 500-pound gyroscopes designed to rotate at a speed of 90 revolutions a minute––a speed sufficient to maintain equilibrium.

From April, 1923. Chrstie has numerous automotive patents in his name for inventions or improvements.

Suspended from the axle by a frame, the upper end of which supports the driver’s seat, is a 250-horsepower airplane motor, the power of which is transmitted to the axle through a friction clutch, three-speed transmission, and jackshaft. An additional chain drive in the center of the axle connects the engine transmission with the gyroscopes.

The machine is controlled and operated like an automobile from the operator’s seat immediately above the axle. Here the driver is saved from swinging about the axle by the steadying weight of the engine slung below.

“How can such a strange vehicle be turned?” you may ask.

This problem Professor Christie has solved in a unique way. By means of the steering wheel, he shifts the position of the two gyroscopic flywheels on the axle to the right or to the left. When the center of equilibrium is thus shifted, the unicyle immediately turns in its course, without tilting, the degree of turn depending upon the distance the gyroscopes are shifted. In other words, the farther the shift, the shorter the turn.

The wheel is supplied with a seven-inch rubber tire, the manufacture of which proved a problem in itself. Pressure resistance was found to be so great that several attempts were made before a strong enough tire was produced.

The new gyroscopic unicycle is not the first machine of its kind Professor Christie has produced, although it is by far the most pretentious. He first used a gyroscope to demonstrate the rotation and momentum of the earth.

The Haunted Wedding Dress of Anna Baker

In 1836, a mansion in Altoona, Pennsylvania was purchased by Elias Baker and his small family moved in. The eldest daughter was Anna, and Elias thought that he knew what was best for his daughter; so when she fell in love with a poor steel worker he forbade his daughter from being with the worker.

Going behind her father’s back, Anna and the young man planned a wedding in secret going as far as purchasing a wedding dress. Unfortunately for the young couple her father found out and had her fiancée move to a different city by buying the steel mill he worked for and forcing the move. Even though her father offered other men to be her husband Anna turned down every single one, instead she locked herself in her room.

Hanging inside of the closet was the wedding dress she would never wear and eventually she died as an old maid in that very room in 1914. The despair and anger at her father for separating the couple manifested in the dress.

After her death, the members of the Baker family reported spotting Anna's wedding dress at different places around the house. Some of them even saw the spirit of Anna Baker moving around the house dressed in the same wedding dress.

Elderly Florence E. Dolph, 101 Years Old, Sliding Down the Bannister in Her House, 1948

It seems like you could easily write several books about the Dolph family. But a happy place to get started is with Miss Florence Dolph who attracted worldwide attention for the unique way she celebrated her birthdays.

(Photo by Tony Linck/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)

The picture above was taken on her 101st birthday, but the article below describes her 100th-birthday slide from the year before. Transcribed from The Wilkes-Barre Record, Tue, May 20, 1947:

Centenarian on Banister Ride

Miss Florence Dolph Hopes to Attend Bucknell Reunion

Miss Florence E. Dolph shed her 364-day-per-year dignity yesterday to slide down the banister at her home in Dunmore on her 100th birthday.

Miss Dolph facetiously referred to the banister as, “My horse, Pete, after a wonderful ride.”

Miss Dolph completed her once-a-year ride decked out in an orchid sent her from California.

Ordinarily, as testified by her niece, Miss Florence E. Robertson, who resides with her, Miss Dolph is a dainty little woman not given to gymnastics. But Miss Dolph, who has a delightful sense of humor, departed from her sedate ways just to prove her point that life can start at 100.

“She’s the life of any party and I’ll be the tired one when we go to bed,” said Miss Robertson, who has been Miss Dolph’s companion since she went to California to be with Miss Dolph 12 years ago, and who returned to Dunmore with her several months ago.

Miss Dolph lived for 44 years in Los Angeles before returning. The family home is now owned by her nephew, Charles S. Robertson.

While no formal celebration was planned, it was a real visiting day at the Dolph home. Scores of well wishers stopped and extended their congratulations.

As to the banister slide, it really isn’t anything new in the centenarian’s life–she’s been doing it for years and years. It’s her favorite way of twitting her friends about how “young” she is.

“Not satisfied with birthdays alone, she ushers in all holidays the same way,” explained her niece.

In addition to well wishes, five birthday cakes, many boxes and bouquets of flowers and more than 100 birthday cards, plus gifts from relatives, flooded her home.

Florence Dolph Celebrates her 101st birthday. “Whoosh! She’s 101!” (May 19, 1948) Des Moines Tribune, (Des Moines, Iowa)

Attired in earrings, a gold necklace and pin, and two diamond rings which combine the pure white diamonds with canary, or yellow, diamonds, Miss Dolph still possesses a keen sense of humor and an intense love for music and art.

With many miles of travel to her credit in this country and abroad, Miss Dolph has at least one more trip on her mind for the immediate future.

“If she is as well then as she is now, Aunt Florence will attend her class reunion at Bucknell University on June 7,” Miss Robertson promised.

Miss Dolph graduated from the Bucknell Female Institute, now the university, in 1868. With one exception, she is the school’s oldest alumnus.”

— “Centenarian on Banister Ride,” (May 20, 1947), Wilkes-Barre Record, (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania)

Portrait of elderly Florence E. Dolph, 101 years old. (Photo by Tony Linck/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)

(via Alison's Family History)

Studio Portrait Photos of Young Ladies of Central State Normal School, Pennsylvania in 1889

The Central State Normal School, a private corporation until it was legally conveyed to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1914, was founded in 1870 and chartered to prepare teachers for the public schools. 

Studio portraits of young ladies of Central State Normal School, Pennsylvania in 1889

Subsequently, changes in its mission led to changes in name, to State Teachers College at Lock Haven (1926), to Lock Haven State College (1960), to Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania (1983). The last name change occurred when the State System of Higher Education was created and Lock Haven University joined the 13 other universities within the State System.

Here below is a set of beautiful photos from mj aux that shows studio portraits of young ladies of Central State Normal School, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania (Class of 1889).

Young lady with arms resting on a chair, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania

Written on back: "Ada Armstrong"

Written on back: "Cora I. Snyder, Lock Haven, Pa, C.S.N.S., Class of 89"

Written on back: "Jennie H. Bailey, Class of '89"

Written on back: "L. Maud Sankey, Clearfield, Pa." and "1889"

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