Slought and City Parks Association are pleased to announce "The River as it Was," the first part of an exhibition and public programming series from May 19th through August 2015 investigating our changing relationships with the Schuylkill River. Building upon historical materials from City Parks Association, the Philadelphia Water Department, and other archives, we seek to recover acts of environmental stewardship and an incipient understanding of the importance of urban ecologies. In so doing, we also seek to explore the complex boundaries and relations among the river, its banks, and the city more generally.

The Schuylkill river's history parallels many urban rivers in this country, especially those considered within the country' 'rust belt.' In the 18th and 19th centuries, Philadelphia's two rivers were the region's lifeblood. They connected the area with the rest of the world for commerce and trade, provided food and well-documented inspiration. Over time, as the city expanded and new infrastructure built to accommodate the rapidly growing population, the river's ecologies were degraded. Philadelphia's riverfronts, as with so many urban centers, shifted from transporting goods to making goods. The riverbanks that were once accessible by foot were now populated by industries that limited access. New highways constructed right along the water's edge further separated the individual from the water. Individual access to the waters became more and more difficult, and, as it collected greater amounts of industrial and human waste, less appealing. Yet the river, even at its most lifeless or polluted, continued to flow, its waters reflecting the human experience over time.

In the 20th century, Philadelphia's Progressive movement was the first to draw attention to the Schuylkill's condition: the river, long home to the city's industry, was dangerously polluted. In 1924, City Parks Association published a volume entitled The Redemption of the Lower Schuylkill, that brought critical attention to the deteriorating health of Philadelphia's Schuylkill River. Through photographs and historic drawings, author and civic leader John Frederick Lewis sought to illustrate the severe impact to the river of growing industrial activity and the rapid construction of storm water and sewer infrastructure. Though built to accommodate the burgeoning urban population, this construction had in fact filled the river with pollution and "filth floating on the waters." Lewis' publication (featured in the exhibition and available for download on this site) was an important work at its time and continues to be a catalyst for important environmental activities undertaken by city agencies and non-profits alike to address issues of urban water quality and industrial waste.