Many of the private dwellings of opulent citizens are spacious and commodious edifices, and remarkable for that neatness of external appearance and convenience of internal arrangement which are considered as character istic of the Philadelphian style of building.
Near the centre of the city is a public square, con taining ten acres, and at equal distances therefrom in the different quarters of the city, there are four others, con taining eight acres each. These squares were originally granted by William Penn, the proprietor of Pennsylva nia, to the city of Philadelphia, for the use and comfort of its inhabitants, and are to remain as public walks for ever. Considerable progress has been made in their improvement ; the two eastern ones, called Washington and Franklin squares, are surrounded with palisades, planted with forest trees, and neatly laid out in grassplots and gravelled walks.
Water Ilrorks.—There is nothing perhaps more requisite and indispensable for the health, comfort, and safety of large cities, than an adequate supply of wholesome water. Hence it has always been considered desirable to procure this necessary article, even at great expense and labour. The enormous aqueducts of Rome and other ancient cities, bear ample testimony to the care and solicitude felt even in early times on this subject ; and, since the invention of improved machinery, less extensive works have been constructed for the same purpose in London, Paris, Bre men, and other European cities. It will be our business in this section, to give a sketch of the rise and progress, of those extensive, efficient, and elegant works, by which Philadelphia derives her supply of water, and which will remain to be a monument of the enterprise, wealth, and perseverance of her citizens ; and afford another evidence, that in works of real utility and benefit, however expensive and difficult of accomplishment, she is not surpassed by any city in the United States, and perhaps, in proportion to her capital and means, by none in the world. The idea of supplying the city with other water than that obtained from pumps and wells, was first suggested by Franklin, who bequeathed a conditional appropriation of funds for that purpose. The increas ing conviction of the public mind, that the health and comfort of the city was intimately connected with a copious supply of good water, induced, in 1797, the presentation of petitions to the city councils, signed by a large and unprecedented number of respectable citizens ; and their attention in consequence was seri ously directed to this important subject. Several plans were proposed, the chief of which were, 1st, The ob taining water from a canal, then in progress, to unite the Delaware with the Schuylkill. 2d, Conducting the water of a large spring 15 miles N. N. NV. of Philadel phia. 3d, To make a reservoir upon the banks of t he Schuyl kill, to throw up a sufficient quantity of water into a tun nel, and to carry it thence to a reservoir in Centre Square, and after being raised there, to distribute it throughout the city by pipes. This last plan was proposed by La trobe, a distinguished engineer, and, after mature delibe ration, was adopted.
The application of steam to the purpose of propcllirg tnachinery was novel, and in the United States had hither to met with little success. A contract, however, was made for the erection of two engines of sufficient power to raise to the height.of 50 feet, and deliver 3 millions of gallons in 24 hours. A loan was proposed on the credit of the city for 150,000 dollars. Several causes, and among others, the novelty and supposed impracticability of the un dertaking, conspired to prevent the completion of the whole of this loan; under a hope, however, that as the work pro gressed public confidence would be increased, the city councils resolved to commence with the funds in hand.
These were soon found inadequate, and the operations were on the point of being suspended, when the individual mem bers of the committee of superintendence generously ad vanced the necessary sums for the present exigency, and the Bank of the United States afterwards loaned the sum of S20,000, in anticipation of a tax of 550,000 which coun cils determined to raise. By these aids the works were enabled to proceed On the 2d of May, 1799, the first sod was dug, and although an epidemic fever prevailed in the ensuing autumn, on the 21st of January, 1801, the first water was thrown into the city, about a mile of pipes being laid. The rapidity with which the works pro gressecl, notwithstanding the many obstacles encountered, reflects great credit on the engineer and committee of superintendence. The cost of the erection of the engine house, tunnels, steam engines, &c. was 5280,000, greatly exceeding the original estimate. The work, when com pleted, consisted of a basin on the Schuylkill, of 84 feet in width and 200 in length, the bed below low water mark, from which ran an open canal to the rise of the hill upon which the engine house stands, and a tunnel through a rock to the shaft in the house, where the pumps were fixed. After the water was raised through the shaft by the en gine, it fell into a brick tunnel 8 feet in diameter, and 1408 yards in length to the Centre House, where it was again raised by steam to the height of 36 feet into a reservoir containing 1600 gallons, from which it descended into an iron chest, in which were inserted the distributing mains. The engine near the Schuylkill was a double steam en gine, of 40 inches cylinder and 6 feet stroke. That at the Centre Square was an engine of 32 inch cylinder. Bored logs were used as pipes to communicate the water to the city. The quantity of water raised per annum was 250 millions of gallons, at a cost of 520,000. The Centre House is a handsome buildi4g faced with marble, 61 feet square, with doric porticoes and columns on the east and west fronts ; a circular tower rises from the centre of the building of 40 feet in height, terminated by a dome. In consequence of the expense and insufficiency of the plan above decribed, the attention of the city councils was again turned to the subject, and a committee appointed in October of 1811 to devise some other mode of watering the city ; and it was finally agreed to erect an engine house at Fair Mount, 21 miles from the city, and a few hundred yards above the upper bridge. The water of the Schuylkill is of an excellent quality, owing to the numerous fine springs in its bed, and at this place is free from any filth from the town. The works at this place were commenced in August, 1812, and completed September 7th, 1815. The house, -which is commodious, and situated directly on the bank of the river, contains two large engines which worked al ternately, and raised the water about 98 feet, to a reservoir on the hill back of the building. The reservoir covers an area of near an acre and a hall of ground ; its dimensions are 318 feet in length, 167 in width, and 10 feet 3 inches in depth ; it contains 3,264,176 gallons. The cost of the works, including the main pipes extending to the Centre Square, was about 5225,000.