What do the Niagara Falls Bridge, the Chicago “L” and the main building of the Philadelphia Centennial have in common? Their steel was produced at the Pencoyd Iron Works in Bala Cynwyd. Established in 1852 as a specialty iron and steel foundry, at its peak the firm employed thousands of workers. It not only made the steel, but came to also design and build bridges all
over America.
The East Falls Historical Society will present an encore of this program and tour of the Iron Works at Pencoyd Landing. The event will be in the Pencoyd Room of the Residence Inn by Mariott, 615 Righters Ferry Road, Bala Cynwyd.
To register, email eastfallshistory@gmail.com. Then pay in cash at the door ($10 for members of the
EFHS; $15 for non-members.)
Doors will open at 5:30, allowing time to view many historical photographs on display. A day-
by-day time lapse video of the construction of the hotel will be shown. Stephen Gibson, the
Chief Architect of the Penn Real Estate Group, will present slides on the history of the Pencoyd
Iron Works. The program will end with a tour of the hotel and the former office of the Iron
Works.

Amy Jane Cohen offers a talk based on her recent book, Black History in the Philadelphia Landscape: Deep Roots, Continuing Legacy. The talk is co-sponsored with Friends of the Falls of Schuylkill Library, and it is free and open to the public.

Laura Stroffolino, Curator of the Print and Picture Collection at the Free Library of Philadelphia, will discuss selected East Falls images from the Charles K. Mills collection in her department. Several EFHS members will add comments about selected sites. This program is free, and no pre-registration is required.

Click here for flyer (PDF).

Click here to see the Mills Falls of Schuylkill images at the Free Library of Philadelphia.

(With a short business meeting at 6:45 PM for EFHS members to vote on officers and by-laws changes. But all are welcome.)

By Steven J. Peitzman, MD
President of the EFHS, Historian of Medicine

As the 20th century approached, Philadelphia was not done with epidemic diseases. But typhoid fever seemed always present, though more lethal in some years than others. It was known to be transmitted through water or milk contaminated with a particular bacterium. In the 1890s, no antibiotics existed. Water supplies in American cities were polluted with industrial and human waste. Scientists and engineers knew that a basically simple process – sand filtration – worked, but to apply this remedy to a whole city’s water supply would prove costly.

East Falls at least already had a reservoir built in 1894-5. All we needed was some sand and a lot of money from city councils.

Click here for flyer (PDF)

Grace Kelly Gallery
New Courtland, 3232 Henry Avenue
Going south on Henry, turn right at first light after Falls Center. Free parking.

View exhibits and artifacts from Grace’s life. Birthday cupcakes, cider, live music. Click here for more about the Grace Kelly Gallery.

Born on Nov. 12, 1929, Grace Kelly was an East Falls resident, Academy-Award-winning actress, and Princess of Monaco.

The original campus of what is now the East Falls component of the university comprises buildings surviving from the period of “country estates;” some added by the Philadelphia Textile Institute (later Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, then Philadelphia University) after it moved to School House Lane; and more recent structures completed by Philadelphia University and Jefferson. The span in age and styles makes for an intriguing tour of architecture and design.

The East Falls Historical Society will offer a walking tour of the campus east of Henry Avenue on October 19, from 10 AM until about 11:45. Leading the walk will be David Breiner, PhD, associate dean and associate professor in the College of Architecture and the Built Environment. Dr. Breiner has degrees in architecture and the history of architecture.

Attendance will be limited. FULL!

Falls of Schuylkill Library Meeting Room (Midvale Ave. entrance)
3501 Midvale Ave., East Falls, Philadelphia, PA [Google Map]

The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926, held in South Philadelphia, was meant to be the greatest world’s fair since the 1876 Centennial.  Thanks to political corruption, greed, egotism, and the wettest summer on record, it became a crumbling, sodden, bankrupt mess, Philadelphia’s “forgotten fair.”

One of the few bright spots of the Sesqui-Centennial was the High Street of 1776, a recreation of a Federal-era Market Street lined with 22 reconstructions of vanished historic structures, from William Penn’s Slate Roof House to the Jefferson Declaration House.  Created by the Women’s Committee, the Street of 1776 was the Sesqui’s most popular single attraction, and one of the few to turn a profit.  Other popular attractions created by women included Sulgrave Manor, a replica of the ancestral English home of the Washington family.  “The Ladies of the Street” describes how Philadelphia women defied the corrupt Republican Organization to create some of the fair’s most memorable monuments.

About the speaker

Tom Keels is a lecturer, writer, and commentator specializing in Philadelphia history and architecture.  He has published seven books.  The latest, Sesqui!  Greed, Graft, and The Forgotten World’s Fair of 1926, tells how Philadelphia’s rampant culture of political corruption and “pay-to-play” turned the fair into a gigantic boondoggle, making the city’s second world’s fair as big a failure as the 1876 Centennial was a success.

Tom has given lectures for many organizations in Philadelphia and beyond, including “Philadelphia’s Golden Age of Retail” and “Forgotten Philadelphia” in East Falls.  For many years, he’s been a tour guide at Laurel Hill Cemetery.  Click here to learn more about him.

Everyone welcome.  Free.  No advance registration.

Sponsored by East Falls Village and East Falls Historical Society

Click here for YouTube video of the presentation. Click here to view the slides from this presentation (2 Meg PDF). They have links to many newspaper resource

With Nina Coffin, Supervisor, Newspaper Center, Free Library of Philadelphia

Tour, via Zoom, the pages of the hyper-local newspapers for East Falls, Roxborough and Manayunk. Since about 1870, our part of Northwest Philadelphia has been well-represented in newsprint. These historic newspapers offer fascinating insight into venerable institutions, local businesses and schools. You may recognize names and addresses from the advertising pages.

You will also learn about newspaper collections held by the Free Library of Philadelphia and how to access the resources of the Newspapers & Microfilm Center at the Parkway Central Library. Many of these unique materials are not available in digital form or original newsprint.

Coffin holds a MA in Public History from La Salle University.  Before becoming Supervisor of the Newspaper and Microfilm Center in 2022, she held librarian positions at West Oak Lane Library and the Social Science & History Department of FLP, Springside School, and Historic Germantown. She has also served as President of the Friends of the Falls of Schuylkill Library.  

The History of Public Restrooms, A Story of Inequality
Tuesday, February 13, 2024, 3 PM

Falls Library Meeting Room (Midvale Ave. entrance), 3501 Midvale Ave

Temple historian Bryant Simon tells of the rise and fall of public restrooms, a story of race, politics, sex, and Starbucks.

From the 1880s to World War I, cities took pride in the construction of public toilets.  Professor Simon tells us, “Mayors of each city would show up and host events where they would be bragging about their public restrooms.”  But the facilities became havens for men seeking sex with men, the homeless seeking shelter, and vandals, leading to their closure. In the era of Jim Crow, they were for whites only; a black man was killed for using a public facility. 

With the closure of public restrooms, the public had little choice to rely on private facilities, often unavailable to those who could not patronize the businesses, or preferred not to make a purchase only to gain access.

What does this have to do with Starbucks?  Simon is a student of Starbucks, having published a book about the company that “taught us … to pay more than a dollar for a cup of coffee.”  His interest turned to restrooms after a black man who had not made a purchase was refused access to the restroom and police became involved.

Accessible.  Enter by garden walkway from Warden Drive, near the mailbox.

Everyone welcome. Free. No advance registration.

Sponsored by East Falls Historical Society and East Falls Village.

On Saturday, January 27 2024, the East Fall Historical Society will sponsor an event allowing anyone to bring in documents and photos from family collections to scan. The event will be hosted by NewCourtland in the Grace Kelly Gallery, 3200 Henry Avenue.

Sign up for a free 30-minute one-on-one appointment with a professional archivist to scan your most valued photographs and documents. Participants will receive their own digital archive to share and learn more about digital preservation for individuals and families. Pull albums, folders, or shoe boxes off your shelf to select items most worthy of digital storage.

Reserve your time here: calendly.com/efhs/
Questions? Please email eastfallshistory@gmail.com

On Thursday, November 9, the East Falls Historical Society presented a program and tour of the Iron Works at Pencoyd Landing. Stephen Gibson, the Chief Architect of the Penn Real Estate Group, reviewed the history of the Pencoyd Iron Works. The program ended with a tour of the hotel and the former office of the Iron Works.

What do the Niagara Falls Bridge, the Chicago “L” and the main building of the Philadelphia Centennial have in common? Their steel was produced at the Pencoyd Iron Works in Bala Cynwyd. Established in 1852 as a specialty iron and steel foundry, at its peak the firm employed thousands of workers. It not only made the steel, but came to also design and build bridges all over America.

Pencoyd Iron Works has been re-imagined as a modern destination by the Penn Real Estate Group, which received a Preservation Achievement Award. The site is home to the Residence Inn by Marriott and two restaurants – The Landing Kitchen, a daytime café with indoor and outdoor seating, and Lark, located on the seventh floor. The original (1880s?) office building for the Iron Works, which may have been designed by Frank Furness, was damaged in a catastrophic fire in 1997, but is now home to the Penn Real Estate Group, which completed an award-winning historic restoration of the interior and exterior. This building will be included in our tour.

Although you can get to Ironworks at Pencoyd Landing from Bala Cynwyd, “the only truly spectacular arrival is from the Philadelphia side” (wrote the Inquirer’s Inga Saffron) by the pedestrian and automobile bridge from the parking lot at 3720 Main St. in Manayunk, near the state store and movie theater [Google Map]. This steel truss bridge once connected the Pencoyd main plant with some secondary buildings on the Philadelphia side.

We hope many EFHS members will take advantage of this opportunity!

Registration is required; please email to eastfallshistory@gmail.com. Then pay in cash at the door ($10 for members of the EFHS; $15 for non-members).

Click to download flyer (PDF)

Join us for a Walking Tour of Historic Mt. Vernon Cemetery  (the burial place of John Barrymore), Now under restoration.

Led by Historian Brandon Zimmerman

Note: This walk will encounter some uneven ground!

Click here for photos of the tour, and more.

Download PDF flyer
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An illustrated Zoom lecture presented by Steven J. Peitzman

Click here for YouTube  video of presentation.

This  overview will trace the neighborhood’s development, literally from the  river up the hill—the early mills, factories, and breweries and, later,  the residential and institutional development. Early images of East  Falls will punctuate the talk.

The  now submerged falls on the Schuylkill River, about five miles from  central Philadelphia, once provided splendid scenery and excellent  fishing (well-known to the Lenape, our predecessors). Several mills  built as early as the late 1600s on the lower Wissahickon Creek and on  Falls Run added industry to recreation and tourism. With the 19th  century came a railroad, steam, and the immense Dobson Mills, which made  blankets for the Union Army, and carpets for everyone else. The “Falls  Village” became a busy, smoky mill town—”Falls of Schuylkill”—dense with  workers’ rowhouses. But how did the renamed East Falls survive the  closing of the mills, which at its peak employed 6000 women, men, and  children, and find a new way to flourish?

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On Saturday, November 12th, the birthdate of  Princess Grace of Monaco, the East Falls Historical Society is planning a  gala celebration of the reinstallation of the Grace Kelly Gallery at  our new location, The Apartments at Henry Avenue, 3232 Henry Avenue from  1 to 4 pm. The cost is $20 for EFHS members, $25 for guests. Free  parking is available onsite.

Guests  will stroll through the gallery exhibit while enjoying sumptuous hors  d’oeuvres, sparkling wine and more. The self-guided tour includes Grace  Kelly artifacts – movie posters, dolls dressed in costumes from Grace’s  films, photographs, plates and textiles designed by Grace, and many  signed Christmas cards and letters. Old movie footage of Grace’s life  will be presented to the sound of period music.

The  space was granted to EFHS by NewCourtland at the completion of Phase 1a  of the Apartments at Henry Avenue. As NewCourtland is graciously  co-sponsoring this event, residents will be invited as special guests. 

Reservations are required by November 4. 

To order by mail  – $20 per EFHS member, $25 for others – please make checks payble to East Falls Historical Society and mail to Katy Hineline, 600 E. Cathedral Road, Apt. D305, Philadelphia, PA, 19128.  Include names for name tags.

To order online,  CLICK HERE to pay by credit or debit card, or by PayPal.  Be sure to enter names for name tags when asked.   No tickets will be sent; just give your name at the event.

Ticket purchases are not tax-deductible. 
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The central section of East Falls – the old “Falls Village” – is known for its 19th-century row houses and twins, many in the Italianate, Gothic Revival, and Second Empire styles. Going up the hill, an alert visitor will enjoy seeing our Tudor East Falls Historic District, our unusual Spanish Revival rows, and, finally, the many fine Tudor and Colonial Revival houses east of Henry Avenue, the area once known as “Queen Lane Manor.” But East Falls also can boast of important “Mid-century Modernist” houses (and also a former nurses home and a fire station in Modernist mode). What has come to be called “Mid-century Modern” overlaps with an architectural approach also referred to as “International” or less commonly, Miesian, after the prominent architect Mies Van der Rohe. Such design, broadly understood, aims at clean lines, use of the steel frame to allow glass walls, an “open” floor plan, and minimal ornament. 

The Modernist houses of East Falls are mostly to the north, along School House Lane and Apalogen Road. Among them are the Hassrick House and the Rothner House, both of which will be visited on a tour organized by the East Falls Historical society for Saturday morning October 15. Designed by internationally-recognized California architect Richard Neutra, and now part of the Jefferson campus, the Hassrick House exemplifies Modern architecture as it was widely produced in the decades following World War II. Though currently unfurnished, it is still an impressive residence. The Rothner House is owned by architect and aficionado Janet Grace, who has furnished it with excellent examples of Mid-century Modern design. This building was created by respected local architect Norman Rice, known for important contributions to the “Philadelphia School” of Modern architecture.

The tour will be led by David Breiner, PhD of Jefferson University, and Alison Eberhardt, MA, an architectural historian and photographer. 

Download PDF flyer
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