Posts by Sally F. (35)
Blog Articles
Women today often talk about the difficulty of "having it all", but Sadie T.M. Alexander was more concerned with "doing it all." She not only raised two children and worked to… continue reading A History Minute: The Many Firsts of Sadie T. M. Alexander
By written by Sally F. March 31, 2020
The Philadelphia Flower Show was the first public flower show held in the U.S. and it has become the largest and longest-running flower show in the world. The seed that became the Philadelphia… continue reading Oldest, Biggest, Best: A History of the Philadelphia Flower Show
By written by Sally F. February 27, 2020
In preparation for a special Free Library event taking place this Wednesday, January 15 at Lovett Library , today we'll be looking at the history and architecture of Mt. Airy. The neighborhood… continue reading Neighborhood Beginnings: 11 Things You Should Know About Mt. Airy
By written by Sally F. January 13, 2020 6
For over 50 years, Mae’s Millinery (definition: "the art of hat-making") was a fixture in Philadelphia, a destination for women from up and down the East Coast in search of the… continue reading A History Minute | Who was Mae Reeves and Why is She in the Smithsonian?
By written by Sally F. December 26, 2019 5
Philadelphia has and always will be a city of neighborhoods. In our ongoing series of Neighborhood Beginnings, today we'll be discussing a section of the city that was once referred to as...… continue reading Neighborhood Beginnings: from Pigs to Pigskin - 11 Things You Might Not Know About "The Neck"
By written by Sally F. November 22, 2019 3
The Divine Lorraine's story is not just that of a dilapidated building brought back to glory before the wrecking ball's kiss, but a much more complicated, dramatic, and sometimes… continue reading A History Minute | Father Divine and the Behind the Scenes History of The Divine Lorraine Hotel
By written by Sally F. October 22, 2019 4
"Stronger, lighter, safer" was the goal Edward Budd pursued his entire life. Along the way he built the largest manufacturing company in Philadelphia and forever changed the way the… continue reading A History Minute | Fortunes of Philadelphia: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles – The Story of Budd Manufacturing
By written by Sally F. August 9, 2019 4
The Oak Lane area of North West Philadelphia has an rich history of unique architecture and noteworthy residents. East Oak Lane spans from Cheltenhan Avenue to Godfrey Avenue and from Broad Street… continue reading Neighborhood Beginnings: from Barnyards to Broadway in East Oak Lane
By written by Sally F. June 26, 2019 6
War runs on credit and the money it produces. Without money, weapons can’t be bought, ships can’t be built, soldiers can’t be fed, and the war is lost. In the first 100 years of… continue reading A History Minute | The Fortunes of War - The Philadelphia Bankers Who Saved Our Nation
By written by Sally F. May 9, 2019 2
Philadelphia has been a major center of international commerce for over 300 years. Even today, with major port complexes serving major metropolitan centers throughout the country, Philadelphia and… continue reading A History Minute | 14 Surprising Facts about the Port of Philadelphia
By written by Sally F. March 28, 2019 2
The last decades of the 19th century produced a backlash that diminished much of the progress made by blacks in the south after emancipation and led large numbers to travel to the… continue reading A History Minute | The Armstrong Association and The Berean Enterprise
By written by Sally F. February 12, 2019 2
Washington Avenue Immigration Station: 1873-1915 I n 1870, Philadelphia was no longer the nation’s largest city, but rather the "Workshop of the World" with an endless need for… continue reading A History Minute | Philadelphia's Ellis Island
By written by Sally F. December 19, 2018 4
It's that time of year again, where we "Fall back" and set our clocks back an hour as Daylight Saving Time ends on Sunday, November 4, at 2:00 a.m. Although we gain an hour of sleep,… continue reading A History Minute: 13 Things You Didn't Know About Daylight Saving Time
By written by Sally F. November 2, 2018
As we enter into the yearly flu season here in the United States, it was 100 years ago that Philadelphia itself was the epicenter of a world health pandemic. Young people in the prime of their… continue reading A History Minute: 11 Things You Should Know About the Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918
By written by Sally F. October 25, 2018
This year's National Skyscraper Day falls on Labor Day, as good a day as any to fully appreciate the architectural marvels, engineering efforts, and skilled labor that make up our cities. If… continue reading 9 Things You Should Know About Philadelphia Skyscrapers
By written by Sally F. August 31, 2018 2
In these days of big bucks baseball, with the top players making over $30 million a year and the top clubs valued in the billions, it’s hard to imagine a time when America’s Pastime… continue reading A History Minute | The Fortunes of Philadelphia - Let's Play Ball!
By written by Sally F. July 17, 2018 1
In our ongoing series of historical posts about Philadelphia neighborhoods, today we bring you our neighbors to the northwest, Germantown... Germantown was the first permanent German… continue reading A History Minute: 11 Things You Should Know About Germantown
By written by Sally F. June 5, 2018 6
Science is the star this week around Philly, with the start of the annual Philadelphia Science Festival beginning this past weekend. We thought we would delve deep into our book stacks and search… continue reading A Science Minute: 7 Female Philadelphia Scientists You've Probably Never Heard Of
By written by Sally F. April 23, 2018 2
If you don't know the name Amalie Emmy Noether, you're not alone . Suffice to say, she was and remains one of the greatest minds of the 20th century. Read on to learn more about this… continue reading A Science Minute: 13 Things You Should Know About Emmy Noether
By written by Sally F. March 29, 2018
William Penn was a dreamer. Like many attracted to the New World, he was a member of a persecuted religious minority—the Quakers. But unlike the Puritans and Catholics who founded religious… continue reading A History Minute: The 1844 Nativist Riots in Philadelphia
By written by Sally F. March 16, 2018