Posts in “history-of-philadelphia” (59)
Blog Articles
At 54 neighborhood libraries and the Rosenbach , Free Library volunteers embody the institution's vision of "an enlightened community devoted to lifelong learning" every day.… continue reading Free Library Tour Guides Use Map Collection to Celebrate This Year's Volunteer Appreciation Day!
By written by Andrew W. April 20, 2020
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
"Even if I believed that women should be denied the right of suffrage, wild horses could not drag such an admission from my pen or my lips, for this reason: precisely the same arguments used… continue reading Women's History Month 2020: Stories We Know, Stories We'll Discover
By written by Kalela W. March 3, 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
I am a Monopoly lover! This celebrated board game became popular in the 1930s after it was patented by Philadelphia inventor Charles B. Darrow , who lived on W. Hortter St. in the West Mt.… continue reading Happy Inventors Day for Monopoly Lovers!
By written by Sharyl O. February 11, 2020
This blog post is in honor of Charles Dickens' birthday. The prolific Victorian author of "epic stories" like Oliver Twist and David Copperfield , was born on Portsea… continue reading Spotlight on Special Collections: When Dickens Met Poe
By written by Mharlyn M. February 7, 2020
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stands with one arm stretched high above his head, waving to the crowd, with a broad smile on his face, as the legendary Philadelphia civil rights attorney and… continue reading Reflecting on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Visit to Philadelphia: A Personal Account
By written by Mharlyn M. January 14, 2020 2
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
What do Charles Dickens, cuneiform tablets, and James Bond have in common? The answer is Hands-on History at the Free Library, which wraps up its inaugural year with a holiday program on… continue reading Hands-On History Wraps Up 2019 With Charles Dickens... and Introduces a New Line-Up For 2020
By written by Joe S. December 12, 2019
Never having been much of a history buff, and possessing a wholly striking inability to memorize dates, my cultivation of Philadelphia history has been mostly through passive absorption. I have… continue reading #OneBookWednesday | Regional Lenape History
By written by Hannah B. December 11, 2019
What is ‘Black Friday,' and why do we do it? I did some digging... "In 1621, colonists invited Massasoit, the chief of the Wampanoags, to a feast after a recent land deal.… continue reading Did You Know?: Black Friday was Born in Philly
By written by Brittanie S. November 29, 2019
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
No ... we don't mean it like that ! This Sunday, November 17, is national Take a Hike Day. It's time to pull on some comfortable shoes and explore a forest, a park, or your very own… continue reading Hey Philly, Take a Hike!
By written by Clare F. November 15, 2019
The human toll exacted by the Civil War is made clear simply by the size and number of hospitals in Philadelphia that treated the casualties of war. It’s no exaggeration to say that a few… continue reading Civil War Medicine: What Went Right
By written by David N. November 12, 2019
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
Our Five Senses , an ongoing exhibition in Parkway Central Library 's Dietrich Gallery opened earlier this year, and over the past few months, we've had the honor of sitting down with some… continue reading Our Five Senses | Sampling History: The Whiskeys of Pennsylvania
By written by Chris B. September 26, 2019 2
"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
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