Happy Days
for history buffs

By Lauren Fritsky
Times Staff Writer

Ruth Black still remembers a time before rowhomes and traffic lights became staples of the Northeast, a time when her Holmesburg neighborhood still boasted rural vistas with fields, dirt roads and plenty of room to play.
Now 70 and living in Cherry Hill, N.J., Black recently discovered a way to preserve the mental images of her old home on Jackson Street — www.Phillyhistory.org
“I came inadvertently onto Phillyhistory.org. I was looking for anything that would enhance my recollection,” she said. “I was thrilled to see these old photos.”
Phillyhistory.org — a Web site allowing the purchase of photos from the city Department of Records — debuted during the summer of 2005 as a way for residents past and present to get their hands on historical photos of their old haunts. The city also envisioned the endeavor as a way to generate more revenue.
The records department possesses 2 million pictures, a large portion of which should eventually be scanned onto the site and made available for purchase by the public. About 4,300 visitors have accessed the site.
The pictures date back as far as the 1860s and include many snapshots of streets, lots, businesses and schools, taken by city workers as development changed the city landscape.
“The photos really track the development of the city through its height as a great center of industry,” said Records Commissioner Joan Decker.
For Black, the comparisons are startling. As she looked at the Jackson Street picture, she marveled at the changes.
“The shot was from south to north . . . you couldn’t see any houses, nothing but trees, and just a little road, nothing fully paved,” she said.
So far, about 22,000 photos have been scanned onto the site. Northeast images include the Frankford Elevated Line, the Shallcross School at Byberry and Woodhaven roads during the days when it was a farm school, trolleys in Bustleton and a corner store at Ashburner Street and Torresdale Avenue, opposite where the Ashburner Inn now stands.
The site possesses mapping software that allows users to type street names or neighborhoods in their search for photos of a specific area. A local geospatial information services company, Avencia, helped design it.
“I think Phillyhistory is fairly unique when it comes to historic photographs,” said Robert Cheetham, chief operating officer for the company. “I haven’t found any (other sites) that link up the photos with any other search capabilities.”
The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, the Cartographic Modeling Lab and the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission help support the site, the latter with a $14,223 grant.
Interns Heather Newlin and Jason Hutchins help scan the photos and blog online about interesting images they come across.
“There are a lot of photographs from before they expanded the (University of Pennsylvania) — a lot of streets don’t exist there now,” said Newlin, who hails from outside the city.
“It’s been very rewarding,” said Hutchins, an Upper Darby native. “It’s kind of like going through history.”
Cheetham says other cities have contacted Avencia with an interest in learning more about the software used on Phillyhistory.org. A new version of the software, called Sajara, should debut next month.
Cheetham expects the upgrade to allow for more search capabilities, more photos per screen and refined search categories. Future improvements to the site include equipping it with video and sound capability and enabling educators to build presentations from the images for their classes.
Though Phillyhistory.org focuses on the past, Black, the former Holmesburg resident, thinks it can help guide the city’s future.
“Philadelphia has such a cultural history, and I think (the city) is really trying hard to bring that back,” she said. “I think if people were aware of this site, they’d develop more appreciation.” ••
To browse or purchase pictures, visit www.phillyhistory.org
Reporter Lauren Fritsky can be reached at 215-354-3038 or lfritsky@phillynews.com