The History of the Fairmount Water Works

An illustrated presentation by A. Leonard Pundt

Wednesday, February 14, 2024, 6 pm

The Fairmount Water Works was once the most visited place in America after Niagara Falls. Many famous people stopped there and left a record of their impressions. When and why was this famous Philadelphia landmark built? What problems was it meant to solve? Why was it shut down? How has it come to be preserved? Explore these and other questions as Mr. Pundt walks us through Fairmount’s fascinating history, lavishly illustrated with an abundance of images.

A. Leonard Pundt is a member of the Oliver Evans Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology. As a research consultant for the Philadelphia Water Department, Len recently edited and greatly expanded a comprehensive history of the Fairmount Water Works, originally begun by the late Jane Mork Gibson, that he is hoping to have published. A former Air Force officer and teacher, he currently resides in Lebanon, Pennsylvania with his wife and two children, but previously lived in Philadelphia for over twenty years.

 Free and open to Everyone

The meeting room will open at 5:30, talk will begin at 6:00

Location: Parkway Central Free Library, 1901 Vine Street
Enter the Heim Center classroom at the back of the library on Wood Street.
There is metered parking around the library building and a paid parking lot behind the library with an entrance off Callowhill Street.