Philadelphia is home to 576 parks and 166 miles of trails, yet one particular park stands out as our most iconic. Fairmount Park is the jewel of our park system, with both east and west sides encompassing over 2,000 acres. Before it became home to important landmarks such as the Philadelphia Zoo, Please Touch Museum, and Boathouse Row, Philly’s oldest park was created for a practical purpose.
The park gets its name from “Faire Mount,” a hill overlooking the Schuylkill River where the Philadelphia Museum of Art exists today. The name and a sketch of the hillside are visible on the 1682 map of Philadelphia designed by Surveyor General Thomas Holme. Its natural landscapes fit into William Penn’s vision for a “greene Country Towne” and attracted aristocrats to establish estates in the area.
As the city’s population grew, so did its risk for disease. Following the yellow fever epidemics in the 1790s, which were partially blamed on contaminated conditions in Philly’s water supply, the city made it its duty to provide access to clean water. In 1812, the city purchased Faire Mount to establish the Fairmount Water Works, Philadelphia’s sole pumping station. It was considered a marvel for its steam technology and Classical Revival exterior design. Gardens, walkways, and sculptures would later be added around the facility. The site quickly became a tourist attraction.
More needed to be done to protect the Schuylkill River as pollution from upriver mills and other growing industries put residents’ health and safety at risk. The city government continued to acquire more land in proximity to the river, starting with the Lemon Hill estate in 1843. More would follow under the Consolidation Act of 1854, which would expand the city’s territory.
Another parcel of land, Sedgley, was purchased by the city in 1857. The mayor at the time, Morton McMichael, advocated expanding the land to create a space that would rival New York’s Central Park. Philadelphia hosted a design competition to repurpose Lemon Hill and Sedgley to protect the city’s water supply.
Over the 19th century, Philadelphia would acquire the rest of the land associated with today’s Fairmount Park. Fairmount Park was officially established in 1867 to be forever “an open public place and a park for the health and enjoyment of the people of said city, and the preservation of the purity of the city’s water supply.”
In 1876, Philadelphia hosted the Centennial Exhibition in West Fairmount Park, which established new landmarks associated with the park today. Although many structures from the event no longer exist, Memorial Hall and select statuary are still standing. Memorial Hall currently serves as the home for the Please Touch Museum.
So when you visit Fairmount Park today, remember that it was designed with public health, recreation, and natural beauty in mind.
