Two Views of the Construction of the
Mill Creek Underground Pipe
The photograph above shows the Mill Creek culvert under construction. The location is unknown, but it may be in the vicinity of 47th Street and Haverford Avenue, around 1880.
The engraving of "The Mill Creek culvert, in West Philadelphia, at Forty-Third and Sansom" above comes from an unknown newspaper and is probably ca. 1872. This image gives some idea of the amount of fill that was required to cover the new sewer and level out the Mill Creek valley--up to thirty feet above the stream bed in some places. Source: Kastner Collection, Print and Pictures Department, Free Library of Philadelphia.

Photos courtesy Adam Levine

back to University City Historical News Page
back to Mill Creek
back to University City Historical Society Homepage