14,000 Years of History at Schuylkill River Park

By Stacia Friedman

A 1956 photo taken from 25th and Spruce Street, an area that would later become Schuylkill River Park. Photo credit: phillyhistory.org

To fully appreciate Schuylkill River Park's rejuvenation of the Fitler Square neighborhood, you have to travel back in time.....for centuries.

Ancient Waters

Fourteen thousand years before the first Europeans arrived, the Lenape settled along the rivers and creeks of what is now southeastern Pennsylvania, including the expanse that now comprises the Fitler neighborhood.

They referred to the Schuylkill as Manayunk, which meant "where we drink." Imagine that! Water so pure you could safely drink it. Water so pristine it supported an abundant variety of fish and lush plant life on its banks. 

That is how Colonists found the Schuylkill when they first arrived in the 17th century.

For almost one hundred years, they not only fished in the river, they also swam in it and skated on its frozen surface. In 1799, the Schuylkill became the City's official water source. 

Industrial Decline

Flash forward a century and river water was no longer drinkable. Following the Civil War, wharves and docks went up along the river to accommodate ships and barges. These vessels transported cargo including coal, ice, lumber, and stone.

The 1890s typhoid epidemic was linked directly to slaughter houses and factories dumping animal, coal, petroleum and oil waste into the river. Fish and plant life vanished. No one who valued their health swam in it and the river no longer froze, even on the coldest day, due to the petroleum and coal dust on its surface. 

By the end of the nineteenth century, 31 wharves lined the riverbank between Market and South streets. The neighborhood adjacent to these wharves, now known as Fitler Square, was then called the "Schuylkill community."

It was a predominantly Irish, working-class neighborhood employed by the owners of the wharves and docks who lived in nearby upscale Rittenhouse. They not only loaded and unloaded cargo, they also built the wharves and then eventually made way for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the late nineteenth century.

Many of Fitler Square’s most charming alleys and streets– Panama, Naudain, and Addison – were once the homes of factory workers working twelve-hour days.

Cleanup Begins

By 1924, what had been a romantic, recreational area, immortalized by the paintings of Thomas Eakins, became notorious for its stench and sewage. It wasn't until the Pennsylvania legislature passed the Clean Streams Act in 1937 and embarked upon a massive cleanup effort in the 1940s that the river was dredged. In spite of that, from the 1930s through the 1960s, the area experienced a steady decline.

By the 1970s, the riverbanks were lined with vacant factories and abandoned warehouses, which attracted crime. According to a 2005 article in the Daily Pennsylvanian, as late as the 1980s, the east bank of the Schuylkill was considered "an industrial wasteland teeming with drug dealing and prostitution." 

Community Revival

While the construction of Schuylkill River Park did not happen until 1976–the park opened to the public in 1979–it's important to note that the project was first conceived by a grassroots community group in the 1960s who eventually formed the Schuylkill River Park Development Corp (SRPD).

Activist citizens like John Randolph fought to move the project forward through the 1990s, resulting in what is now the completed park, running from Fairmount Park to South Street. 

In 2012, the Schuylkill River Parks Connector Bridge connected the Schuylkill Banks trail to the city-facing Schuylkill River Park. 

The Schuylkill River Parks Connector Bridge, installed in 2012, links the river trail to Center City. Photo source: schuylkillbanks.org

The development transformed a wasteland into an attractive urban destination, improving the quality of life for area residents and increasing the value of properties.

Friends of Schuylkill River Park invites you to become involved, get to know your neighbors and let your voice be heard. Ongoing projects include: Dog Park Committee, Kids Clothing Swap or volunteer for an activity that reflects your personal interest.

For more information, visit FSRP.org.

A slack-liner crosses the Schuylkill River Park bowl in 2023.