Tag: Philadelphia

Episode No. 18 – Philly Streets in the Gilded Age: Depression, Development, and Deadly Trolleys

Episode No. 18 – Philly Streets in the Gilded Age: Depression, Development, and Deadly Trolleys

Published December 19, 2023

Despite cycles of economic depression, Philadelphia transformed during the Gilded Age. Entire neighborhoods sprang up to house a growing population. Major infrastructure projects changed how…

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Episode No. 18: Philly Streets in the Gilded Age (Companion Blog)

Episode No. 18: Philly Streets in the Gilded Age (Companion Blog)

Published December 19, 2023

Electrical wires first appeared on Philly streets in 1845. A few pioneering wires were strung up on poles to facilitate the latest communication innovation: the…

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REBROADCAST Episode No. 4 – The Fight for Philly’s Streetcars

Market Street and 11th Street 1865, Library Company of Philadelphia

REBROADCAST Episode No. 4 – The Fight for Philly’s Streetcars

Published April 25, 2023

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We’re rebroadcasting this earlier episode about the Black community’s fight to integrate Philly’s streetcars in the years following the Civil War 1865-1871. This story fits…

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Episode No. 16 – Civil War Flows through Philly Streets (Companion Blog)

Episode No. 16 – Civil War Flows through Philly Streets (Companion Blog)

Published March 28, 2023

Painted transparencies were the lighted billboards of the nineteenth century. Large scenes and words painted on thin cloth or paper were stretched over a wood…

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Episode No. 16 – Civil War Flows through Philly Streets

Episode No. 16 – Civil War Flows through Philly Streets

Published March 28, 2023

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Philadelphia, like the rest of the nation, was poorly prepared for war. When the Civil War broke out, the cobbled-together city became a key part…

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Episode No. 14 – Violence in the Streets (Companion Blog)

Episode No. 14 – Violence in the Streets (Companion Blog)

Published December 6, 2022

I had such a hard time on this episode! The city of Philadelphia that we know today came out of a crucible moment in the…

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Episode No. 14 – Violence in the Streets: The Origins of our Modern City

Episode No. 14 – Violence in the Streets: The Origins of our Modern City

Published December 6, 2022

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What kind of city did Philadelphia want to be? There were lots of different opinions in the 1840s and 1850s, but everyone agreed: it did…

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Episode No. 12 – Philly Streets in the Early Republic (Companion Blog)

Episode No. 12 – Philly Streets in the Early Republic (Companion Blog)

Published June 27, 2022

I always wanted a short and sweet history of America in the 1800s, but I couldn’t ever seem to find one. After writing this (and…

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Episode No. 12 – Philly Streets in the Early Republic

Episode No. 12 – Philly Streets in the Early Republic

Published June 27, 2022

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Life overflowed onto the streets of Philadelphia in the Early Republic. The streets were intensely social spaces, but could also be extremely dangerous. As the…

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