Philadelphia: Workshop of the World

Philadelphia was once known as the “workshop of the world” due to the abundance of factories, products, and infrastructure located within the city. From the 1800s through the 1920s, ships, yarn, paints, and more were manufactured on the banks of the Schuylkill and Delaware.

This display features works originally published by some of the pioneering companies that made Philadelphia an industrial powerhouse. Guests can enjoy handling collection activities in our museum and a talk by curator Caroline Meehan, followed by a light reception.

The Philadelphia Chapter of the Society of Industrial Archaeology will also be there to share information about their organization and events for those who are interested in Philadelphia’s industrial past. Their mission is the study, interpretation, and preservation of the surviving factories, machinery, bridges, canals, industrial communities and artifacts that are historically significant. They will also be selling their books Workshop of the World: A Selective Guide to the Industrial Archeology of Philadelphia and Workshop of the World Revisited.

Featured image: Lithograph of an advertisement depicting the Tatham & Brothers factory complex located at 608 Delaware Avenue in Philadelphia, August 1847
Library of Congress