Walking the Schuylkill – John Brady Photography

William Penn placed the city where it is because of the Schuylkill River, guaranteeing the city and the river a prominent place in American history. Over time, the Schuylkill has served the city and its industry, first with a canal system and later with railroads and highways in the river’s flood plain. Factories and mills were built along its full length. Industry radically changed the river. Along with bringing farm products and coal to the city. The Schuylkill River provided drinking water. These purposes often collided; eventually drinking water won out. The environmental movement changed the river as radically as the industrial age had. These changes, and contemporary uses, leave imprints. “Walking the Schuylkill” intends to capture and highlight those marks, illustrating the character of the modern Schuylkill River.