{"product_id":"old-map-of-philadelphia-pennsylvania-by-usgs-1949-schuylkill-river-delaware-river-fairmount-park","title":"Old Map of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by USGS, 1949 – Schuylkill River, Delaware River \u0026 Fairmount Park","description":"\u003cp\u003ePublished in 1953 from 1949 survey work, the United States Geological Survey’s “Philadelphia” captures one of America’s great metropolitan landscapes at a pivotal mid-century moment. Drawn at the exacting 1:24,000 scale, it presents the city not as an abstract street plan, but as a living terrain of neighborhoods, waterways, rail corridors, parks, industrial zones, and civic landmarks. Broad Street and Market Street form the great urban axes of Center City, while dense street grids spread outward into residential districts, commercial quarters, and working waterfronts. The map’s title is understated, yet its subject is immense: Philadelphia, a city shaped by colonial foundations, industrial power, transportation networks, and the enduring geography of the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe United States Geological Survey brought to this map the disciplined visual language that made its topographical sheets indispensable to engineers, planners, educators, and government agencies. Founded in 1879, the USGS became the principal American authority for measuring and interpreting the nation’s physical landscape, translating field surveys into maps of remarkable clarity. Here, that scientific tradition is applied to a heavily urbanized environment, where contour lines, land-use shading, road classifications, rail lines, and waterways combine into a portrait of both nature and infrastructure. The result is especially compelling because Philadelphia is not mountainous wilderness but a complex built landscape, and the map reveals how topography still underlies every street, park, embankment, and industrial edge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Schuylkill River is among the map’s defining features, bending through the city and forming a natural corridor around which transportation, recreation, and industry converge. To the east, the Delaware River marks Philadelphia’s historic waterfront and its connection to Atlantic trade, shipbuilding, and regional commerce. The U.S. Naval Reservation appears as a reminder of the city’s strategic military and maritime importance in the years following the Second World War. Rail lines and stations thread through the urban fabric, emphasizing Philadelphia’s role as a major node in the northeastern transportation network. These corridors, alongside arterial roads and dense neighborhood grids, evoke a city built for movement—of goods, workers, commuters, and ideas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFairmount Park and East Park offer striking counterpoints to the surrounding urban density. Their broad green spaces, riverbanks, and varied elevations stand out within the tightly organized street pattern, revealing Philadelphia’s long commitment to public open space and urban landscape design. The map’s topographic treatment makes these parks especially legible, showing how terrain, waterways, roads, and civic planning intersect. Smaller public spaces are scattered through residential and commercial districts, while land classifications distinguish built-up areas from open ground and institutional or industrial sites. This balance of parkland and cityscape gives the map an unusual richness: it is at once a technical survey, a planning document, and a mid-century portrait of urban life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a historical document, this map records Philadelphia just before the sweeping transformations of the later twentieth century, including highway expansion, urban renewal, waterfront redevelopment, and shifting industrial patterns. Its 1949 data preserves a city still deeply shaped by rail infrastructure, river commerce, dense rowhouse neighborhoods, and concentrated manufacturing districts. Center City appears as the civic and commercial heart, while surrounding neighborhoods show the fine-grained texture of everyday urban geography. For collectors, the appeal lies not only in the precision of the USGS cartography, but in the map’s quiet testimony to change: streets, parks, rivers, naval facilities, and transportation lines fixed at a moment when postwar Philadelphia stood between its industrial past and modern metropolitan future.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eCities, towns and places on this map\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePhiladelphia, PA\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSchuylkill River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDelaware River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEast Park\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFairmount Park\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eU.S. Naval Reservation\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCenter City and other Philadelphia neighborhoods and districts\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBroad Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMarket Street\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSmall parks and public spaces\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eResidential areas\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCommercial zones and industrial sites\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRail lines and stations\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHistorical context \u0026amp; cartographic details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProduced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a U.S. government agency known for detailed topographical mapping and geographical surveys.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreated in 1949 and published with a 1953 imprint.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistorical 1:24,000 scale topographical map of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the surrounding area.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShows major streets, parks, waterways, and significant landmarks.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUses a detailed grid system to provide comprehensive street layouts.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIncludes varying shades to indicate topographical relief and land use.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePresents elevations, land classifications, and natural features within an urban landscape.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReflects Philadelphia’s mid-20th-century urban development, infrastructure, and planning patterns.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLooking for a particular place?\u003c\/strong\u003e Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/de\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eask our workshop to check before you order\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDetailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/de\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/de\/pages\/map-personalisation\"\u003eSee personalised map examples\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEvery piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of \u003ca target=\"”_blank”\" href=\"\/de\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003erare old and vintage maps\u003c\/a\u003e to discover another place, period or style.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Map","offer_id":58815617302912,"sku":null,"price":83.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58815617335680,"sku":null,"price":223.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x16in (30x40cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":58815617368448,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Map","offer_id":58815617401216,"sku":null,"price":83.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58815617433984,"sku":null,"price":223.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"A3 (297x420mm) \/ Framed canvas 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