About Us
Welcome to the website of the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center. A significant part of Philadelphia’s history, architecture, infrastructure and growth, we pride ourselves on our almost 200-year legacy. Since opening becoming an environmental center in 2003, we have strived to educate the public on the importance of water resource protection.
I hope you will explore all that we have to offer, and be inspired to visit us at 640 Water Works Drive.
Sincerely,
Karen Young, Executive Director
Situated on the east bank of the Schuylkill River between historic Boat House Row and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Fairmount Water Works opened its doors in 1815 as the sole water pumping station for the City of Philadelphia and was decommissioned almost a century later, in 1909.
Converted to a museum and environmental center which opened in 2003, the FWW has become the region’s premier urban environmental education destination and is recognized by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection as The Delaware River Basin’s Official Watershed Education Center and Gateway Center for the Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area.
The Fairmount Water Works is a National Historic Landmark, a Civil Engineering Landmark, and a National Mechanical Engineering Landmark, and was designed and constructed to provide safe, clean drinking water to a city on the cusp of remarkable growth.
History
Situated on the east bank of the Schuylkill River between historic Boat House Row and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Fairmount Water Works opened its doors in 1815 as the sole water pumping station for the City of Philadelphia. Almost a century later, in 1909, the Water Works was decommissioned as a pumping station […]
Mission & Values
The mission of the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center is to foster stewardship of our shared water resources by encouraging informed decisions about the use of land and water.
Media
Find downloadable materials about the Water Works and our program here, as well as links and archived copies of the media coverage we’ve gotten.