Workshop of the World - Revisited
Industrial Philadelphia
THURSDAY, JUNE 7 - Early Bird Tours
Although we expect tours to proceed as outlined, individual sites and other details may change. Consult confirmation letter and the website for updates. Final details will be provided at the Crowne Plaza. SIA reserves the right to cancel any tour.
11:00 am - 5:00 pm ARCHIVES & ARTIFACTS
Philadelphia is rich in archives and museums that collect the industrial history of the region. Visit four of the great repositories of industrial history: the Franklin Institute, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, and the American Philosophical Society. View Frederick Graff’s original drawings for the Philadelphia Water Works; photographs and documents from Brill Company; a plan of Baldwin’s first locomotive factory with Baldwin’s notes in the margins; and the Wright Brothers papers and drawings. Lunch on your own at the Reading Terminal Market. Tour leader is Jeffrey Ray. Limited to 31 participants.
1:00 pm - 5:00 pm CENTER CITY POST-INDUSTRIAL WALKING TOUR
Take a guided walking tour through the post-industrial landscape of downtown Philadelphia. This 2.5-mile tour will depart from the hotel, continue to the Delaware River, and return to the hotel via the Market Street Subway. See factories, warehouses, bridges, tunnels, and river piers along the way; there will be a few pit stops. Brief visits to a handful of industrial structures—most now used for different purposes. Eat a hearty lunch and wear comfortable shoes, as this will be a 4-hour trek over gritty streets, uneven Belgian blocks, abandoned railroad tracks, and even a set of 300 year old steps. Tour leader is Harry Kyriakodis. Limited to 22 participants.
1:00 pm - 5:00 pm PHILADELPHIA BREWERYTOWN
Often described as “Workshop of the World” and having a neighborhood named Brewerytown, Philadelphia was “One Big Brewerytown.” While ultimately surpassed in size by other breweries, Brewerytown was truly “The Granddaddy of Them All!” The Brewery Tour explores what’s left of this neighborhood, and includes two of Philadelphia’s premier brewery preservation sites. Yards Brewing Co. is located in the Bottling House of the old Weisbrod & Hess brewery and provides us with a brewery process tour. Tour is led by Rich Wagner. Limited to 31 participants.
NEWCOMERS’ RECEPTION - 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
New members and first-time conference attendees are invited to join the SIA Board and chapter officers for refreshments and networking. Reception will be held in conjunction with the Opening Reception, described below.
OPENING RECEPTION - 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Reception will be at the Benjamin Franklin Hall of the American Philosophical Society, located on Chestnut Street between 4th and 5th Sts. Sponsors for this event are the University of Pennsylvania History & Sociology of Science Dept., American Philosophical Society and the Philadelphia Area Consortium for the History of Science (PACHS). Shuttle service between the Crowne Plaza and the reception will be provided beginning at 5 pm.
At 7:30 pm there will be a lecture, Industrializing/De-industrializing America, by Dr. Walter C. Licht, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, whose interest in social and economic change includes its effect on the individual. He is familiar with Philadelphia’s industrial past, and his 1986 book, Work Sights: Industrial Philadelphia, 1890-1950, co-authored with Philip Scranton, gives a verbal and pictorial account of many industries that flourished here.
FRIDAY, JUNE 8 - All-Day Tours: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Each tour includes continental breakfast at the Crowne Plaza beginning at 6:30 am and a box lunch or food ticket. Factory tours can be rigorous. Attendees should be able to walk long distances and climb stairs. For more information, go to: http://www.siahq.org/conference/philadelphia/schedule.html
SATURDAY, JUNE 9 - Paper Sessions, Annual Meeting/Lunch & Evening Philly Foods at the Water Works
PAPER SESSIONS and Annual Meeting/Lunch - 8:15 am - 5:00 pm
Formal paper presentations, an exhibit hall and the SIA annual business meeting/luncheon. To exhibit, please contact Reese Davis.
Philly Foods - 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Shuttle buses will convey you from the hotel to the impressively restored Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center where a feast of Philly Foods will be served. House drinks included.
SUNDAY, JUNE 10 - Post-Conference Tours
8:30 am - 12:30 pm DELAWARE RIVER CRUISE ALONG PHILADELPHIA & CAMDEN WATERFRONTS
This narrated cruise will celebrate the history of the Delaware River from the Navy Yard and Gloucester, NJ to the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. The emphasis will be on structure, machinery and other materials that survive, including views of the SS United States, USS Olympia, USS New Jersey, Walt Whitman Bridge and the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Refreshments served on board will include coffee, bagels and donuts.
8:00 am - 3:00 pm LIGHT RAIL TO ROEBLING, A MODEL COMPANY TOWN
Join us for a trip through picturesque river towns along New Jersey’s oldest rail line, the Camden & Amboy, to the village of Roebling. Charles G. Roebling chose this site on the Delaware River in 1904 to build his steel mill and workers’ village. Members of the Roebling Historical Society, including former mill workers, will take us on a tour of the remaining mill complex and the remarkably intact company town. In 1999 the EPA made the former Roebling Steel Mills one of the first ten Superfund redevelopment sites, with the proposed Main Gate House museum devoted to Roebling’s industry and people. In the old craneway there is a sculpture garden, made from equipment left behind after the mills closed in 1981, including an 80-ton steelcast fly wheel, 28 feet in diameter. Our tour includes a stop at Pinto’s Hardware Store. The tour ends with a hearty Hungarian-style lunch in the Roebling Auditorium. Tour leader is Ingrid Wuebber. Limited to 45 participants.
The Society for Industrial Archeology through its publications, conferences, tours, and projects encourages the study, interpretation, and preservation of historically significant industrial sites, structures, artifacts, and technology. By providing a forum for the discussion and exchange of information, the Society advances an awareness and appreciation of the value of preserving our industrial heritage.