Photo Project Offers Intimate View of Late Architect from Phoenixville, the Father of Modern Philadelphia

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Image of Ed Bacon with a model of the Society Hill Towers circa 1960 via the Edmund N. Bacon Collection.

The Ed Bacon Photo Project, an online catalogue created by the Fisher Fine Arts Library at the University of Pennsylvania, offers an intimate view of the inspirations of the renowned city planner and architect known as the father of modern Philadelphia, writes Michael Bixler for Hidden City Philadelphia.

The collection contains more than 5,000 research and lecture slides on the work of the former executive director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission who was a Phoenixville resident. Before his passing 14 years ago, Bacon donated his personal collection of images to the library.

While there was limited access to the unprocessed slides for a decade, the library is now in the process of digitizing the collection. It has also launched a crowd-sourcing initiative asking the public for assistance in identifying the locations in the slides.

Now, viewers can experience Philadelphia through Bacon’s eyes as he worked to turn it into a more modern city.

“Anyone with an Internet connection can access this collection, learn about Bacon’s vision alongside his research and designs, and compare that vision to what eventually got built, restored, or demolished,” said Hannah Bennett, director of the Fisher Fine Arts Library.

Read more about the Ed Bacon Photo Project at Hidden City Philadelphia here.

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