Port Richmond, just north of Philadelphia. Never will you find a more wretched hive of scum and villany (sorry, Star Wars Episode II was just released..). Port Richmond was a point of embarcation for many canal boats entering or leaving the Schuylkill Canal. The final lock was at nearby Fairmount. From there, canal boats were towed by a tug to Port Richmond to load or unload coal and other freight. This view of Port Richmond probably dates from around 1900.

Photo from The Schuylkill Navigation: A Photographic History (H. L. Rinker, 1991, Canal Captain’s Press)

 

 

Port Richmond, north of downtown Philadelphia along the Delaware River, still exists as a loading area for boats and ships. This photograph shows an old building, perhaps a port authority, at the base of the Port Richmond pier. It was here that the convoy of canal boats pulled by a tugboat stopped, following the thunderstorm which killed Edwin Rickenbach.

Edwin was taken ashore here, perhaps down the Port Richmond pier (below), which extends from the brick port authority building. Today (as of November 1999), this pier is in disrepair and may actually date from the late 1800s.

When Edwin was taken to the Episcopal Hospital, he very likely was driven down Allegheny Avenue (below), which begins at the end of the Port Richmond pier and runs west into town.

Photographs by Tom Rickenbach