Market St, Past and Present

Despite the sunny spring weather, I found the below sight on Market St in Old City this weekend rather depressing:
Images like this of urban decay alternate with hip boutiques and historic buildings in Old City and other parts of Philly. What did this same spot look like just over 100 years ago?

Photo of 306 Market St by Frank Taylor, undated, Free Library of Philadelphia

It was certainly a lot more quaint in the past, but look closely: the sidewalks were filthy (just like now!) and while the horses in the picture might look cute, they didn't smell cute.

Here's another view of that same area in an undated postcard, all spiffied up with added coloring and the ultra-modern trolley system.

Free Library of Philadelphia

And finally, William Birch's 1800 rendering of the Southeast Corner of Market and 3rd

New York Public Library

Some further historical digging shows that this part historic/part gentrified/part decayed block was home to a drug store owned by the son of famed botanist William Bartram in 1785, several homes of the prominent Wistar family, a dry goods store, and the terminus of a railroad.

To check out more (and hopefully more encouraging) historical image comparisons, check out the Free Library's photo map.