Philadelphia in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

"It requires a great deal of philosophy to observe what is seen every day." - Rousseau

We often ignore our surroundings and take them for granted when we get caught up in the business of our daily lives.  Standing at the corner of Frankford and Norris streets in 2009, we may notice an abandoned brewery but pay little attention to it - it's merely a decaying building in Fishtown, and we're late for work, school, or an appointment.  In the brewery's heyday a century and a half ago, passersby saw a prosperous brewery, but it was just another beer manufacturer in a city deemed "the workshop of the world" due to not just its concentration of mills and factories, but also to the high quality of the goods produced. 

Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau's quote begins Philadelphia and its Manufactures, a long out-of-print book from 1859 that surveyed the factories, local industry, and livelihood of Philadelphia from textiles to brewing.  The book, described as a love letter to a long-lost past, inspired the recent exhibition Philadelphia and its Manufactures: Photographs and Objects from Factories Here and Gone at the Old City gallery Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.

Artist Jacob Hellman took to heart the book's theme of acting as a booster for Philadelphia's reputation and reminding us of the city's industrial heritage. Hellman's exhibition of photographs and collected objects linked Philadelphia's past and present by showing both functioning and abandoned factories. 

For many years it has been a source of mortification to the active friends of Philadelphia, that mainly through the misrepresentations of rivals, and the misapprehension of her resources, she has gradually receded from her former glorious position in the commercial firmament, until now she is regarded by many in Europe, and in some portions of our own country, as a mere speck on the horizon.  - Freedley, Philadelphia and its Manufactures

For instance, Philadelphia once produced the best clocks in the world.  The Navy Yard produced some of the largest and most famous warships during World War II.  And now as many factories and industrial spaces are vacant and desolate, many others are being repurposed as condos, artist workspaces, offices, and parkland.  Economic development has had high and low cycles, but ultimately, manufacturing and the production of goods raised Philadelphia and the world's standard of living.

The end of every Manufacture is to increase the utility of objects by modifying their external form or changing their internal constitution. By cheapening manufactured products they put within the reach of the poorest classes what in former times was accessible only to the wealthy and noble. - Freedley, Philadelphia and its Manufactures

On September 10, 2009, the Economy League hosted the Greater Philadelphia Leadership Exchange as 150 business, nonprofit, and government executives considered the future of our region and the global trends and forces that will influence and shape it for the next 10, 20, and 30 years. Kicking off the program was a discussion of the perceptions and rankings of the region and how residents have and will continue to "live," "work," and "play."

As we brainstorm about what the Greater Philadelphia region will look like in 2039 and beyond, it is important to see and remember what it looks like in 2009, 1979, and 1859. Exhibitions such as Hellman's photography give us an excellent reminder of not just what the past looked like, but also a reminder of what the present looks like from the ground.

-- Stephanie Odell, Graduate Research Intern