Step into a winter wonderland from Philly’s past! From now until February 15, we’re displaying a few of our favorites by David Johnston Kennedy (1816-1898), a railroad agent and amateur painter who produced more than 1,000 watercolors of Philadelphia.

During his years of painting, Kennedy captured grand houses, railroads, street scenes, and other buildings in and around Philadelphia. The paintings are appreciated for their detail, the notes he often left on them, and for "recording an environment that was very rapidly changing during the decades he was observing it." In some cases, these paintings are the only record of what the buildings or street scenes would have looked like in the 1800s.

Plan Your Visit

The document display is free and open to the public from January 8 to February 15 during our regular library hours.