Fairmount Dam / Fairmount Water Works

The Fairmount Dam on the Schuylkill River forms the impounded pool that historically fed the Fairmount Water Works. The Fairmount Water Works complex was constructed beginning in the 1810s (operations began about 1815) as Philadelphia's municipal water supply and continued in that role into the early 20th century. The Water Works and adjacent dam are preserved as a historic site and sit beside the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the Schuylkill waterfront.