Buried Dock Creek in Old City

Dock Creek was a tidal inlet that flowed through colonial Philadelphia to the Delaware River and formed the original waterfront for early settlement. Beginning in the late 18th century the creek was gradually channelized and filled to create Dock Street and additional building lots; by the 19th century much of its course lay underground. Archaeological excavations in Old City and historic maps have documented Dock Creek's buried channel and its influence on subsurface soil and infrastructure in the neighborhood.