The Centre Square Water Works; J. Maccaro

Althoughnow rememberedmainlyas an architec turaloddity,the WaterWorksis alsoa landmarkin the historyof state involvementin the American economy,andprovidesacautionarytaleofgovern ment wasteand inefficiency. The Philadelphia water system was the first large-scalepublicworksprojectin our nation'shis tory. As Philadelphia'spopulation grew, demand overburdened its network of public water wells, which once were the pride of the city. In 1797, a group of prominent citizens petitioned the City Councilto rectifythe situation,and in the follow ing year Latrobe, the nation's leading architect, submitted his plan) It called for water to be pumped, using the newly invented steam engine, fromthe SchuylkillRiverto CentreSquare,where a steam-powered pump located in the Grecian temple would make it availableto the rest of the city. The Latrobeplanwasopposedby OliverEvans, a pioneerindustrialdesigner.Evanswas the inven tor of the first practical high-pressure steam engine,and the author of The YoungMill-Wright andMiller'sGuide,a best-sellerthatwasindispensMr. Maccaropracticeslaw on Long Island.

ableto the mechanicsofthe early19thcentury.He also is credited with being the originator of the modem assemblyline.2 Evans noted severalglar ing deficienciesin Latrobe'ssystem,and put forth his own plan.He correctlyassertedthat the Water Works'capacityas designedby Latrobewas mere ly 7,500gallons,a figuregrosslyinadequatefor the city'sneeds. Additionally,he argued that the sys tem could not be built at Latrobe's estimat~of $150,000. While Evans was a better mechanicaldesigner, Latrobe was a far superior lobbyist. The City Councilwas composedof membersof the leading familiesofthe city;theywerewealthyandcultured, andpatternedthemselvesafterthe Englisharistoc racy. Latrobe, a sophisticatedand well-educated Englishgentleman,was skilledin the art of flatter ingandcajolingthe Councilintoadoptinghisview point.Incontrast,Evans,despitehismasteryofthe technologyof the day and his many accomplish ments,was nonetheless,in the words of historian David Freeman Hawke,a "dirty fingernail"man.

He, in commonwithmostof the great mechanical designersofthe period,was a productofthe work ing class,and knew next to nothingabout how to charmsociallyprominentgovernmentofficials. Latroberealizedthat the keyto winningoverhis audience was a sophisticated presentation. He publishedand presentedto the councilmena pol ished and extensivelyillustratedbooklet that fea tured someofthe highestqualityengravingsmade in America up to that time. While Evans con185 The Centre Square Water Works (from a painting in the collection of The Historical Society ofPennsylvania). cerned himself solely with the technical issues involved, Latrobe stressed the aesthetic appeal of his plan. He impressed upon the councilmen that they were authorizing not a mere utility,but rather a grand monument that would reflect for genera tions to come the greatness of the city and them selves. The Council enthusiastically endorsed Latrobe's plan, and construction of the Centre Square Water Works began in May of 1799. Latrobe, however, grossly exceeded his budget and far surpassed his promised construction time. Instead of costing $150,000and taking about half a year to complete, as Latrobe had led the Council to believe, the actu al cost of construction was $500,000and the time to completion was 18 months. Further, Evans' objec tions were proved to be frilly justified: the Water Works was incapable of meeting the city's demand and operated at a continual deficit. It was finally abandoned in the early 1800s,to be replaced by a system that adopte~_ many of Evans' ideas.

The Philadelphia government of 1797 recog nized the need for a modem water system, but was ill-equipped to evaluate and implement a practical solution. The Water Works fiasco set the trend for future public works projects. Then as now,the pro curement process was politicized, costs and time overruns far exceeded expectations, and the end result was a dubious scheme that did little more than waste taxpayers' money. D 1. Benjamin Latrobe (1764-1820)designed the Bank of Pennsylvania building in Philadelphia and supervised the rebuilding of the Capitol after the War of 1812. He died of yellow fever while supervising construction of the New Orleans water system. 2. The career of Oliver Evans (1755-1819)is described by David Freeman Hawke in NutsandBoltsofthePast:A His toryofAmericanTechnology,1776-1860(New York: Harper & Row, 1988).