The PhillyHistory.org website provides wide access to an incredible collection of historic photos of Philadelphia, searchable by location, address, year, free text, or keyword.

Client: City of Philadelphia, Department of Records

Challenge:  Philadelphia’s City Archives, maintained by the Department of Records (DoR), contain approximately 2 million photographs documenting the city’s rich history.  New photographs are regularly added to the collection by the Photo Unit, a DoR unit charged with capturing a photographic record of the City’s activities.  The DoR sought to create a system for managing these photographic assets while simultaneously making them more readily available to the public at large and becoming a revenue generator for the City.

Solution:  Azavea developed a web-based database, where users can search for photos based on geographic location, subject matter, or date.  An interactive map shows the locations of all available photos near an address, intersection, or neighborhood, helping users to place historic settings in their current contexts.  Users can also purchase high resolution prints of the photos, generating revenue for DoR to support continued digitization of archived images.

Outcomes:  To date, more than 100,000 photographs and maps have been digitized and made available through PhillyHistory.org, with more photos being added daily. PhillyHistory is visited by thousands of users each month and hundreds of prints have been sold.  The website provides a unique and valuable look at the history of one of America’s oldest and most historically rich cities.  

The historical assets framework used to develop the PhillyHistory website has been modified for application in other cities, organizations or universities that maintain collections of historical assets (including photos, maps, audio and video) under the product name Sajara™. Sajara also allows collections to be accessible from most mobile phones and handheld computers using wireless networks.

Website: http://www.phillyhistory.org/

Publications:
Government Matters
City Paper: Things That Matter...
Mayor Street's Radio Address
City Paper: Editor's Letter

Quotes:
“PhillyHistory.org is a strong reminder of the richness of our city’s past as we move toward a brighter future.” – John Street, former Mayor of Philadelphia

“The search screen is easy to navigate and utilize; the purchase mechanism prominent and efficient; the prices are very reasonable.  Altogether the site is both user-friendly and a real boon to the study of historic Philadelphia.” –PhillyHistory.org user

"I've become a PhillyHistory.org junkie." - Duane Swierczynski, former Editor-in-Chief, City Paper