A campaign is set to kick off this week with Hidden City Philadelphia’s latest book, and locals can take part in preserving history along with them.
Titled ‘Philadelphia in Color, 1950-1990’, the publication will offer a “first-of-its-kind” color photographic history of the city.
As a release notes, Hidden City is working with archives, libraries, community organizations and amateur and professional photographers to amass photos, slides and negatives for the book, which is set to be published in 2026. The book was publicly announced and open to individual submissions starting in November 2024. So far, over 1,000 images have been identified for potential inclusion, and the organization will continue collecting photos from the public (via phillyincolor.org/submit) through April 2025.
“The images we’re collecting are helping to create a vivid, unique portrait of Philadelphia unlike anything that’s ever been done before,” said Pete Woodall, Project Director of Hidden City in a statement. “Whereas photographic histories of other cities rely exclusively on the work of 20th-century luminaries in photography, ‘Philadelphia in Color’ taps the actual people and communities that lived the history they captured.”
To celebrate the occasion, a party will kick off at Paradigm Gallery + Studio (12 N 3rd St.) on Thursday, March 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. While there, locals can indulge in drinks and snacks, plus, get a behind-the-scenes look at the photo research and curation process.
Photographers at any level can also take this week’s party as an opportunity to submit their own photos, especially if they need assistance digitizing physical snapshots, slides or negatives.
Hidden City will help out with submissions on this date as long as they meet certain requirements: Images must be exteriors shot in color within the city limits of Philadelphia between 1950 and 1990, the release also notes. The organization is especially looking for photos of street life, people interacting with places, neighborhoods in transition, slice-of-life candids, and places and cultural touchstones that no longer exist today.
“Our goal is to illustrate what living in Philadelphia was actually like in those times, when the city changed so much and so quickly in the midst of the stunning societal shifts across the country,” added Nathaniel Popkin, Senior Advisor of Hidden City. “We’ll narrow down the photos that make it into the book with input from public historians plus art and photography curators, and in the end, we hope to have a beautiful collection of images that will be meaningful to Philadelphians from every neighborhood and walk of life.”
Those who want to be part of the kick starter campaign financially can do so beginning Thursday, March 27 at noon.
More information about ‘Philadelphia in Color, 1950-1990’ is available at phillyincolor.org.
