His system utilized two steam engines in series to pump water from the Schuylkill River, into the city, then into two wooden tanks that held a total of just 57,000 US gallons (220,000 L).

[3] The committee began searching for another solution and eventually picked John Davis and Frederick Graff, Latrobe's apprentice and successor as chief engineer, to design a new waterworks, in order to meet the demand of the increasing numbers of city residents[3] and to solve the problem of inadequate storage capacity.

[3] The facility, the industrial nature of which was disguised by a Classical Revival exterior,[3] became a tourist attraction for its beauty and its location on the riverside.

Another English visitor, Fanny Trollope, in her 1832 book Domestic Manners of the Americans, mentioned the Water Works: There is one spot, however, about a mile from the town, which presents a lovely scene.

At a most beautiful point of the Schuylkill River the water has been forced up into a magnificent reservoir, ample and elevated enough to send it through the whole city.

The vast yet simple machinery by which this is achieved is open to the public, who resort in such numbers to see it, that several evening stages run from Philadelphia to Fair Mount for their accommodation.

Its position near Boathouse Row and the Philadelphia Museum of Art is hoped to aid in making it a regularly visited tourist site once more.