Fast Lane into the Past

My Inside Source for Local History

Anyone puzzled by Philadelphia’s quirks, strengths and flaws need look no further for explanations than city’s long, winding, and in some cases twisted history. The triumphs and tribulations of the twenty-first century all can be traced to the past, and much of that history is examined in an online resource  increasingly consulted by educators, journalists and others seeking historical perspectives.  

The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia is an online project of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities begun in 2009 by Professor Charlene Mires at Rutgers University-Camden.  As of 2017, the encyclopedia contained more than five hundred essays on topics ranging from pre-colonial immigration to the origins of the cheesesteak sandwich.

From 2015 to 2017 I served as managing editor for the encyclopedia and its staff of students who built web pages and found images and composed captions for the illustrations.  The peer-reviewed encyclopedia is one of the best resources on Philadelphia history and continues to grow.

Among the encyclopedia’s most popular subjects are:

 

Other Great Philly History Sources