Pencoyd Bridge over Schuylkill River (1899)- Also (Inaccurately) Called The ‘Pencoyd Bridge.’

In 1852, Algernon Sidney Roberts (who would later inherit the eastern half of Pencoyd farm) and his cousin Percival Roberts founded the A. & P. Roberts Company, a specialty iron foundry located along the Schuylkill River, opposite Manayunk. The company initially made railroad equipment, but soon began manufacturing iron bridge members. It won the contract to manufacture all the structural elements for the cast-iron-and-glass Main Exhibition Building and Machinery Hall at the 1876 Centennial Exposition. The Main Exhibition Building was to be the largest building in the world. Designed by Wilson Brothers & Company, it was 1,880 ft (570 m) in length, 464 ft (141 m) in width, and enclosed 21.5 acres (8.7 hectares) of space. Machinery Hall, also designed by the Wilson Brothers, was 1,402 ft (427 m) in length, 360 ft (110 m) in width, and enclosed 12.8 acres (5.2 hectares). After the World’s Fair, the buildings were auctioned off, disassembled, and their structural elements were reused in other buildings. Read more Phillyhistoryphotos