On this page we will look back at life in the city during the war years. Here we will provide the visitor with the stories making the news, what was happening in sports and entertainment, city politics, the social scene and the prominent people at the time. We will also recount the events occurring in the war on that day. So, check back often for new updates.
To share your family or neighborhood stories, please email PhillyWWIyears@gmail.com
TODAY IN PHILADELPHIA – TUESDAY, JULY 20, 1915
Heavy thunderstorms late yesterday afternoon and last night appear to have broken the heat wave the city has been in for almost a week. There will be fair skies with light breezes from the north over the city today. The high will reach 78° and the low tonight about 68°.
In religious news, Archbishop Prendergast (shown below) has announced that a new Roman Catholic Church will be built at 62nd & Cedar Avenue and named after the 6th century Irish saint, St. Carthage. The boundaries of the parish have not yet been finalized.
In business news, Baldwin Locomotive Works will incorporate the Eddystone Munitions Company to handle war orders. The orders total at present $97,000,000.00. The majority of those are from Russia. Baldwin intends to construct new buildings on property it owns in Eddystone as the new company’s production facility. And here in the city Baldwin intends to increase its workforce from 7,000 to 12,000.
Across the Delaware River, three fires broke out overnight on the U.S.S. Oklahoma which is docked at the New York Shipbuilding Company in Camden. The fires were located beneath the forward gun turret and not fully extinguished till this morning. Almost the entire Camden Fire Department was involved in fighting the blaze and they were assisted by fire boats from Philadelphia. The Oklahoma was launched on March 23, 1914 from the New York Shipbuilding dock. Because of the possibility of foreign involvement or sabotage the Navy Department will conduct the investigation of the fire.
On the sports beat, in baseball today 7,000 fans watched the Phillies beat the Cubs at National League Park 8 to 6. Eppa Rixey got the win. The Phillies now have a 2 game lead over the Cubs for 1st place. Out in Detroit the A’s lost their 5th in a row to the Tigers 6 to 5. In boxing tonight at the Douglas A.C., 11th & Spring Garden Streets, Tommy Coleman meets Eddie Revoire in the featured match with 4 other bouts on the card.
WAR NEWS
In the western theatre, reports from the Italian-Austrian front are that after a furious all day battle yesterday Austrian troops suffered a severe defeat with as many as 10,000 men killed or wounded. The battle took place on the east side of the Isonzo River near Sagrado. In the east, reportedly Russian forces are evacuating Warsaw, Lubin, Ivangorod and Novo Georgievsk and leaving only enough troops in those cities to protect the army’s general retreat. Also, German forces are reportedly only 30 miles from the city of Riga in Russia’s Baltic province of Latvia.
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