William Russell Birch was born in Warwickshire, England, and immigrated to the United States in 1794. Apart from the Views of Philadelphia, he is best known as a miniaturist and enamel painter. His son Thomas Birch (1779–1851) worked with him to produce the Views of Philadelphia and went on to become better known as a marine artist, making many paintings of engagements from the War of 1812.

The City of Philadelphia in the State of Pennsylvania North America as it appeared in the Year 1800 (first edition) of 27 views was the first American color-plate book (though it was also sold without coloring) and is unparalleled as a document of an early American city. It listed 156 individuals as subscribers, including Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Henry Latrobe. The book includes general street views, as well as views that highlight specific structures such as churches, hospitals, markets, and banks.

The Center Square Water Works were designed and engineered by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, who is often considered America’s first professional architect. Latrobe designed for the waterworks a system that used pumps powered by steam engines to raise water from the Schuylkill River. The structure depicted in this print actually housed the second of the two pumping stations in the system. Latrobe’s pumping station at Center Square, which became operational in January of 1801, was a striking combination of rectangular and cylindrical volumes rendered in a Classical idiom. It received a most prominent location in the city, and the grounds around the Waterworks came to be a venue for public functions and recreation. Philadelphia’s City Hall now occupies this location. Latrobe was appointed surveyor of public buildings in 1803 by President Thomas Jefferson. He is remembered as the second Architect of the Capitol.

The Center Square Waterworks proved difficult and expensive to operate and provided a barely adequate water supply. Latrobe’s assistant and waterworks superintendent Frederick Graff (1774–1847) undertook the design of the celebrated Fairmount Water Waterworks to succeed the overtaxed Center Square system. Construction began in 1812, and the Fairmount Waterworks continued in service until the early twentieth century. The Center Square Waterworks was demolished by 1828.