For the last 175 years Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) employees have dedicated themselves to serving Philadelphia 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in the coldest of winter days and the hottest of summer months. As we celebrate our 175th anniversary, we thank our customers, current and former employees, and stakeholders for helping us become the essential green utility for the residents and businesses of Philadelphia.

Also in 1836 – Philadelphia becomes the nation’s center for finance and industry. Matthias W. Baldwin, a former watchmaker, built his Old Ironsides locomotive (seen here on a parade float from the early 1900s) for the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad.

1856 – PGW completes the construction of a new natural gas holder at the company’s Point Breeze Plant in South Philadelphia. At the time, it was the largest in the nation with a total holding capacity of 1.8 million cubic feet of natural gas.

1877 – The American Centennial Exposition in Fairmount Park displayed the wonders of the age in agriculture, horticulture and machinery. Natural gas cooking was displayed as a novelty, and 60 miles of pipe supplied natural gas for the exhibition’s lights.

1897 – The United Gas Improvement Company signs a 30-year contract with the City of Philadelphia to manage PGW.

1900s
1902 – Natural gas begins to replace coal as the region’s favorite cooking fuel. PGW heavily promoted the new technology. The company sold up to 500 hundred ranges, priced at $23.50, a day.

20s
1926 – PGW helped the City of Philadelphia become one of the first cities in the United States to actively replace coal-fired hot water heaters with heaters powered by natural gas.

1926 – A three-person Gas Commission is created to regulate PGW.

30s
1932 – The Girl Scouts of America baked and sold cookies for the first time in the windows of the Philadelphia Gas and Electric Company’s Arch Street location (this company eventually became part of PGW).

40s
1945 – The single-point ignition range was developed in PGW’s laboratory, a first for the industry, to give thousands of customers the ability to conveniently light their burners.

50s
1950 – With natural gas refrigeration gaining favor, PGW became the first U.S. utility to operate a refrigerator repair shop.

1955 – The matchless range became popular and the Northern Liberties Gas Company became the last of ten independent gas companies to merge with PGW.

60s
1960 – The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers at Franklin Field to win the NFL Championship.

1963 – In addition to 1.64 million customer appliances, the last 24 gas street lights on Independence Mall were converted in six months to burn today’s version of natural gas.

1967 – PGW’s culture of safety continues. Employees mark 1,000,000 more work hours without a lost time accident.

70s
1970s – PGW began constructing two, twelve-story Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) storage tanks at the company’s Richmond Plant. Today, they remain one of the country’s largest.

1972 – The Philadelphia Facilities Management Corporation (PFMC) is created as a non-profit corporation to operate and manage PGW under a contract with the City of Philadelphia.

1974 – The Philadelphia Flyers won the team’s first National Hockey League Stanley Cup Championship after a 1-0 win over the Boston Bruins.

1976 – Philadelphia, the nations’ birthplace with the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, grabs national attention as the U.S. commemorates its bicentennial.

1983 – The Philadelphia 76ers win their second NBA Championship by sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 0.

1983 – PGW won the American Gas Association’s Merit Award for helping to start the Utility Emergency Services Fund to help low income customers pay their utility bills.

2004 – The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Atlanta Falcons 27-10 to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time in 24 years.

2005 – Hurricanes Rita and Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast of the U.S. disrupting the lives of millions of Americans in addition to causing billions of dollars in damage and spiking natural gas prices to record highs.

2007 – The Comcast Center surpassed One Liberty Place to become the city’s tallest building in addition to making Philadelphia one of only four American cities with two or more buildings over 900 feet.

2008 – The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in five games to win their second World Series title.

2009 – PGW launched Pennsylvania’s largest natural gas energy conservation program to help 100,000 customers become more energy efficient.

2010 – PGW wins the American Public Gas Association’s prestigious Marketing and Sales Award and is named for the second time as one of 2010’s best diversity companies by the Diversity/Careers in Engineering and Information Technology magazine.

2011 – Under the leadership of David M. Seltzer, Chairman of the Board; Thomas E. Knudsen, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Craig E. White, Executive Vice President and Acting Chief Operating Officer; PGW begins 2011 with no short term borrowed funds, collecting 98 cents of every dollar billed and re-engineered Field Operations and Customer Service Departments generating over $20 million of cost savings and revenue enhancements.