Welcome to the “PRESERVATIONIST’S BOOKSTORE!”
Browse our curated list of books on topics related to local history, architecture, social and cultural history, and preservation theory. Click below to review some interesting selections for the architect or preservationist in your life – maybe even you!
Delivery is available anywhere in the continental United States. A portion of every sale benefits the Preservation Alliance and a local independent bookstore.
If you prefer to browse books in person, we recommend Joseph Fox Books, located at 1724 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

2022 Spring Speaker Series
Paul, Eisenhauer. Wharton Esherick and the Birth of the American Modern. Schiffer Publishing, 2010.
The Wharton Esherick Museum. Wharton Esherick Studio & Collection. Schiffer Publishing, 2010.
Bascom, Mansfield. Wharton Esherick: The Journey of a Creative Mind. ABRAMS, 2010.
Lowenthal, David. The Past is a Foreign Country- Revisited. Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Vitiello, Domenic. Engineering Philadelphia. Cornell University Press, 2013.
Philadelphia’s Architectural History and Local Authors
Boudreau, George W. Independence: A Guide to Historic Philadelphia. Westholme, 2012.
Kyriakodis, Harry G. Philadelphia’s Lost Waterfront. History Press, 2011.
Mauger, Edward Arthur, et al. Philadelphia, Then and Now. 2014.
Meyers, Allen, and Joel Spivak. Philadelphia Railroads. Arcadia Publishing Library Editions, 2010.
—. Philadelphia Trolleys. Arcadia Publishing Library Editions, 2003.
Minardi, Joseph. City of Neighborhoods: Philadelphia: 1890-1910. Schiffer Publishing, 2020.
—. Historic Architecture in Northwest Philadelphia: 1690-1930s. Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 2012.
—. Historic Architecture in West Philadelphia, 1789-1930s. Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 2011.
Moses, Nancy. Fakes, Forgeries, and Frauds. Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
Moss, Roger W. Historic Sacred Places of Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005.
—. Historic Landmarks of Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008.
Rybczynski, Witold. City Life. Simon and Schuster, 1996.
—. Home: A Short History of an Idea. Penguin Books, 1987.
Local Architects
Bacon, Edmund N. Design of Cities. Rev. ed, Penguin Books, 1976.
Baker, Jean H. Building America: The Life of Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Oxford University Press, 2020.
Cooledge, Harold, and Sam Sloan. Samuel Sloan Architect of Philadelphia 1815-1884. Ishi Press, 2009.
Heller, Gregory L. Ed Bacon: Planning, Politics, and the Building of Modern Philadelphia. 2016.
Hirshorn, Paul, and Steven Izenour. White Towers. Rev. ed, MIT Press, 2007.
Kahn, Louis I., et al., editors. Louis Kahn: The Power of Architecture. Vitra Design Museum, 2013.
Kahn, Louis I., and Robert C. Twombly. Louis Kahn: Essential Texts. W.W. Norton, 2003.
Lesser, Wendy. You Say to Brick the Life of Louis Kahn. 2018.
Marcus, George H., and William Whitaker. The Houses of Louis Kahn. Yale University Press, 2013.
—. The Model Architect, Vol. 2. Ishi Press International., 2007.
Wilson, Dreck Spurlock. Julian Abele: Architect and the Beaux Arts. Routledge, 2020.
Social and Cultural History
Du Bois, William E. B. Black Reconstruction in America: 1860 – 1880. 1. ed, The Free Press, 1998.
Tour Guide Suggestions
Di Giacomo, Donna J. Italians of Philadelphia. Arcadia Pub, 2007.
Fishman, Robert M. Bourgeois Utopias: The Rise and Fall of Suburbia. Nachdr., Basic Books, 1999.
Heller, Gregory L. Ed Bacon: Planning, Politics, and the Building of Modern Philadelphia. 2016.
Rappleye, Charles. Robert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution. Simon & Schuster, 2011.
General Architectural History
Brand, Stewart. How Buildings Learn: What Happens after They’re Built. Penguin Books, 1995.
Ching, Francis D. K. A Visual Dictionary of Architecture. 2nd ed, Wiley, 2012.
Ching, Francis D. K., and James Eckler. Introduction to Architecture. Wiley, 2013.
De Botton, Alain. The Architecture of Happiness. 1. Vintage Internat. ed, Vintage Internat, 2008.
Fuqua, Jonathon Scott. American Rowhouse Classic Designs. 1st ed, Stemmer House Publishers, 1997.
O’Gorman, James F. ABC of Architecture. University of Pennsylvnia Press, 1998.
Vitruvius Pollio, et al. Vitruvius: Ten Books on Architecture. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Urban Development
Lynch, Kevin. The Image of the City. Nachdr., MIT PRESS, 2005.
Books for Kids and the Young at Heart
Beck, Barbara. The Future Architect’s Handbook. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd, 2014.
Bowkett. Archi-Doodle City: An Architect’s Activity Book. Laurence King, 2017.
Bowkett, Steve. Archi-Doodle: An Architect’s Activity Book. Laurence King Publ, 2013.
Burton, Virginia Lee. The Little House. Houghton Mifflin Co, 1988.
Ellis, Carson. Home. First edition, Candlewick Press, 2015.
Fantastic Cities. Chronicle Books Llc, 2015.
Fogliano, Julie, and Lane Smith. A House That Once Was. First edition, Roaring Brook Press, 2018.
Laroche, Giles. If You Lived Here: Houses of the World. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2011.
Macaulay, David. Built to Last. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010.
Historical Fiction Set in Philadelphia
Anderson, Laurie Halse, and Emily Bergl. Fever, 1793. Random House, 2000.
Bertino, Marie-Helene. 2 a.m. at The Cat’s Pajamas. First paperback edition, Broadway Books, 2015.
De Angeli, Marguerite. Skippack School. Herald Press, 1999.
Johnson, Mat. Loving Day. Spiegel & Grau :, 2016.
Marley, Christopher. Kitty Foyle. Amereon.
McBride, Shawn. Green Grass Grace. Simon & Schuster, 2003.
McKinney-Whetstone, Diane. Leaving Cecil Street. Harper Collins, 2005.
Meissner, Susan. As Bright as Heaven. First edition, Berkley, 2018.
Miller, Lynn H. Crossing the Line. AuthorHouse, 2010.
Wideman, John Edgar, and Imani Perry. Philadelphia Fire. 2020.
Are we missing a book that you think should be on one of our lists? Please email Jennifer at jrobinson@preservationalliance.com and we’ll see about getting it added.