The Durst Organization Donates 150,000 Artifacts Excavated from Vine Street Archaeological Site to PA Historical & Museum Commission

Recovered materials span four centuries of Philadelphia’s waterfront history

PHILADELPHIA – Following months of fieldwork and excavation, and a subsequent three-year preservation effort, The Durst Organization formally transferred 150,000 artifacts from archaeological discoveries at its Vine Street site along the Philadelphia waterfront to the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission.

Durst owns the Vine Street property at 300 North Christopher Columbus Boulevard and commissioned AECOM, the global infrastructure leader which provides archaeological preservation, to carry out the field investigations from February through August 2022. Over the last three years following the excavation, AECOM cleaned, cataloged, analyzed, and conserved the artifacts recovered from the site. This information was then synthesized into a massive report detailing the archaeological findings and what insights the excavation provided about early Philadelphia’s waterfront.

“Preserving history honors the legacy of what came before us. This collection offers a powerful connection to the stories and industries that helped shape Philadelphia, and we’re proud to help preserve and share what was found,” said Alexander Durst, Principal and Chief Development Officer, The Durst Organization.

The vast excavation produced artifacts with dates spanning the last four centuries. Early artifacts included shipbuilding tools from the late 17th to the mid-18th century, fishing and maritime supplies like rope, pulleys, tar barrels, pig iron, ballast stones, cannon balls, and physical structures like shipways and work areas.

The collection also includes vast quantities of material deposits as landfill trash from the surrounding neighborhood, which was used to build up the land inside the wharf structures that defined the waterfront. Due to waterlogged conditions, organic artifacts survived well, providing a complete picture of the material culture used at different periods in the waterfront’s development history. These bulk landfill deposits included cutlery, ceramics, glassware, smoking pipes, and food remains from nearby domestic residences.

Large collections of ceramic manufacturing debris, including kiln furniture, wasters, and saggars, were commonly encountered, as was the refuse from other trades, with shoemaking and furniture making. These deposits provide a snapshot of the neighborhood when a wharf section was created. The 18th century mercantile buildings atop these wharves produced predominantly structural remains. Structures include merchant warehouses, stores, and industrial bakeries for producing ship’s bread and maritime provisions.

“Excavations like this tell the story of how and why the Philadelphia waterfront is one of the most historically rich and culturally important places in the country,” said Joe Forkin, President, Delaware River Waterfront Corporation. “We see every project as an opportunity to preserve that legacy while creating new ways for people to engage with it. This collection adds depth to our understanding of the waterfront’s industrial roots and the communities that shaped it, helping us build a future that reflects and respects that past.”

Donating the artifacts to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission secures the collection in perpetuity. The collection will be stored at the State Museum of Pennsylvania where individuals can request to view them at any time. Additionally, local entities can request the items for special exhibits in Philadelphia.

“AECOM has worked on countless large projects in Philadelphia, including the I-95 GIR project, President House, Bartram's Garden South Meadow, Woodlands Cemetery, Shofuso Japanese House, Carpenters Hall, Franklin Square, and the Schuylkill River trail, to name just a few. Still, this Vine Street site was unique in its complexity, depth, and degree of preservation. Throughout the project, our team felt supported in its efforts to do what was best for the archaeological resources and share what we learned with the community,” said Joel Dworsky, Senior Archaeologist with AECOM. "The Durst Organization exemplifies a deep commitment to the heritage of the communities in which it operates. They've demonstrated this commitment by safeguarding sensitive areas of known archaeological sites important to the community and funding a full data recovery excavation. This excavation, which included a robust public outreach program with website postings and site tours for the community, meticulously documented half a city block's worth of Philadelphia's historic waterfront. The Durst Organization’s post-excavation support for the cataloging, conservation, analysis, and reporting on the recovered artifact collection ensures this invaluable resource will remain intact for future generations to learn from.”

The Vine Street site is rich in historical significance for the City of Philadelphia. A breakdown of the historical development includes:

• Late 17th, early 18th centuries: Shipbuilding becomes the dominant industry along the section of the riverbank.

• Late 18th, early 19th centuries: The area transitioned from shipbuilding to a mercantile waterfront focused on salt and flour storage, transport, and resale. Once bigger wharves were built into the river, warehouses and stores dominated the riverfront.

• 1850: A massive fire, “The Great Conflagration,” destroyed most of the buildings on the Vine Street lot and surrounding blocks. Once rebuilt, the areas in the northern part of Vine Street Lot continued to be occupied by mercantile storage focused on lumber and coal, with the southern part of the lot between Vine and Callowhill focusing on mercantile storage and trade in grain and produce.

• Late 19th and 20th centuries: The southern portion remained commercial, and the north became residential. Around 1900, the Pennsylvania Railroad acquired the land and built a railyard. In the 1960s, Hertz Rent-a-Car used the lot for truck rentals and maintenance.

The results of the archaeological data recovery project will be available to the public at [https://www.phillyarchaeology.net](https://www.phillyarchaeology.net).

The Durst Organization acquired the Vine Street site in 2020 and prepared plans for a proposed development. While the challenging financial market and escalating construction costs have paused the development timeline, the company continues to maintain the property and evaluate future development opportunities.