The city changed so much and so quickly between 1950 and 1990. The rise of color personal photography meant that city life could be documented more vividly than ever. 

And that’s where you come in. This art-quality book will be crowd-funded, but more importantly, crowd-sourced. That’s right – we want to include YOUR photos. PHILADELPHIA IN COLOR will be an historic record made for Philadelphia, by Philadelphia.

Do you have old COLOR photos of Philadelphia that you’re willing to share with us?

If we end up including your photo in the book, we’ll list your name in the acknowledgments and you’ll receive a FREE copy!

We’re looking for photos that capture:

• People interacting with places

• Street life

• Neighborhoods in transition

• Slice-of-life candids

• Places and cultural touchpoints that no longer exist today

Please note that images must be:

• Shot between 1950 and 1990, in Philadelphia

• Shot in color (no colorization of black & white photos)

• Exterior shots only (no home or building interiors)

NOTE: Should you receive an error when trying to access the photo submission form, please clear your browser cache and try again. Reach out if clearing your cache does not resolve the issue.

If you have slides, prints or negatives that haven’t been digitized, contact phillyincolor@hiddencityphila.org and we can coordinate a time to scan your physical images.

The deadline for photo submission is April 30th, 2025.

Don’t have any photos to share, but still want to contribute?