This paper poses a strategy for how Philadelphia can re-think its physical industrial history. The strategy calls for new, publicly accessible uses in old buildings that celebrate the city's almost forgotten industrial past. A case study focuses on the Lower Schuylkill River where many vacant industrial structures lie desperate for new uses. The main thrust of this paper is about how community and historically conscious development can create new cultural amenities and destinations for the city of Philadelphia through the re-use of existing industrial sites.