The purpose of this thesis is to explore the work of the Octavia Hill Association in Philadelphia. The history of Philadelphia's population, immigration, and housing issues prior to the last quarter of the 19th century are not included. For background information this thesis has utilized the following sources as the foundation of Philadelphia history: Sam Bass Warner's The Private City: Philadelphia in Three Periods of Growth, John F. Sutherland's essay "Housing the Poor in the City of Homes: Philadelphia at the Turn of the Century," and Caroline Golab's essay "The Immigrant and the City: Poles, Italians, and Jews in Philadelphia, 1870-1920."