Yesterday, we wrote about the planned $50M renovation to Dilworth Plaza, next to City Hall. A much larger capital project, the rebuilding and renovation of I-95 to the north of Center City, got underway last year and will continue for about about a decade at a final cost of nearly $1B. Funny thing is, when you’re reinventing onramps, offramps, and interchanges, the resulting excavation will occasionally result in fascinating architectural findings. Before and Below I-95: Archeological and Historical Discoveries 2011 will give families a chance to experience those findings first hand.

A look at some of the work on the Girard interchange

Central Delaware Advocacy Group (CDAG) and URS Corporation are sponsoring this event, which will give attendees the opportunity to hear presentations, see 3-D images, and interact with displays that feature actual artifacts that have been dug up during PennDOT‘s construction work at the Girard Ave. interchange. Families can learn about the distant and recent past of the river wards, with artifacts from 6000 year-old Native American settlements, evidence of early manufacturing efforts, and stories from long-time residents of the area. Did you know that there’s a 160-year-old canal under Aramingo Ave. that’s still intact? Yeah, neither did we.

The event will take place at the New Kensington High School for the Performing Arts at 1901 N. Front St., right below the Berks El stop. The event will go from 6:30pm-9:00pm and admission is free.

If your schedule is open tonight, we suggest you check it out. Tonight’s event is a wonderful way to learn about some of the less well-known details of Philadelphia’s rich history.