Uploaded September 2019 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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In the 1920's, Philadelphia was America's third largest city, with nearly two million residents. Philadelphians worked in factories that ran around the clock, flocked to speakeasies serving illegal liquor, and had plans for an elegant Parkway to celebrate urban greatness. But in every neighborhood, an entrenched system of domination by political bosses called the shots and reaped private financial rewards. It was the empire of the Vares - the family more powerful than any Mayor with a vice grip on Philadelphia's destiny. How will the city survive the grip of the Vares and what will happen when the Great Depression brings the roaring 20's to a crashing end?



Executive Producer: Sam Katz
Directed by Andrew Ferrett
Written by Nathaniel Popkin
Editor: Rachel Sophia Stewart
Associate Producer: Jonathan Kohl
Co-Producers: Andrew Ferrett and Nathaniel Popkin
Segment Producer: Wendy Cox
Director of Photography: Paul Van Haute
Original Music by Patrick De Caumette
Sound Design: Dan La Porta
Creative Director: Virginia Lasco
Narration by Michael Boatman