FBI offers $10,000 reward for stolen Phila. painting

Seen the Fairmount Water Works? Tell the FBI where to find it and you could be up an easy $10,000.

The G-Men aren't looking for directions. Every Special Agent knows the neo-classical structure anchors Boathouse Row, perched on the Schuylkill River in the shadow of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

It's a 19th-Century painting of the Water Works the FBI is seeking.

On June 23, workers at the Philadelphia Park Systems at 15th and Arch Streets discovered a piece of art that had long hung on an office wall "was no longer there," said Jerri Williams, an FBI spokeswoman.

Though other art was on display, only the Water Works had gone missing.

The Mona Lisa it ain't.

Politely, it could be described as a picturesque view of a group of colonaded buildings on a river. Some might discount it as a dull architectural rendering.

Painted in 1842 by John A. Woodside, the canvas shows the famed Water Works before the construction of the Art Museum.

Its owners want it back.

Officially appraised by the FBI at $75,000, some experts have put the true value of the painting closer to $1 million due to its cultural significance.

The FBI's Philadelphia division is home to one of the most aggressive teams in the nation investigating the theft of art. The squad has recovered more than $215 million worth of stolen treasures since 2005.

Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 215-418-4000 or drop a dime anonymously at https://tips.fbi.gov/.