View source for Reading Terminal

{{Short description|Former rail station in Philadelphia}}
{{About|the former train station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|the terminal in Reading, Pennsylvania|Reading Franklin Street Terminal|other uses|Reading station (disambiguation){{!}}Reading station}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox station
| name = Reading Terminal
| style = SEPTA |style2 = SEPTA Former
| type = Former [[SEPTA]] [[regional rail]] station
| image = The_Reading_Terminal.jpg
| image_caption =
| address = 1115–1141 Market Street, [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]] 19107, U.S.
| coordinates =
| owned =
| line = [[Ninth Street Branch]]
| platform =
| tracks =
|connections=SEPTA at [[Jefferson Station (SEPTA)|Jefferson Station]] and [[11th Street station (SEPTA)|11th Street]]
| other =
| structure =
| depth =
| levels =
| parking =
| bicycle =
| accessible = No
| code =
| zone =
| opened = January 29, 1893<ref name="readingterm">{{cite news |last1=Williams |first1=Edgar |title=A Fond Adieu to Reading Terminal |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31389008/reading_terminal_november_6_1984/ |access-date=May 9, 2019 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=November 6, 1984 |pages=A1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31389019/reading_terminal_part_2_november_6/ A8]|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
| closed = November 6, 1984<ref name="readingterm" />
| rebuilt =
| electrified = Yes
| former =
| mpassengers =
| passengers =
| pass_system =
| pass_year =
| pass_percent =
 | other_services_header=Former services (SEPTA)
 | other_services_collapsible = yes
 | other_services= {{Adjacent stations|system1=SEPTA
|line1=Bethlehem|right1=Spring Garden Street
|line2=Chestnut Hill East|right2=Spring Garden Street|to-right2=Chestnut Hill East
|line3=Newtown|right3=Spring Garden Street
|line4=Norristown|right4=Spring Garden Street|to-right4=Elm Street
|line5=Lansdale/Doylestown|right5=Spring Garden Street
|line6=Pottsville|right6=North Broad Street|to-right6=Pottsville
|line7=Warminster|right7=Spring Garden Street
|line8=West Trenton/Newark|right8=Spring Garden Street
|system9=Conrail
|line9=Crusader|right9=Spring Garden Street}}
 | other_services2_header=Former services (Reading / B&O)
 | other_services2_collapsible = yes
 | other_services2=
{{Adjacent stations|system=Reading Company
|line1=Main Line|right1=Spring Garden Street|to-right1=Pottsville
|line2=Bethlehem Branch|right2=Spring Garden Street
|line3=Chestnut Hill Branch|right3=Spring Garden Street|to-right3=Chestnut Hill East
|line4=Frankford Branch|right4=North Broad Street
|line5=Newtown Branch|right5=Wayne Junction<!-- Skipped to Olney before 1940 -->
|line6=New Hope Branch|right6=Wayne Junction
|line7=New York Branch|right7=Spring Garden Street
|line8=Norristown Branch|right8=Spring Garden Street|to-right8=Elm Street
|system9=Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
|line9=Philadelphia-Jersey City|right9=Wayne Junction|note-mid9=Local
}}
|nrhp=
{{Infobox NRHP
| name                        = Reading Terminal and Trainshed
| embed                       = yes
| nrhp_type                   = nhl
| image                       =
| caption                     = Reading Terminal Headhouse
| location                    = 1115–1141 Market St., [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]
| coordinates                 = {{coord|39|57|9.41|N|75|9|34|W|display=inline,title}}
| mapframe                    = yes
| mapframe-custom             = {{Infobox mapframe |shape=none |line=none |marker=rail |marker-color=#888 |zoom=14 }}
| area                        =
| built                       = 1891–1893
| architect                   = [[Wilson Brothers & Company]] (train shed)<br /> [[Francis H. Kimball]] (headhouse)
| architecture                =
| added                       = June 30, 1972
| designated_nrhp_type        = December 8, 1976
| refnum                      = 72001170<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>
| designated_other1_name      = Pennsylvania state historical marker
| designated_other1_abbr      = PHMC
| designated_other1_date      = September 10, 2003<ref name=phmcdatabase>{{cite web |title=PHMC Historical Markers |work=Historical Marker Database |publisher=Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission |url=http://search.pahistoricalmarkers.com/ |access-date=December 10, 2013}}</ref>
| designated_other1_link      = List of Pennsylvania state historical markers
| designated_other1_color     = navy
| designated_other1_textcolor = #ffc94b
}}
}}
The '''Reading Terminal''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɛ|d|ɪ|ŋ}} {{Respell|RED|ing}}) is a complex of buildings that includes the former [[Reading Company]] main [[railroad station|station]] located in the [[Market East, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Market East]] section of [[Center City, Philadelphia|Center City]] in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], United States. It comprises the Reading Terminal [[Headhouse]], [[Trainshed]], and [[Reading Terminal Market|Market]].

==History==
===Construction===
In 1889, the [[Philadelphia and Reading Railway]] decided to build a train depot, passenger station, and company headquarters on the corner of 12th and Market Streets. The move came eight years after the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] opened its [[Broad Street Station (Philadelphia)|Broad Street Station]] several blocks away at 15th and Market Streets, and one year after the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] opened its [[24th Street Station (Philadelphia)|24th Street Station]] at 24th and Chestnut Streets.

The chosen location was occupied by an open-air market that had been in continuous operation since 1853. After loud complaints and much negotiation, the railroad agreed to purchase the markets for $1&nbsp;million and move them to a new structure: the [[Reading Terminal Market]], located to the rear (north) of the headhouse at 12th and Filbert Streets. This required the trainshed and all of its tracks to be constructed one story above street level, with trains entering and exiting the station via the [[Reading Viaduct]] and [[Ninth Street Branch]].
====Architecture====
[[File:New Terminal Depot at Philadelphia LOC 01533v.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|''New Terminal Depot at Philadelphia, Reading Railroad System'' lithograph, circa 1891]]
The headhouse was designed in 1891 by [[Francis H. Kimball]], and the train shed by [[Wilson Brothers & Company]]. Construction began that same year, and the station opened on January 29, 1893. At the time, the trainshed was one of the largest single-span arched-roof structures in the world.

The following year, the Wilson Brothers would build an even larger trainshed three blocks away, for the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]'s [[Broad Street Station (Philadelphia)|Broad Street Station]]. The Reading's trainshed is now the only such structure left in the United States.

The complex was fronted on Market by an eight-story headhouse that housed the passenger station and company headquarters. Built in the [[Italian Renaissance]] style, the headhouse has brick bearing walls with cast-iron columns and timber floors. Interior finishes include molded ornamental plaster and marble with cast-iron detailing.

===Reading Terminal Station===
[[File:Reading 9163 (RDC) Philadelphia in September 1964 (22262585688).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1|A [[Reading Company|Reading]] commuter train departs Reading Terminal, September 1964]]
Reading Terminal served the railroad's inter-city and [[regional rail]] trains, many of which are still running as part of the [[SEPTA Regional Rail]] system that connects Center City with outlying neighborhoods and suburbs, especially to the north. Many of those trains would be converted to electric power in a project that began in 1928 and basically completed in 1933, with the [[Newtown Branch]] being electrified to [[Fox Chase, Philadelphia|Fox Chase]] in 1966.

Daily traffic peaked during [[World War II]] with up to 45,000 daily passengers, then declined in the 1950s with the advance of road and air travel.

Major named inter-city trains in mid-20th century:<ref>{{cite journal |title=Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, Table 4 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=82 |issue=8 |date=September 1955}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Lehigh Valley Railroad, Table 1 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=82 |issue=8 |date=September 1955}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Reading Railway System, Tables 1, 7, 8 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=82 |issue=8 |date=September 1955}}</ref> 
* ''[[Black Diamond (train)|Black Diamond]]'': to [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]]'s Lackawanna Terminal (in partnership with [[Lehigh Valley Railroad]])
* ''[[Crusader (train)|Crusader]]'': to [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]] ([[Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal|Communipaw Terminal]])
* ''[[Interstate Express]]'': to [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]] (in partnership with [[Lackawanna Railroad]])
* ''[[King Coal (train)|King Coal]]'': to [[Pottsville, Pennsylvania|Pottsville]] via [[Reading, Pennsylvania|Reading]]
* ''[[Maple Leaf (LV train)|Maple Leaf]]'': to [[Toronto]] via Buffalo (in partnership with [[Lehigh Valley Railroad]])
* ''Schuykill'': to Pottsville via Reading
* ''Scranton Flyer'': to [[Scranton]]

The terminal buildings declined with the railroad's fortunes as maintenance budgets were cut. The Reading declared bankruptcy on November 23, 1971. The shed was placed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1972 and was declared a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1976.

In 1976, [[Conrail]] took over the freight operations of the Reading and other northeastern lines. The railroad's regional rail service went to [[SEPTA]], the regional transit authority for Philadelphia (though Conrail ran the services under contract from SEPTA until 1983). Still, the Reading retained ownership of its Terminal complex. SEPTA also gained control of the ex-[[Pennsylvania Railroad|PRR]] regional lines and consolidated all regional rail service.

The agency then launched the construction of the [[Center City Commuter Connection]], a rail tunnel to connect the former Reading Railroad commuter lines with the former Pennsylvania Railroad commuter lines at [[Suburban Station (Philadelphia)|Suburban Station]], the stub-end terminal of the ex-PRR network, located on the site of the former Broad Street Station. Because the stations were to connect underground—Suburban Station's terminal is located beneath the former PRR headquarters—the [[Market East Station (Philadelphia)|Market East Station]] was built to replace the Reading Terminal with its elevated platforms. The new station is adjacent to and partially under Reading Terminal.

Reading Terminal handled its last train, a specially made-up train using [[Reading electric multiple units|Blueliners]] from [[Lansdale, Pennsylvania|Lansdale]], on November 6, 1984.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Robbins|first=William|date=November 7, 1984|title=Old Station in Philadelphia Sees Its Last Train Pull Out|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/07/us/old-station-in-philadelphia-sees-its-last-train-pull-out.html|access-date=February 12, 2025|work=The New York Times|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Four days later, after final track connections were made to the Center City Commuter Connection tunnel, rail service on the ex-Reading Lines to and from Center City Philadelphia was via the Market East Station.<ref>Highsmith, Carol and Holton, James. ''Reading Terminal and Market: Philadelphia's Historic Gateway and Grand Convention Center'', Chelsea Publishing Company, January 7, 1994. {{ISBN|0-9620877-1-8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Nussbaum|first=Paul|date=November 12, 1984|title=Tunnel test a success, SEPTA says|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-tunnel-test-a/165268288/|access-date=February 12, 2025|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|pages=1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer/129015451/ 6]|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

===Later use===
In the years that followed, the Reading Terminal's fate was uncertain, with various proposals for replacement or [[adaptive reuse]].  Its demolition was staved off by a group led by urban-renewal advocate [[Edmund Bacon (architect)|Edmund Bacon]], who pointed to its landmark status and its location within the Market Street East Redevelopment Area. This urban-renewal zone stretched along Market Street from [[Philadelphia City Hall|City Hall]] to 6th Street.

[[File:Reading Terminal Market Sign.JPG|thumb|[[Reading Terminal Market]] sign]]
In 1993, the complex was chosen from among four candidates as the site for the new [[Pennsylvania Convention Center]] and purchased by the city's Redevelopment Authority of Philadelphia. After renovations completed in 1997, designed by [[BLT Architects]] in a joint venture with CLA, the headhouse became the center's main entrance, while the trainshed became its Grand Hall and ballroom, with meeting rooms and a hallway.  Originally built to accommodate the offices of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, this historic railroad facility (designed by the Wilson brothers, prominent 19th century architects and engineers) is the linchpin of Philadelphia's burgeoning commercial district east of City Hall.

Now renovated and remodeled street and concourse levels of the {{convert|175,000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} building accommodate a variety of retail and food service operations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blta.com/#/3/0/2/5/|title=BLTa – BLT Architects : A Return On Design – BLTa|website=BLTa}}</ref> The remaining space on the concourse levels of the headhouse became retail space.  The former Reading Railroad offices on the headhouse's upper floors were converted to meeting and ballroom facilities. It also contains more than 200 rooms for the adjacent [[Marriott Hotel]], to which it is connected by a skywalk and for which it serves as a secondary entrance.

The [[Reading Terminal Market]] was spun off under its own control. A nonprofit corporation was formed in 1994 to manage the market.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/about/rtmcmanagment|title=Reading Terminal Market website}}</ref>

==In film==
Several films have had scenes shot at the terminal, including the 1981 [[Brian De Palma]] film ''[[Blow Out]]'', the 1995 film ''[[12 Monkeys (film)|Twelve Monkeys]]'', and the 2004 film ''[[National Treasure (film)|National Treasure]]''.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Reading Terminal Station, Philadelphia, Pa, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views.jpg|Stereoscopic view of the Headhouse
File:PostcardPhiladelphiaPAReadingTerminal1906.jpg|Reading Terminal postcard, 1906
File:Reading Terminal Market.png|[[Reading Terminal Market]], SE corner 12th & Arch Sts., under the Trainshed
File:PA Convention Center Highsmith.jpg|[[Pennsylvania Convention Center]] Grand Hall, 1993 occupies the former [[train shed]].
File:Bassett's Ice Cream at Reading Terminal.JPG|Bassett's Ice Cream stand in the market
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|National Register of Historic Places|Trains|Philadelphia}}
* [[Baltimore & Ohio Railroad station (Philadelphia)]]
* [[30th Street Station]]
* [[Broad Street Station (Philadelphia)]]
* [[Suburban Station]]
* [[List of National Historic Landmarks in Philadelphia]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Center City, Philadelphia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Reading Terminal}}
* {{HABS |survey=PA-1528 |id=pa1051 |title=Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, Terminal Station, 1115–1141 Market Street |photos=10 |color=1 |cap=3}}
* {{HAER |survey=PA-417 |id=pa3514 |title=Reading Terminal, 11th and Arch Streets |photos=17 |color=1 |cap=2}}
* [http://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/app/image_gallery.cfm/20382 Philadelphia Buildings]
* [http://www.readingterminalmarket.org Reading Terminal Market]

{{SEPTA Regional Rail stations}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania}}
{{Philadelphia train terminals}}

[[Category:Former railway stations in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Former Reading Company stations|Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Former SEPTA Regional Rail stations]]
[[Category:Historic American Buildings Survey in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Historic American Engineering Record in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Market East, Philadelphia]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Railroad-related National Historic Landmarks]]
[[Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1893]]
[[Category:Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Repurposed railway stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Renaissance architecture in the United States]]
[[Category:Railway stations in the United States closed in 1984]]