North Broad station, known as North Broad Street until 1992, is a
SEPTA Regional Rail
The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelp ...
station in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. It is located at 2601
North Broad Street (
PA 611) in the
Cecil B. Moore section of
Lower North Philadelphia, and serves the
Lansdale/Doylestown Line
The Lansdale/Doylestown Line is a SEPTA Regional Rail line connecting Center City Philadelphia to Doylestown in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Until 1981, diesel-powered trains continued on the Bethlehem Branch from Lansdale to Quakertown, Bet ...
and the
Manayunk/Norristown Line
The Manayunk/Norristown Line is a commuter rail service in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and one of the 13 lines in SEPTA's Regional Rail network. It has the fourth highest ridership and the highest operating ratio (58%) on the SEPTA Regional Rail ...
. The station has low-level
platforms on the outside tracks, with "mini-high" platforms for wheelchair and
ADA
Ada may refer to:
Places
Africa
* Ada Foah, a town in Ghana
* Ada (Ghana parliament constituency)
* Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria
Asia
* Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, ...
accessibility.
North Broad station is within a few blocks of the
North Philadelphia SEPTA-Amtrak station (formerly belonging to the
Pennsylvania Railroad), which serves Amtrak's ''
Keystone Service'' and ''
Northeast Regional
The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busi ...
'' and SEPTA's
Trenton Line and
Chestnut Hill West Line
The Chestnut Hill West Line is a commuter rail line in the SEPTA Regional Rail network. It connects Northwest Philadelphia, including the eponymous neighborhood of Chestnut Hill, as well as West Mount Airy and Germantown, to Center City.
Ro ...
, and the
North Philadelphia subway station on SEPTA's
Broad Street Line
The Broad Street Line (BSL), also known as the Broad Street subway (BSS), Orange Line, or Broad Line, is a subway line owned by the city of Philadelphia and operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The line ru ...
.
History
Huntingdon Street station
![Baker Bowl and Huntingdon Street station, 1928](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Baker_Bowl_and_Huntingdon_Street_station%2C_1928.jpg)
The
Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) built the
Connecting Railway
The Connecting Railway was a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, incorporated to build a connection between the Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad and the PRR in the city of Philadelphia.
Construction and assembly Connecting Railway
The PRR c ...
in 1867 to connect its main line to the
Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad
The Philadelphia and Trenton Railroad was a railroad from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Trenton, New Jersey. Opened in 1832, it became part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system in 1871. The majority of it is now part of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.
...
. By the early 1870s, New York Junction station was established where the Connecting Railway crossed over the
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad
The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail.
Commonly called ...
mainline in North Philadelphia. By the early 1880s, the Reading established 16th Street station a block to the northwest.
In 1888, the Reading announced plans to add local stations on the line, including one next to the
Baker Bowl, which had opened as the home of the
Philadelphia Phillies in 1887. By 1891, the company offered service to Huntingdon Street station as well as 16th Street. The station had two
side platforms
A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...
serving the line's four tracks, with a small station building facing Broad Street and Huntingdon Street. 16th Street station was closed in the early 20th century.
North Broad Street station
![Commuters at North Broad Street station, November 1960](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Commuters_at_North_Broad_Street_station%2C_November_1960.jpg)
In 1928, facing competition from the impending completion of the
Broad Street Line
The Broad Street Line (BSL), also known as the Broad Street subway (BSS), Orange Line, or Broad Line, is a subway line owned by the city of Philadelphia and operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The line ru ...
, the Reading decided to replace Huntingdon Street station with a larger station to rival the PRR's nearby
North Philadelphia station
North Philadelphia station is an intercity rail and regional rail station on the Northeast Corridor, located on North Broad Street in the North Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Southeastern Pennsylv ...
. Groundbreaking for Broad Street station was held on July 31, 1928 and demolition of Huntingdon Street station began immediately. The classical revival station, designed by
Horace Trumbauer
Horace Trumbauer (December 28, 1868 – September 18, 1938) was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of ...
, opened as North Broad Street in 1929.
The station featured two island platforms which served all four tracks, connected by an underground walkway to the station, street, and the
Broad Street Line
The Broad Street Line (BSL), also known as the Broad Street subway (BSS), Orange Line, or Broad Line, is a subway line owned by the city of Philadelphia and operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The line ru ...
's
North Philadelphia station
North Philadelphia station is an intercity rail and regional rail station on the Northeast Corridor, located on North Broad Street in the North Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Southeastern Pennsylv ...
.
Its grand design reflected pre-Great Depression optimism and plans for redevelopment of the surrounding neighborhood.
However, the Great Depression took away passengers and prevented the planned development, and the collapse of local industry after World War II further damaged the neighborhood. Ridership at the station dwindled as passengers opted for private cars or the more frequent subway. The station building was closed and sold for use as a motel in the 1960s; passengers continued to access the platforms through the pedestrian tunnel.
In 1981, the station was heavily damaged by fire.
Railworks
![North Broad station northbound platform (3), September 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/North_Broad_station_northbound_platform_%283%29%2C_September_2013.jpg)
On April 5, 1992, SEPTA began their 18-month-long
RailWorks
''Train Simulator Classic'' (originally ''RailWorks'' and ''Train Simulator'') is a train simulation game developed by Dovetail Games. It is the successor to ''Rail Simulator'', and was released online on 12 June 2009 and in stores on 3 July ...
project, which included two multi-month shutdowns of the Reading mainline from Wayne Junction to Market East for emergency bridge repairs. As part of the project, North Broad Street and
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...
stations were completely rebuilt.
Within two weeks of the closure, demolition of the old platforms was under way. The rebuilt station has two
side platform
A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platform ...
s serving only the outer tracks, which were chosen to straighten the curved tracks around the former island platforms and thus allow higher speeds through the station for express trains. The pedestrian tunnel was closed and filled; access to the platforms is via ramps from North Broad Street. The station, renamed as North Broad, reopened at the end of Railworks on September 5, 1993.
Before RailWorks, North Broad Street served 1,200 riders per day, many of whom were transferring to the Broad Street Line or changing for one of the few trains that stopped at Temple. With the addition of Regional Rail platforms at
Fern Rock Transportation Center
The Fern Rock Transportation Center is a SEPTA rail and bus station located at 10th Street and Nedro Avenue in the Fern Rock neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fern Rock serves as the northern terminus and yard for SEPTA's Broad Street ...
for RailWorks, substantially more service to Temple through the Center City tunnel after the conclusion of the project, and sharply reduced service due to only having two platform tracks rather than the previous four, the importance of North Broad declined significantly after RailWorks.
By 2001, under 300 riders used the station daily.
Station building reuse
In March 1996, the station building was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
.
That September, Volunteers of America began a $8.3 million renovation to convert the structure into 108 housing units for people transitioning out of homeless shelters. The organization previously had used part of the first floor for adult rehabilitation and counseling programs, but the structure was so deteriorated that only 18% of the floor space was usable. The first residents moved into Station House Apartments in August 1997.
Station layout
References
External links
SEPTA – North Broad StationBroad Street entrance from Google Maps Street View{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania
SEPTA Regional Rail stations
Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Philadelphia
Former Reading Company stations
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1929
Templetown, Philadelphia
Stations on the SEPTA Main Line
Horace Trumbauer buildings