Spring Garden Street station was a train station in the Poplar neighborhood of

Philadelphia 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 was built by the

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 calle ...

and located on the

Reading Viaduct The Reading Viaduct, also called The Rail Park, is a disused elevated rail line in the Callowhill district of Philadelphia that has been partly transformed into a rail trail. In 2010, the Center City District and a new community organization, F ...

. Service to Spring Garden Street ended in 1984 with the opening of the

Center City Commuter Connection 250px, The ASCE plaque in Jefferson Station 250px, City plaque in Jefferson Station The Center City Commuter Connection, (CCCC) commonly referred to as "the commuter tunnel", is a passenger railroad tunnel in Center City, Philadelphia, Penns ...

, which bypassed the

Reading Terminal The Reading Terminal ( ) is a complex of buildings that includes the former Reading Company main station located in the Market East section of Center City in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It comprises the Reading Terminal Headho ...

, and the building was demolished in 2021.

History

Spring Garden Street was built adjacent to the old

Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad The Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad (PG&N) was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1831 and opened its first line in 1832, making it one of the oldest railroads in North America. The Philadelphia and Rea ...

depot at Ninth and Green, which had opened in 1851. Ninth and Green had been the primary Philadelphia terminal of 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 ...

since 1879 and the Reading had outgrown the facility. To replace it, the Reading constructed the

Market Street Market Street may refer to: *Market Street, Cambridge, England *Market Street, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia * Market Street, George Town, Penang, Malaysia *Market Street, Manchester, England *Market Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ...

, roughly to the south. Reading Terminal was linked to the existing railway line by a new elevated route carried by the

. Spring Garden Street was built to serve the elevated route. Both it and Reading Terminal opened on January 29, 1893, although the Spring Garden Street station building was not completed and tickets had to be purchased at Ninth and Green. Ninth and Green would remain open as a freight-only building until 1909, when it was demolished to permit additional track elevation. Spring Garden Street remained in use until 1984, when the new

opened. In March 2021, Reading International, the successor company to the Reading Company, filed paperwork to demolish the building. Arts & Crafts Holdings – a real estate development company – and nonprofit Scioli Turco sought a conservatorship over the building. Reading International handles the company's legacy properties and rights-of-ways. Nevertheless, Philadelphia's Department of Licenses & Inspections issued a permit to Reading International to demolish the station. Demolition began in May 2021.

References

{{SEPTA Regional Rail stations Former Reading Company stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1893 Railway stations closed in 1984 1893 establishments in Pennsylvania 1984 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Poplar, Philadelphia Former SEPTA Regional Rail stations Former railway stations in Philadelphia Buildings and structures demolished in 2021 Demolished buildings and structures in Philadelphia