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Reading Viaduct

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Coordinates: 39°57′36″N 75°09′32″W / 39.96°N 75.159°W / 39.96; -75.159
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This article is about the historic viaduct in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For the historic viaduct in Reading, Pennsylvania, see Lindbergh Viaduct.

Reading Viaduct / The Rail Park
View of Phase I of the Rail Park from just west of the 12th Street overpass
View of Phase I of the Rail Park from just west of the 12th Street overpass
Map
TypeElevated urban linear park; public park
LocationPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coordinates39°57′36″N 75°09′32″W / 39.96°N 75.159°W / 39.96; -75.159
OpenedJune 14, 2018 (2018-06-14)
StatusOpen

The Reading Viaduct, also called The Rail Park, is a disused elevated rail line in the Callowhill district of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that has been partly transformed into a rail trail.

In 2010, the Center City District and a new community organization, Friends of the Rail Park, began to evaluate options to convert the abandoned viaduct into an elevated park. Phase 1 of the park opened on June 14, 2018.

History

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Railroad use

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Reading Viaduct before transformation

The Philadelphia and Reading Terminal Railroad was incorporated on April 13, 1888, leased by the Philadelphia and Reading Railway on May 1, 1891, and soon began construction. The viaduct and terminal opened on January 29, 1893.[1] In 1984, the Reading Terminal closed, and Philadelphia's Center City Commuter Tunnel opened. The trainshed was incorporated into the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The section south of the Vine Street Expressway (I-676/US 30) was demolished to make way for the convention center.[2]

The viaduct was built by the Reading Company as an approach to the new Reading Terminal.[3] The viaduct heads north from Reading Terminal and at Callowhill Junction, forks, with Ninth Street Branch formally merging with the current SEPTA Main Line. The viaduct cuts through the street grid at a diagonal angle, creating several irregularly shaped lots.[2] Except for a gap caused by the construction of the Vine Street Expressway, and a few blocks at the north end, the viaduct still exists.

At Callowhill Junction, the City Branch turns west to join the former Reading Company main line at Belmont Junction. West of Noble Street, the City Branch descends into an open cut known as the Cut, which was operated by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. The Cut was used until 1992; the final freight customer on the Cut was The Philadelphia Inquirer.[4]

The Rail Park

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By the 1990s, the Reading Company's successor firm Reading International Inc. had offered to give the Philadelphia government $2–3 million to take over the viaduct. The city government did not accept this offer.[2] After New York City's abandoned High Line rail viaduct was converted to a public park in the 2000s, there were suggestions to convert the Reading Viaduct in a similar fashion. However, residents of Chinatown, Philadelphia, preferred demolishing the viaduct instead.[2] Planning for the park accelerated in 2009 after the Center City District joined the project.[5] In 2010, the Center City District and a new community organization, Friends of the Rail Park, began to evaluate options to convert the abandoned viaduct into an elevated park.[6][7]

The Philadelphia city and Pennsylvania state governments agreed in 2014 to provide money for the conversion of the Reading Viaduct into a park;[8] the city initially allocated $1.8 million to the project.[9] In 2015, the Center City District received another $1 million from the Philadelphia government.[10][11] The city proposed acquiring the spur from Broad to Callowhill Street,[12] and the City Planning Commission approved the acquisition in May 2015.[13] That June, the Philadelphia Art Commission approved designs for the section of the park between Broad and Callowhill streets.[14] Bryan Hanes was hired to design the first phase of the park.[15][16] The commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided a $3.5 million grant in September 2016, which covered the remaining funding shortfall,[17] and construction began on the Rail Park's first phase on October 31, 2016.[5][18] The Rail Park's first phase added a boardwalk, benches, landscaping, and swings,[16][19] and it also reinforced the existing bridge on 13th Street.[20][15] The first phase opened to the public on June 14, 2018,[21][22] having cost $11 million.[15]

Supporters of the Rail Park were raising $60 million for the second phase, including environmental work and land acquisition.[23] This was complicated by the fact that the route had never been formally abandoned; this meant that, in theory, the viaduct could be reopened to rail service at any time.[23] By 2024, Reading International wanted to sell the unused part of the viaduct for $50 million, a figure the Philadelphia government was unwilling to pay.[24] The William Penn Foundation gave a $2 million grant in August 2024,[25] and the federal government provided another $2 million for the park's second phase in January 2025, allowing design to proceed.[23][26] In addition, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania agreed to provide $475,000 for the project, and additional funds were being raised from private sources.[23] The second phase could connect with the proposed "Stitch", a highway cap above the Vine Street Expressway.[23]

Approaches

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Ninth Street Branch
Legend
mi
SEPTA Main Line
6.7
 Tabor
Newtown Branch
6.2
 Fern Rock
Bethlehem Branch
5.9
 Logan
Chestnut Hill East Branch
Low Grade Branch
5.1
 Wayne Junction
Richmond Branch
4.3
 Nicetown
4.0
 Tioga
Chestnut Hill West Branch
Norristown Branch
3.5
16th Street Junction
North Philadelphia
Northeast Corridor
2.9
 North Broad Street
1.8
 Temple University
Girard Avenue
Center City Commuter Connection
SEPTA Main Line
0.8
 Spring Garden Street
Willow and Noble Street Branch
0.4
City Branch
0.0
 Reading Terminal
This diagram:

The main line of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway (originally the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad and Northern Liberties and Penn Township Railroad) came into Philadelphia on the southwest side of the Schuylkill River and crossed at a point northwest of downtown (this line is now used only by freight). It then passed into a tunnel under Pennsylvania Avenue and turned east just north of Callowhill Street. The original alignment turned south along Broad Street, with a passenger station at Broad and Vine. The line continued east past Broad Street for freight to the Delaware River, using Willow Street.

The passenger station was later moved to half a block east of Broad Street, on the old freight line. The spur from the new viaduct was later built from the line just east of this station.

The other Reading line, originally the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad, and now used for passenger service by SEPTA, ran north on 9th Street from the east-west line on Willow Street. Its passenger station was at Ninth and Green, again where the new viaduct merged with the old alignment.[27]

Park description

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The Rail Park's first phase stretches from Callowhill Street to Noble Street, along the former City Branch.[15][28] To the west, it is accessed by a ramp at Noble Street, where that road crosses over 13th Street; this is the ADA-accessible entrance. At its east end is a staircase descending to Callowhill Street midblock between 12th and 11th streets.[28][29] There is a mural on the viaduct. The first phase of the park is open between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. each day.[29]

The Friends of the Rail Park's original plans called for renovating not only the entire Reading Viaduct from Vine Street to Fairmount Avenue, but also the City Branch to Girard Avenue.[4] The City Branch portion includes the Cut, an open-cut section from Broad Street to the Rodin Museum at 22nd Street. This connects with the Tunnel, a 3,000-foot (910 m) tunnel extending to 27th Street.[28]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Reading Terminal, Philadelphia
  2. ^ a b c d Walsh, Thomas J. (August 28, 2009). "Reading Viaduct 'another opportunity lost'". WHYY. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  3. ^ Pruden, Scott (October 26, 2018). "Philadelphia's new Rail Park is the city's answer to Manhattan's High Line". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Burnley, Malcolm (April 5, 2016). "Reading Viaduct Park Would Make Getting Around Philly Easier". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Blumgart, Jake (October 31, 2016). "First phase of Rail Park construction underway". WHYY. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  6. ^ "Rail Park". centercityphila.org. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  7. ^ Patten, Zach (September 13, 2013). "Rally for the Rail Park to Fundraise for Philly's Own High Line". Curbed Philly. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  8. ^ Carrión, Angelly (April 7, 2014). "Reading Viaduct Gets Funding". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2025; Graham, Troy (April 6, 2014). "Elevated park on rail viaduct finally firming up". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  9. ^ Graham, Troy (April 6, 2014). "Elevated park on rail viaduct finally firming up". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  10. ^ Saksa, Jim (June 10, 2015). "Councilman Squilla announces City giving Reading Viaduct Rail Park another $1M". WHYY. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  11. ^ Carrión, Angelly (June 10, 2015). "Rail Park Project to Get Additional Funding from City". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  12. ^ Jooste, Megan Ritchie (May 19, 2015). "The Gallery And The Reading Viaduct Are The Darlings Of Today's City Planning Agenda". Curbed Philly. Retrieved February 12, 2025; Brey, Jared (May 5, 2015). "City moves to acquire part of the Reading Viaduct". WHYY. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  13. ^ Brey, Jared (May 20, 2015). "Planning Commission approves Reading Viaduct acquisition". WHYY. Retrieved February 12, 2025; Jennings, James (May 21, 2015). "Headlines: The Rail Park Gets Go-Ahead from Planning Commission". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  14. ^ Golas, Matt (June 4, 2015). "Art Commission grants final approval to Reading Viaduct Spur and Market St. Memorial". WHYY. Retrieved February 12, 2025; Carrión, Angelly (June 4, 2015). "Rail Park Update: Philadelphia Art Commission Approves Design". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  15. ^ a b c d Hahn, Ashley (June 6, 2018). "In common: Rail Park opens, carrying the freight of a changing neighborhood". WHYY. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  16. ^ a b Orso, Anna (June 16, 2015). "This is what the Reading Viaduct, Philly's new High Line-like raised urban park, could look like... someday". Billy Penn at WHYY. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  17. ^ Weckerly, Anastasia (September 30, 2016). "Center City District Could Begin Construction on Viaduct Rail Park This Autumn Thanks to $3.5M State Grant". NBC10 Philadelphia. Retrieved February 12, 2025; Saksa, Jim (September 30, 2016). "Full funding secured for phase one of Rail Park". WHYY. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  18. ^ "$10 million city park upgrade". 6abc Philadelphia. November 1, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2025; Johncola, Amanda (October 31, 2016). "Old Train Tracks Turn Into Philadelphia's Own High Line". NBC10 Philadelphia. Retrieved February 12, 2025; Bender, William (October 31, 2016). "Viaduct Rail Park project officially underway". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  19. ^ "The Park | Friends of the Rail Park". Friends of the Rail Park. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  20. ^ "The long-awaited Rail Park is finally here". Curbed Philly. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  21. ^ Merriman, Anna (June 14, 2018). "Long-awaited Rail Park opens first phase". Curbed Philly. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  22. ^ Sasko, Claire (June 14, 2018). "PHOTOS: Philadelphia's First Rail Park Is Officially Open". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  23. ^ a b c d e Mosbrucker-Garza, Kristen (January 19, 2025). "Philly's Rail Park raises millions for next phase from state, federal grants". WHYY. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  24. ^ Donahue, Gabriel (July 6, 2024). "Philly faces $50 million price tag for essential part in Rail Park extension". WHYY. Retrieved February 12, 2025; Toussaint, Jensen (July 16, 2024). "Reading International Puts New $50M Price Tag on Essential Component in Philadelphia's Rail Park Extension". PHILADELPHIA.Today. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  25. ^ Blumgart, Jake (August 23, 2024). "Rail Park expansion one step closer to reality with William Penn Foundation grant". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 12, 2025; Toussaint, Jensen (August 30, 2024). "$2 Million William Penn Foundation Grant Moves Rail Park Expansion Closer to Reality". PHILADELPHIA.Today. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  26. ^ Ciavolella, Zach (January 9, 2025). "Center City District awarded $2M for Rail Park redevelopment". Metro Philadelphia. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  27. ^ Holton, James L. (1989). The Reading Railroad: History of a Coal Age Empire : The Nineteenth Century. Vol. 1. Laury's Station, PA: Garrigues House. p. 279. ISBN 0-9620844-1-7.
  28. ^ a b c Lubetkin, Steve (October 1, 2018). "Video Tour: Philadelphia Emulates NYC's High Line Park, Opens First Phase of Philly Rail Park". GlobeSt. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
  29. ^ a b "Rail Park Reviews". U.S. News Travel. January 1, 1970. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
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