Item Info
Media Type: Photographic Negatives
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes:
View of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Broad Street Station at the Northwest corner of Broad and Market Streets. View focuses on the office building portion of the station that served as the headquarters for the Pennsylvania Railroad company. A portion of City Hall can be seen on the left side of the image. Photograph taken shortly before the station's demolition in 1953.
"The Broad Street Station of was officially opened on December 5, 1881. The brick station was of Gothic design with a rather ornate Victorian appearance. Behind the station were four train sheds to protect passengers from the elements. The station was an immediate success, boasting 160 daily trains. The volume of passenger traffic steadily increased, so that by 1886, the number of passengers using the station averaged a million per month. As a consequence, in 1892, a mere eleven years after its opening, plans were submitted for the enlargement of the station. An office building that would serve as the Pennsylvania Railroad’s headquarters was designed by noted architect Frank Furness and added to the existing station." [1]
The Station closed in April of 1952 and demolition was completed in 1953.
William Rapp Collection. Donated by Frank and Ditta Hoeber. 2011.
[1] Hoess, Ron. (2008, December 11) Broad Street Station. PhillyHistory Blog. Retrieved from: http://www.phillyhistory.org/blog/index.php/2008/12/broad-street-station/
Creation Year: ca. 1953
Geocode Latitude: Geocode Longitude:-75.165108
Geocode Latitude:39.953415
Creator Name: Rapp, William Henry, Jr. - Photographer
Furness, Frank, 1839-1912 - Architect