01 - Development of the Venture






		The repositioning of the Reading Terminal for success in a new economy came about through a series of development activities, spanning a quarter century. In the late 1970s, David O'Neil took over management of the Reading Terminal Market, established in the lower part of the Reading Terminal train shed since the 1890s. It had been suffering from years of high vacancy, the steadily decreasing participation of both fresh-food purveyors and the farmers in the region. O'Neil succeeded in making the market a popular lunchtime destination for tourists and for Center City workers by attracting additional vendors who offered a wide variety of distinctive prepared-food selections—regional and ethnic—for eat-in or take-out. At the same time, better maintenance and operation of the market encouraged several of the traditional merchants, such as butcher Harry G. Ochs—a family business that had been a tenant since 1906—to continue leasing space. The market—one of the busiest, most engaging public areas in the region—now attracts a crowded blend of lunchgoers and grocery shoppers. During the same decade, construction began on the Center City commuter connection. This new project was the implementation of an old idea to build a tunnel joining two (now defunct) railroads: the Reading Company and the Pennsylvania Railroad, whose commuter lines are operated today by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. The $400-million project enabled the "Reading"-side riders to reach Suburban Station (a former Pennsylvania Railroad Station, located amongst downtown's principal office buildings), as well as 30th Street Station (a long-distance and commuter station, built by the Pennsylvania Railroad, now owned by Amtrak). At the same time, it allowed "Pennsy"-side riders to reach the new Market East Station—situated below the old Reading Terminal. The project, which involved five years of excavation and construction across four downtown blocks, drew much criticism from the press and the general public. However, the completion of this venture in 1984 made the region's public transit-system (railroads, subways, buses, and streetcars) accessible to a much broader base of riders. In the process, it set the stage for the Reading Terminal's new role in Philadelphia. Workers began clearing land for the much-debated Pennsylvania Convention Center, which occupies more than two city blocks and is principally located across Arch Street from the Reading Terminal. A pedestrian bridge (enclosing a portion of the old railroad viaduct) linked the new portion of the convention center with the former train shed. The exterior of the train shed was restored and the interior was converted to a 31,000-square-foot Grand Hall—the largest single area of the convention center complex. This 256-foot-wide, arched shed was made into a spectacular space for exhibitions and receptions. Yet when the convention center opened in 1993, the fate of the rest of Reading Terminal—the head house—remained unknown. Fortunately, that same year, the City of Philadelphia, through its redevelopment authority, acquired the head house—an objective dating from the early 1980s. In 1997, Mayor Ed Rendell announced that the new Marriott Hotel, which opened in 1993, would convert the head house to an extension of its main facility across 12th Street. This undertaking would include restoration of the Market Street facade; a splendid direct-from-the-street entrance to the Grand Hall; and transformation of the historic second-floor waiting room into an additional hotel ballroom. At ground level would be a restaurant (now a Hard Rock Café with a huge, pivoting guitar on the outside) and direct access to the underground Market East station, which flows into an urban shopping mall. The completion of this development enabled the Reading Terminal to serve—once again—as one of the region's centers of energy, attracting a daily mix of residents, workers, and visitors. In the book Neighborhood Recovery, John Kromer discusses the importance of the downtown economy as a source of jobs for neighborhood residents (Chapter 7, "Working the Economy"), but argues that economic success downtown does not guarantee a "trickle-down" of benefits for distressed neighborhoods (Chapter 1, "A Strategic Problem"). www.neighborhoodrecovery.com For information about the Pennsylvania Convention Center, contact: Public Affairs Coordinator Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority 1101 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 215/418-4757 voice 215/418-4747 fax www.paconvention.com For information about the Reading Terminal Market, contact: General Manager Reading Terminal Market 51 North 12th Street Philadelphia, PA 19107 215/922-2317 voice 215/922-2040 fax www.readingterminalmarket.org For information about the design of the Reading Terminal Head House, contact: Bower Lewis Thrower Architects, Ltd. 1216 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19107 215/563-3900 voice 215/563-3036 fax www.blta.com Cope Linder Associates 30 South 15th Street Philadelphia, PA 19102 215/981-0200 215/569-8651 www.cope-linder.com For information about the design of the Pennsylvania Convention Center, contact: Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & Associates 1230 Peachtree Street, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30309 404/888-6600 voice 404/888-6700 fax www.tvsa.com Vitetta 4747 South Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19112 215/218-4747 voice 215/218-4740 fax www.vitetta.com Kelly/Maiello Architects, Inc. Architects & Planners 1420 Walnut Street, 15th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19102 215/546-0800 voice 215/546-1420 fax www.kmarchitects.com
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