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to promote civic engagement in the Philadelphia region.Will anyone use PATCO's Franklin Square Station?
Thursday, May 21st, 2009 at 6:07 pm - by Alan Tu. Filed under: Transportation.
Humans may return to PATCO's ghost station / Image by Brian Weinberg
The closed subway station buried under Franklin Square could be reopened. PATCO, which operates passenger train service from Philadelphia to New Jersey, apparently believes increased development around Franklin Square has generated demand for the station’s reopening, according to a report by Paul Nussbaum in today’s Philadelphia Inquirer.
Ed Kasuba, a spokesman with the Delaware River Port Authority which oversees PATCO, says DRPA Chairman John Estey wants to see the station reopened but that there’s still a lot of planning that must be done to ensure this happens. So, no opening date has been set.
If this happens, it would be good news for Jersey commuters who want to visit Independence Mall or work nearby. It’s also great for the many WHYY employees who live in South Jersey. WHYY is located very close to the intersection of Sixth and Race Streets.
The area around Sixth and Race Streets has indeed seen increased activity lately. The National Constitution Center has brought pedestrian traffic further north on Independence Mall, and the amazing redevelopment of Franklin Square by Historic Philadelphia Inc. that has turned a park used by the homeless into a children s playground with a merry-go-round and a putt putt golf course. Also, a former hospital that borders Franklin Square to the west has been turned into luxury condos. All of this has created a much safer feeling area.
However, I still wonder if there will be enough riders to keep that station open. Nussbaum notes that station already has opened and closed four times since it was built in 1936. I am aware that the reopening of Franklin Square Station could be part of a DRPA plan to extend trolley service along Delaware Avenue. But that may cost a billion dollars or more. So, I’m not expecting that to happen anytime soon.
Several reasons to suggest it might not stay open. While the National Constitution Center has brought more tourists further north of Market Street, You don’t see tourists discovering Franklin Park. That’s because the National Constitution Center has locked all of its doors that open to Sixth Street.
The Franklin Square mini amusement park isn’t really that busy. I went up there this afternoon and the crowd was pretty light. Also, during the winter months it’s pretty much empty.
The sad truth is that Franklin Square is the victim of poor traffic planning. The park, which was created as part of William Penn’s plan for five open space parks, is fenced in by busy roads. If you’ve ever played the game Frogger, then you know what it takes to cross Race Street illegally.
Franklin Square is surrounded by busy roads
In the meantime, I know one thing that could generate the passenger demand that would justfy reopening that station, open a casino under Franklin Square (apologies to anyone buried in the mass grave there). It’s true, they used the park as mass burial site. Maybe that’s why the station - which you pass through on PATCO - always seems a little haunted.
So, what do you guys think? Do you think there is enough activity to justify reopening the PATCO station in Franklin Square Park? Should the station only be reopened if it’s part of larger Philly waterfront plan?
Related link:
I found this great archeological impact study on Franklin Square done for the group that eventually developed the park into the mini amusement park. Lot’s of interesting stories here. Like, Franklin Square is smaller than it used to be.
In 1933, a diagonal extension of Seventh Street was cut through the southwest corner of the
square to provide more space for traffic approaching the Benjamin Franklin Bridge (Anonymous
1933). Twenty years later, more of the square was sacrificed to improve traffic flow to the bridge. In 1954, 21 feet was shaved off the north and south sides of Franklin Square, permitting two additional traffic lanes on Race and Vine Streets (Anonymous 1954a).
May 21st, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Ever since the refurbishing of Franklin Square Park, I’ve been hoping PATCO would reopen the station, at least during the spring and summer months… maybe even year-round, given that there are now so many great cultural institutions, shops and restaurants in Old City.
If they do open it, I hope they leave the 1970s PATCO Station look intact, with the tile walls. It could be a lovely and functional time capsule that would make it easier for us New Jerseyans to reach that part of the city.
May 22nd, 2009 at 7:00 am
I have questions about the viability of Franklin Square station.
Although there is moderate residential development within a reasonable distance, pedestrian access to the square from the north and east is problematic at best, as discussed by Alan Tu above. Therefore, originating traffic from the site is likely to be insignificant.
While an increased number of people might have a destination in the area, other than NJ residents (and possibly tourists), not many people will use PATCO to get there. Unless an individual lives in close proximity to one of the four open PATCO stations in Philadelphia, there is little or no incentive for Pennsylvania residents to use PATCO to reach Franklin Square because of cost (an additional fare) or lack of significant time savings (especially with off-peak service intervals). Therefore, the market for Franklin Square as a destination is also limited.
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:13 am
Ha… Frogger… priceless!
Anyway, I’m excited about this opening and hope that it’s a sign of things to come in the long run concerning transit options along the waterfront.
The square is definitely a victim of poor planning as you say. What was that William Penn thinking? Putting a square in between what he must have known would become the nexus of so many major thoroughfares for those horseless carriages.
The streets around the square could definitely use some traffic calming.
May 23rd, 2009 at 3:23 am
Definitely. I think if you’re going to Chinatown, you might as well get out there and walk west instead of waiting to get out at 8th and walk north.
May 23rd, 2009 at 10:54 pm
A former student and I were just talking about this station as we rode the PATCO line home to South Jersey on Thursday night. The Art Deco ambiance is lovely, and the light constantly on at the end of the hallway going back from the platform is eerily seductive. If that light were off, few of us would probably have the same urgency to explore this hidden gem.
I’d love to visit the station just to take some photos someday before it is pulled down or “improved.”
May 24th, 2009 at 8:19 am
Pardon me for picking a couple of nits, but:
The design and tilework at Franklin Square station is not 1970s, though you could make a strong argument for Art Deco influences, as the station opened in 1936. The tilework, however, is identical to that found on the Broad Street Subway main line (Olney to City Hall: 1928; City Hall to Lombard-South: 1930; Ridge Spur: 1932). Prior to 1969, the “Bridge Line” was connected to the Broad Street subway system via a partial wye just south of Chinatown station (visible from New Jersey-bound PATCO trains just before they enter the curve leading into Franklin Square) and operated by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company/Philadelphia Transportation Company for the Delaware River Joint Commission/Port Authority after 1952.
I believe the 7th Street diagonal that sliced off Franklin Square’s southwest corner was intended to maintain traffic flow on 7th after Race Street was made one way against the direction traffic on 7th would have to travel to continue north on that street. A similar diagonal cut, again on 7th, lops off Washington Square’s northwest corner, and for the same reason. No such cut was made at Rittenhouse Square because 19th Street traffic can use Walnut to continue south; all that was done there was a slight widening of the intersection of Walnut and West Rittenhouse Square.
Speaking of Washington Square: I thought that, not Franklin Square, was the mass grave. Who’s buried in Franklin Square?
May 25th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
Alan,
On behalf of Historic Philadelphia, Inc., thank you for your kind words about Franklin Square’s redevelopment. We are pleased to tell you that while you may have visited the Square on a light day, in 2008, Franklin Square entertained 732,000 visitors. And the National Constitution Center has opened those sixth street doors for the season as of this weekend.
For anyone looking for a complete history of Franklin Square, feel free to read this:
http://historicphiladelphia.org/news-and-press/pdfs/press-releases/Franklin%20Square%20Backgrounder%202009%20PDF.pdf
Thanks for your voices!!
May 26th, 2009 at 7:23 am
@HistoricPhiladelphia. That’s great news about the National Constitution Center’s west side doors. I hope this helps introduce more visitors to Franklin Square. Also, thank you for providing the visitors numbers. That’s great.
May 31st, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Alan,
Thanks for giving credit for the use of my photo and for linking to the photo album. I have one request though - I’m shutting down my “Gallery 1″ installation. So could you update the photo’s link to instead point to the same album in my “Gallery 2″ installation? Here’s the URL you should use: http://www.railfanwindow.com/gallery2/v/TempByDate/album27/?g2_page=3
Thanks!
June 1st, 2009 at 7:24 am
@Brian. I”ve changed the link. You take great pictures.
September 29th, 2009 at 4:18 am
It could be a lovely and functional time capsule that would make it easier for us New Jerseyans to reach that part of the city.
February 2nd, 2010 at 6:39 pm
I would love for Franklin Square to be reopened. I hate walking to Olde City from 8th and Market station. It’s extra time I need to spend getting to where I need to be.
February 4th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
i think you might as well get out there and walk west instead of waiting to get out at 8th and walk north.
Thanks
Oyunlar