{"nrhp_refnum":"72001170","name":"Reading Terminal and Trainshed","other_names":["Philadelphia and Reading Railroad:Terminal Station and Train"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1115-1141 Market St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.95289124400006,"lon":-75.15909745660875,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-06-30","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1976-12-08","areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Engineering","Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A railroad passenger terminal in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built 1891-1893 for the Reading Railroad by Wilson Brothers, combining an eight-story head house, a wrought iron train shed and a market hall beneath the tracks.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the terminal is an engineering work of world significance, with the widest single-span train shed in the world at the time it was built and the oldest long-span roof structure in the world. It also cites its importance in transportation architecture and the continuous history of the Reading Terminal Market, which is described as a direct descendant of Philadelphia's original market founded in 1693.","narrative":"Built in 1891-1893 for the Reading Railroad in Philadelphia, the Reading Terminal is a stub-end railroad station with an eight-story head house of pink brick and cream terra cotta, linked by a concourse to a train shed that covers 13 tracks and 8 platforms. The shed is 559 feet long and 267 feet wide, its wrought iron three-hinged arches rising 88 feet. When completed it had the widest single-span train shed in the world, a position it regained in 1923 after the Broad Street shed of the Pennsylvania Railroad burned and was not rebuilt. The structure is regarded as the oldest long-span roof in the world and the sole surviving single-span arched train shed in the United States. Beneath the tracks lies a market hall, which was given space in the new building and kept operating during construction. The market is described as Philadelphia's principal farmers' market, with a history reaching back to 1693. The terminal still handles over 375 trains and 45,000 passengers each working day.","period_of_significance":"1891-1893","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Head house alterations include replaced cornice and parapet, enclosed second-floor office space, and conversion of lower levels to commuter service; the train shed remains in active use handling trains and passengers daily.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.491555-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/72001170.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001170/93ab545f8f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001170/93ab545f8f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Jersey856","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Reading_Terminal.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jersey856</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Reading_Terminal.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"84003531","name":"East Center City Commercial Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/east-center-city-commercial-historic-district-84003531/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997152","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Terminal","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q339098"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/reading-terminal-and-trainshed-72001170/"}