Penn Center, Philadelphia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Penn Center
Neighborhood of Philadelphia
Penn Center in 2006
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Philadelphia County
City	Philadelphia
Area code(s)	215, 267, and 445

Penn Center is a very important area in Philadelphia. It's like the main business heart of the city. This area gets its name from the huge office and shopping complex it holds.

Penn Center is located between 15th and 19th Streets. It also sits between John F. Kennedy Boulevard and Market Street. This area helped bring Philadelphia into the modern age of tall office buildings.

History of Penn Center

For a long time, the Pennsylvania Railroad brought trains right into the city center. In 1881, they built the first Broad Street Station. It was just west of City Hall.

The Chinese Wall

Later, in the 1890s, the railroad built a long stone bridge. This bridge, called a viaduct, carried the train tracks. It stretched for 10 blocks towards the Schuylkill River. This huge structure created a barrier. People called it The Chinese Wall. It cut off the western part of the city. This made it hard for that area to grow and develop.

Most businesses in Center City were east of Broad Street back then. That's why the SEPTA Market-Frankford Line subway has no stops between 30th Street Station and 15th Street.

Moving the Trains

In 1925, the Pennsylvania Railroad decided to move its main station. They wanted to leave Broad Street Station. This would free up the land for new buildings. The railroad had grown too big for the old station. Also, the station was a "stub-end" type. This meant trains had to back out to leave, which was slow.

The railroad moved its operations to the new 30th Street Station and Suburban Station. These new stations were ready by 1933. But then the Great Depression happened. This was a time when the economy was very bad. It stopped the plans for new buildings. So, the railroad had to keep using Broad Street Station for some trains for almost 20 more years.

Broad Street Station finally closed completely in 1952. The plans to tear down the Chinese Wall and the old station were finished. Both were removed in 1953.

A New Vision for the City

Edmund Bacon was a city planner. He created a big plan for the four blocks that were now empty. Bacon named this new area Penn Center. He hoped it would become a busy business hub. He also wanted it to be a model for how cities could grow.

His plan included three large office towers. It also featured a walking area above ground. Below ground, there would be shops and businesses. Bacon chose Vincent Kling to design most of the buildings.

The Pennsylvania Railroad wanted to sell the land in small pieces. But the mayor, Joseph S. Clark, used his power. He made sure Bacon's big plan happened. People supported the plan at first. But later, some city planners criticized it. They felt putting shops underground made the street level less lively.

Growth and Modernization

During the middle and late 1900s, more offices moved into the Penn Center area. This happened because of the city's planning efforts. More people who worked in offices lived in the suburbs. So, city planners focused on making it easy to get to Suburban Station.

Today, the name Penn Center refers to 11 tall office buildings. Most of these buildings are connected. They link to the Suburban Station shopping area. This area was updated in 2007. It also connects to the larger Center City Concourse. The buildings share an underground entrance for deliveries on Commerce Street. Even the Comcast Center, which is not officially part of Penn Center, connects to this underground network.

Penn Center Buildings

The buildings in Penn Center are usually numbered in a circle. They start around One Penn Center, which is the oldest building. John F. Kennedy Boulevard, where many Penn Center buildings are, was called Pennsylvania Boulevard until 1964. It was renamed after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Geographic location

	Centennial District	Logan Square	Poplar
	Mantua		Center City East
		Center City West
	University City	Fitler Square	Rittenhouse Square

Images for kids

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  Broad Street Station (torn down in 1953), before 1901.

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  A 1903 photo of the train-shed wall on Market Street.