at the station in 1968 The portal station was opened October 15, 1955 eastbound and westbound opened November 6, 1955 by the
Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) as part of a larger project to move portions of the elevated
Market Street Line and surface trolleys underground. The original project to bury the elevated tracks between 23rd to 46th streets was announced by the PTC's predecessor, the
Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT), in the 1920s, but was delayed due to the
Great Depression and
World War II. The PTC's revised project also included a new tunnel for trolleys underneath the campus of the
University of Pennsylvania, continuing from the original western portal at 23rd and Market streets to two new portals, the other being at
36th and Ludlow streets for
Route 10. When constructed, the 40th Street Portal layout formed a “T” shape (seen in the picture above) with 40th Street crossing directly in front of the mouth of the portal. This configuration lacked the ability to turn trolleys around for emergencies and schedule adjustments and is dangerous for motorists, as they would often mistake the traffic light at the trolley portal mouth as Woodland Avenue and would sometimes turn into the subway tunnel causing delays, or suspend service. So in 1983, to solve this problem, the configuration was revised and a turnaround loop was constructed and 40th Street was removed from crossing directly in front. This is what made the portal, though, some cars, go through the portal and to the tunnel.
Trolley Portal Gardens In 2012, the
University City District began a plan to overhaul the 40th street portal. The plan included replacing asphalt with green space and landscaping, benches, bike racks, new lighting, and a cafe fronting
Baltimore Avenue. The University City District raised $2.1 million for the project. Groundbreaking was in December 2016, but construction did not start until June 2017. The
40th Street Trolley Portal Gardens officially opened to the public on September 27, 2018. In August 2021, the garden was cleared by University City District due to overgrowth obstructing visibility for trolley operators and attracting pests. The organization began replanting the garden in September 2021 with a new layout. File:40th Street Portal.jpg|New landscaping at the station in 2019 File:Trolley Portal Gardens - Pollinator Meadow.jpg|Walkway and pollinator garden in 2022 == References ==