Origins Open-air markets have flourished in Philadelphia since its founding. Growth of the city demanded more markets, and the string of open-air markets extending from the
Delaware River ran for six blocks, or one full mile, prompting the main street (then called High Street) to be renamed
Market Street in 1858. Soon after the markets reached their peak growth and capacity, the public began to perceive open-air markets within the city as dirty and unhygienic. Some residents also considered the frenzy of activity along the High/Market Street as a nuisance and traffic hazard. In 1859, city officials bowed to public pressure and dismantled all of them and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania chartered seventeen different market companies. This prompted two indoor markets to open at 12th and Market Streets, Franklin Market and Farmers' Market. These two would be the foundation of the Reading Terminal Market.
Expansion and growth The
Industrial Revolution brought with it the expansion of the railroad, and great palatial urban terminals sprang up in major cities. Architect F. H. Kimbal of the Wilson Brothers Architecture & Engineering firm designed the
Reading Railroad's
headhouse terminal in 1891, prior to its opening in 1893. The rails were elevated to reach the train shed platform built over top of the new consolidated market, which opened a year earlier. George McKay was chosen to be the market's first superintendent while the building was undergoing its final phase of construction. The state-of-the-art
refrigerated storage area in the basement opened for use in July 1893. The basement storage area consists of 52 separate rooms ranging in volume from for a total of of storage space. The temperature of each room can be controlled individually to meet temperature requirements for different goods: for meat and poultry, for fruits and vegetables. The refrigeration system uses brine water and ammonia, and includes an array of specially designed pumps, compressors, and other equipment in its operation. The storage area was more expensive to maintain and had a larger staff than the market itself, though refrigerating the basement storage area was thought to be well worth the high cost. It allowed merchants to keep seasonal products in stock all year round for the first time. Third parties also leased the storage area for storing other goods. Restaurants and plant and produce sellers around the area leased out space in the basement. Hospitals used the basement area to store perishable medicine. Local Breweries, including
Yuengling, used it to store their
hops. In its first few decades, the Reading Terminal Market was a success. There were 380 merchants in its first year of operations, and the market had nearly full occupancy for the following 60 years. Business, already good, flourished with the innovation of a free market basket service, which allowed suburban housewives to have grocery orders delivered and held at their nearest train station. Refrigerated trucks allowed the market to reach into some 60 suburban towns as well as seaside resorts along the
Jersey Shore.
Decline The
Great Depression of the 1930s brought hardship to the market. By the late 1930s, merchants were under increasing pressure from the
AFL and
CIO to join their respective labor unions. This led to a series of strikes that further disrupted business. The introduction and proliferation of supermarkets also hurt market business during the 1930s. One of these new establishments opened across 12th street, directly competing with the Reading Terminal Market. Pressure to compete with supermarkets led to fewer stalls being run by farmers, and more being run by
middle men reselling a variety of goods. On May 9, 1946, the Reading Terminal Market experienced its largest recorded crowd. Over 12,000 people gathered at the market to purchase meat, poultry, and pork products that were unavailable elsewhere due to shortages. The suburbanization of America and decline of the railroads in the 1950s and 1960s severely affected the market. The market began running on a deficit in 1954, and by 1959 was only 70 percent occupied, forcing Reading to raise rents. The state-of-the-art cold storage facility was shut down and dismantled, forcing tenants to supply their own storage. The closure and demolition of the
Dock Street wholesale market as part of
Society Hill's urban renewal program also impacted many resellers who relied on it for inventory. The Reading Railroad Company filed for bankruptcy in 1971, and ceased to function as a railroad business in 1976. The company continued to serve mainly as a real estate business, but paid little attention to managing and promoting the market, and pondered ways to get rid of the market so that it would be easier to sell the terminal building.
Rebirth In the 1980s, the Reading Company changed its attitude towards the market and began efforts to revitalize it. Those efforts continued after
SEPTA Regional Rail trains moved from the train terminal above the market to the new underground
Market East Station (now Jefferson Station) below it in 1984. In 1990, ownership of the Reading Terminal and the market passed to the
Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority (PCCA), and in 1994, Philadelphia City Council established a new, non-profit Reading Terminal Market Corporation (RTMC) to operate the market. The RTMC and the PCCA continued the revitalization program begun by the Reading Company, recruiting new tenants and increasing promotion of the market. By the mid-1990s to the 2000s, the market was once again living up to its founders' vision. Over 90% of its leasable space was occupied by profitable and stable vendors. The market is currently open 7 days a week, but not all vendors are open on Sundays. The Pennsylvania Dutch vendors are open Monday through Saturday. ==Today==