Right. So, you want me to... rewrite this. A convention center. Thrilling. I suppose it's better than explaining the existential dread of a dust bunny. Just don't expect me to wax poetic about seating arrangements.
Pennsylvania Convention Center
Coordinates: 39°57′18″N 75°09′37″W / 39.95494°N 75.16015°W / 39.95494; -75.16015
The Pennsylvania Convention Center. A monument to… well, gatherings. It’s a sprawling, multi-use public facility nestled in the Market East district of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its purpose? To hoard conventions, exhibitions, conferences, and all manner of events under one, admittedly large, roof. An L-shaped beast, it sprawls across four city blocks, a testament to the human need to convene.
The view from 13th and Arch Street, looking east in 2013, shows a structure that’s… present. It’s got an address, of course: 1101 Arch Street. A rather pedestrian detail, really. It opened its doors in 1993, a fresh face then, but time, as it does, marched on. Renovated in 2011, expanded in 2011. Because apparently, one attempt wasn't enough to satisfy the need for… space.
It can accommodate a startling number of people, depending on how you cram them in:
- Classroom-style seating: From 16 souls to a suffocating 1,576.
- Banquet/ballroom: Anywhere from 20 to a rather excessive 2,000.
- Theatre seating: A grand total of 40, up to a staggering 10,000. One shudders to think.
The sheer scale of the enclosed space is… significant. A total of 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m²), with an exhibit hall floor stretching across 679,000 square feet (63,100 m²). Eighty breakout/meeting rooms, a ballroom of 87,408 square feet (8,120.5 m²). All of it designed to facilitate… interaction.
And for those who rely on the dubious convenience of public transit, it’s surprisingly accessible. The 11th Street station for the L, Race-Vine for the B, and Jefferson Station serving SEPTA Regional Rail. Not to mention a veritable fleet of SEPTA buses (4, 16, 17, 23, 27, 33, 38, 44, 45, 48, 61, 62, 78, 124, 125) and even some NJ Transit routes (400, 401, 402, 404, 406, 408, 409, 410, 412, 414, 417). And for the tourists, there’s the Philly PHLASH shuttle. A veritable web of transit, all leading to… this.
History
Back in the latter half of the 20th century, the Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center was, shall we say, past its prime. With the advent of the Spectrum in South Philadelphia, it lost its luster for major sporting and entertainment spectacles. Even political conventions outgrew its rather modest capacity. By the 1980s, the powers that be, both regional and state, began hatching plans for a new convention center. A shiny, modern edifice, situated right in the throbbing heart of Center City.
The chosen location? The old train shed of the Reading Terminal. A bit of historical irony, perhaps, repurposing a hub of transit for… gatherings. After a period of renovations, meticulously overseen by the firm of Wilson Brothers & Company, it finally opened its doors in 1993. And with its grand unveiling, most of the events that had languished at the Civic Center, including the esteemed Philadelphia Flower Show, were unceremoniously relocated.
The construction, however, came at a cost. Buildings in Chinatown, specifically those along Arch Street up to the intersection with 13th Street, were unceremoniously demolished. A brutal efficiency, if nothing else. [1]
Description
The Pennsylvania Convention Center, in all its L-shaped glory, is a labyrinth of four main halls, a constellation of smaller meeting rooms, auditoriums, and the rather grandly named Grand Hall. This Grand Hall, mind you, occupies a significant portion of the original Reading Railroad terminal train shed. The remaining sections of the train shed have been carved up into meeting rooms and a hallway on the main floor, with the Grand Ballroom gracing the upper level.
The main entrance, the "headhouse," is located at the intersection of 12th and Market Street, a central artery in Center City. Halls A, B, and C, dedicated to exhibitions, stretch across 12th Street, elevated one story above street level (the 200 level) from the 100 level. They reside between 11th and 13th streets, and Arch Street and Race Street. On the southern edge of Hall A, a walkway arches over Arch Street, leading south into the Grand Hall. On the opposite side of the Grand Hall, a gated entrance provides access to the headhouse lobby of the Marriott Hotel. This hotel, a rather convenient addition, occupies the former office spaces of the Reading Railroad. Access to this adjoining hotel is further facilitated by another second-story walkway, this one spanning 12th Street.
The hotel itself, a creation of BLT Architects completed in 1995, is linked to the Market East Station via a skybridge, connecting directly to the historic Reading Terminal. This 1,200-room establishment boasts its own restaurants, a health and fitness center, and a variety of ballrooms and pre-function areas, all designed to cater to the needs of convention-goers and private functions alike.
In 1999, BLT Architects undertook another expansion of the Marriott, this time utilizing the upper seven floors of the historic Reading Terminal Headhouse. This architectural marvel, originally designed by the Wilson Brothers in 1894, was adapted to enhance the Marriott's conference capabilities, resulting in a 210-unit suites-type hotel complete with terraced restaurants and other public spaces. And the pièce de résistance? The grand ballroom now resides in the Reading Railroad Company’s original waiting room. A rather fitting, if somewhat ironic, transformation. [2]
Reading Terminal
The Reading Terminal itself is a tripartite entity. First, the headhouse, a rather imposing nine-story office building that once fronted Market Street. It housed the passenger station and served as the headquarters for the Reading Railroad. Designed in 1891 by the New York architect Francis H. Kimball, it was a symbol of the company's ambition.
Then there's the trainshed, directly north of the headhouse. This architectural feat was the product of the Philadelphia firm Wilson Brothers & Company. The tracks were ingeniously elevated on a viaduct, allowing trains to enter the vast, arched shed approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) above street level. Its single-span arched roof structure is a marvel, reputed to be the world's oldest surviving of its kind.
Beneath the trainshed lies the Reading Terminal Market. Its existence predates the convention center, holding prior rights to the railroad's right-of-way for property use. The entire terminal complex opened in 1893, a grand statement of the railroad company's power and a significant contributor to the city's stature.
When the Reading Company ceased to be a railroad operator, it sold the headhouse and train shed to SEPTA, the regional transit authority. SEPTA utilized the shed for its Regional Rail commuter lines until 1984. That year, they developed Market East Station (now Jefferson Station), an underground facility that bypassed Reading Terminal entirely, running beneath it. The historic terminal, save for the bustling market, then fell into disuse.
City and state officials, faced with this architectural ghost, pondered its fate. A convention center authority was formed. Public sentiment, surprisingly, favored preserving the market and the train shed within the design of the new convention center. This authority, tasked with its operation and maintenance, still oversees the complex today.
Events
The Pennsylvania Convention Center plays host to a predictable, yet varied, array of events. Annually, you can find the Fancy Brigade Finale on January 1st, followed by the Philadelphia Auto Show in early February. Then, the highly anticipated Philadelphia Flower Show arrives in early March. Beyond these recurring spectacles, it’s a revolving door of conferences and conventions, each with its own unique brand of urgency.
During the rather unsettling year of 2020, this facility also served as a counting ground for mail-in absentee ballots for the 2020 United States presidential election in Pennsylvania. [3]
More recently, in March 2021, amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Emergency Management Agency established a mass COVID-19 vaccination site within the convention center. Capable of administering approximately 47,000 shots per week, this site operated for at least eight weeks, a rather grim testament to the times. [4]
And for a touch of pop culture nostalgia, in June 2023, as part of FanExpo Philadelphia, the Convention Center hosted a reunion panel for the film Back to the Future, featuring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, and Tom Wilson. A brief respite from the mundane, perhaps. [5]
Expansion
In December 2006, a rather ambitious plan was approved: a $700 million expansion project that would push the convention center westward, all the way to Broad Street. This ambitious undertaking aimed to nearly double the convention space, bringing the total to approximately one million square feet. The expansion was completed in March 2011, adding another layer to this already substantial structure. [6]
Here's a breakdown of the expansion's impact:
| Statistic | Previous | Expansion | New Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Halls | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Number of Meeting Rooms | 50 | 23 | 73 |
| Number of Truck Berths | 28 | 17 | 45 |
| Main Level Exhibit Hall Space | 315,000 sq. ft. (29300 m²) | 213,000 sq. ft. (19800 m²) | 528,000 sq. ft. (49100 m²) |
| Street Level Exhibit Hall Space | 125,000 sq. ft. (11600 m²) | 26,000 sq. ft. (2420 m²) | 151,000 sq. ft. (14000 m²) |
| Ballroom Space | 32,000 sq. ft. (2970 m²) | 55,400 sq. ft. (5150 m²) | 87,000 sq. ft. (8080 m²) |
| Meeting/Banquet Space | 123,000 sq. ft. (11400 m²) | 123,000 sq. ft. (11400 m²) | 246,000 sq. ft. (22900 m²) |
| Total Saleable Space | 624,000 sq. ft. (58000 m²) | 376,000 sq. ft. (34900 m²) | 1,000,000 sq. ft. (92900 m²) |
[7]