thumb
The
Baltimore Pike was an auto trail in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, connecting
Baltimore, MarylandBaltimore is an independent city and the largest city in the state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore City in order to distinguish it from surrounding...
with
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth-most-populous city in the United States.In 2008, the population of the city proper was estimated to be over 1.4 million, while the metropolitan area's population of 5.8 million made it the country's fifth-largest...
.
Its northern section was renamed
Pennsylvania Route 12 in 1924. Much of the route was renamed
U.S. Route 1U.S. Route 1 is a major north-south U.S. Highway that serves the East Coast and is the oldest highway in the United States. It runs over from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border. U.S. 1 generally parallels Interstate 95, though it is significantly farther west ...
in 1926.
Despite its name, the road was not itself a former turnpike, but portions were, including the Chadsford Turnpike between Philadelphia and Chadds Ford, and the Baltimore and Jerusalem Turnpike between Baltimore and Bel Air, Maryland.
Until 1928, the route crossed the
Susquehanna RiverThe Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At approximately 444 mi long, it is the longest river on the American east coast, the 16th longest in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United States without commercial boat traffic...
on the
Conowingo BridgeSeveral incarnations of the Conowingo Bridge crossed the Susquehanna River at the original location of Conowingo, Maryland, USA, about two miles upstream of the Conowingo Dam, which replaced it.- History :...
, which was destroyed and replaced by the
Conowingo DamThe Conowingo Dam is a large hydroelectric dam in the Lower Susquehanna River. The dam, one of the largest non-federal hydroelectric dams in the US, is classified as a medium height, masonry gravity type dam...
.
Today, parts of the road are signed as
U.S. Route 1U.S. Route 1 is a major north-south U.S. Highway, extending from the Florida Keys in the south to the Canadian border in the north. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, US 1 runs for from the Maryland state line near Oxford to the New Jersey state line near Trenton.-Maryland to Interstate 476:US 1...
,
U.S. Route 13U.S. Route 13 passes through the Philadelphia metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The route enters the state from Delaware in Marcus Hook, Delaware County. It continues in a northeasterly direction through Delaware County, passes through Philadelphia, and continues into Bucks...
, and a small portion of
Pennsylvania Route 41Pennsylvania Route 41 is a major long state highway located in southeastern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at the Delaware state line in New Garden Township, where it continues as Delaware Route 41. The northern terminus is at U.S...
.
A section of the road within the city limits of Philadelphia and surrounding
boroughsIn the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, boroughs are a form of local government, a subdivision of a county. As of August 2005 there were 961 boroughs in the state....
is known as
Baltimore Avenue.
thumb
The
Baltimore Pike was an auto trail in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, connecting
Baltimore, MarylandBaltimore is an independent city and the largest city in the state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore City in order to distinguish it from surrounding...
with
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and the sixth-most-populous city in the United States.In 2008, the population of the city proper was estimated to be over 1.4 million, while the metropolitan area's population of 5.8 million made it the country's fifth-largest...
.
Its northern section was renamed
Pennsylvania Route 12 in 1924. Much of the route was renamed
U.S. Route 1U.S. Route 1 is a major north-south U.S. Highway that serves the East Coast and is the oldest highway in the United States. It runs over from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border. U.S. 1 generally parallels Interstate 95, though it is significantly farther west ...
in 1926.
Despite its name, the road was not itself a former turnpike, but portions were, including the Chadsford Turnpike between Philadelphia and Chadds Ford, and the Baltimore and Jerusalem Turnpike between Baltimore and Bel Air, Maryland.
Until 1928, the route crossed the
Susquehanna RiverThe Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At approximately 444 mi long, it is the longest river on the American east coast, the 16th longest in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United States without commercial boat traffic...
on the
Conowingo BridgeSeveral incarnations of the Conowingo Bridge crossed the Susquehanna River at the original location of Conowingo, Maryland, USA, about two miles upstream of the Conowingo Dam, which replaced it.- History :...
, which was destroyed and replaced by the
Conowingo DamThe Conowingo Dam is a large hydroelectric dam in the Lower Susquehanna River. The dam, one of the largest non-federal hydroelectric dams in the US, is classified as a medium height, masonry gravity type dam...
.
Today, parts of the road are signed as
U.S. Route 1U.S. Route 1 is a major north-south U.S. Highway, extending from the Florida Keys in the south to the Canadian border in the north. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, US 1 runs for from the Maryland state line near Oxford to the New Jersey state line near Trenton.-Maryland to Interstate 476:US 1...
,
U.S. Route 13U.S. Route 13 passes through the Philadelphia metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The route enters the state from Delaware in Marcus Hook, Delaware County. It continues in a northeasterly direction through Delaware County, passes through Philadelphia, and continues into Bucks...
, and a small portion of
Pennsylvania Route 41Pennsylvania Route 41 is a major long state highway located in southeastern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus of the route is at the Delaware state line in New Garden Township, where it continues as Delaware Route 41. The northern terminus is at U.S...
.
A section of the road within the city limits of Philadelphia and surrounding
boroughsIn the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, boroughs are a form of local government, a subdivision of a county. As of August 2005 there were 961 boroughs in the state....
is known as
Baltimore Avenue. In the further western suburbs, some sections retain the name "Baltimore Pike."
Streetcar service
The
West PhiladelphiaWest Philadelphia is a section of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Though there is no official definition of its boundaries, West Philly is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Line Avenue to the northwest, Cobbs Creek to the...
section of Baltimore Avenue has also carried streetcars since 1890, when tracks were laid for
horsecarA horsecar was an animal-powered streetcar or tram.These early forms of public transport developed out of industrial haulage routes or from the omnibus that first ran on public streets in the 1820s, using the newly-invented iron or steel rail or 'tramway'...
service. Electric-powered trolleys began operating on the avenue on January 13, 1895. Today, the avenue is served by
SEPTA Route 34SEPTA Route 34, also called the Baltimore Avenue subway line, is a trolley line operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority that connects the 13th/Juniper station in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the Angora Loop station in the Angora neighborhood of West...
, which runs on Baltimore from the subway mouth at
40th Street40th Street is an underground stop on the Market-Frankford Line, below the intersection of 40th Street and Market Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the border between the Spruce Hill and Powelton Village neighborhoods in the University City District of West Philadelphia.SEPTA bus routes at...
to the Angora terminal loop at 61st Street.