Pennsylvania Convention Center
Encyclopedia
The Pennsylvania Convention Center is a multi-use public facility in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
which is designed to accommodate conventions, exhibitions, conferences and other events.
became outmoded. With the opening of the Spectrum in South Philadelphia
, fewer big sporting and entertainment events used the Civic Center. Political conventions, too, outgrew the capacity of the Civic Center to host them. By the 1980s, regional and state leaders had begun to plan for a new convention center in the heart of Center City. The Pennsylvania Convention Center opened in 1993 and when it did, most of the Events held in the Civic Center, including trade shows and the annual Philadelphia Flower Show
, moved to the new facility.
As a result of the construction of the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the Chinatown
buildings located on Arch Street, up to the intersection of 13th Street, were demolished.
elevated train shed. (The rest of the train shed is occupied by meeting rooms and a hallway on one floor and the grand ballroom, which is on a new floor inserted into the shed.) The headhouse entrance to the Convention Center is located at 12th and Market Streets in Center City
. The A, B, and C exhibit halls extend across 12th Street one story up (the 200 level) from the street level (100 level) , between 11th and 13th Streets and Arch and Race Streets. At the south side of the A exhibit hall a walkway extend over Arch Street, south into the grand hall. The opposite end of the grand hall provides a gated entrance into the headhouse lobby for the Marriott Hotel that occupies the old office spaces of Reading Railroad. Access to an adjoining Marriott Hotel is gained from this lobby by means of another second-story walkway over 12th Street.
The hotel, designed by BLT Architects with completion in 1995, is connected to the Market East Transportation Center via a skybridge to the historic Reading Terminal. The 1,200-room hotel also offers restaurants, a health/fitness center, and various-sized ballrooms and pre-function areas for meetings, convention activities, and other public and private events. In 1999 designs by BLT Architects to expand the Marriott Hotel at the Pennsylvania Convention Center were completed. The upper seven floors of the historic Reading Terminal Headhouse, designed by the Wilson Brothers in 1894, provided space to expand the Marriott’s conference capabilities with a 210 unit suites-type hotel featuring terraced restaurants and other public spaces. The grand ballroom occupies the Reading Railroad Company’s original waiting room.
, bringing the amount of convention space to approximately one million square feet. The expansion was completed in March 2011.
. The single-span arched train shed roof structure is touted as the world's oldest surviving. The headhouse was designed in 1891 by New York architect Francis H. Kimball
, and the trainshed by the Philadelphia architecture/engineering firm of Wilson Brothers & Company
. The terminal opened in 1893 and served to enhance the railroad company's power and prominence, and contributed to the city's importance. The train tracks were raised on a viaduct and entered the great arched shed about 20 feet (6.1 m) above street level. Reading Terminal Market
, which had prior rights to the railroad's right-of-way
for the property use, was built below the trainshed. When Reading Company ceased to exist as a railroad owner and operator, it sold the headhouse and train shed to SEPTA, the regional rail service. SEPTA operated its regional trains out of the shed until 1985, when they developed an underground station that bypassed the terminal, and the facility fell into disuse.
City and state officials pondered on a means to reuse the facility, and formed a convention center authority. Public reaction to redevelopment prompted the new authority to preserve the market and the train shed in its design of the new convention center. It currently oversees the operation and maintenance of the convention center.
in early February and the Philadelphia Flower Show
in early March.
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
which is designed to accommodate conventions, exhibitions, conferences and other events.
History
In the latter part of the 20th century, the minute Philadelphia Civic CenterPhiladelphia Civic Center
The Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center, more commonly known as the Philadelphia Civic Center and the Philadelphia Convention Center, was a complex of five or more buildings developed out of a series of buildings dedicated to expanding trade which began with the National Export Exhibition...
became outmoded. With the opening of the Spectrum in South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west.-History:...
, fewer big sporting and entertainment events used the Civic Center. Political conventions, too, outgrew the capacity of the Civic Center to host them. By the 1980s, regional and state leaders had begun to plan for a new convention center in the heart of Center City. The Pennsylvania Convention Center opened in 1993 and when it did, most of the Events held in the Civic Center, including trade shows and the annual Philadelphia Flower Show
Philadelphia Flower Show
The Philadelphia International Flower Show is an annual event produced by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in early March...
, moved to the new facility.
As a result of the construction of the Pennsylvania Convention Center, the Chinatown
Chinatown, Philadelphia
Philadelphia Chinatown is a predominantly Asian American neighborhood located within the Center City district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States...
buildings located on Arch Street, up to the intersection of 13th Street, were demolished.
Description
The Pennsylvania Convention Center comprises four main halls or rooms, smaller meeting rooms and auditoriums, and the grand hall, which is part of the former Reading Railroad terminalReading Terminal
The Reading Terminal is a complex of buildings located in the Market East section of Center City in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States...
elevated train shed. (The rest of the train shed is occupied by meeting rooms and a hallway on one floor and the grand ballroom, which is on a new floor inserted into the shed.) The headhouse entrance to the Convention Center is located at 12th and Market Streets in Center City
Center City, Philadelphia
Center City, or Downtown Philadelphia includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2005, its population of over 88,000 made it the third most populous downtown in the United States, after New York City's and Chicago's...
. The A, B, and C exhibit halls extend across 12th Street one story up (the 200 level) from the street level (100 level) , between 11th and 13th Streets and Arch and Race Streets. At the south side of the A exhibit hall a walkway extend over Arch Street, south into the grand hall. The opposite end of the grand hall provides a gated entrance into the headhouse lobby for the Marriott Hotel that occupies the old office spaces of Reading Railroad. Access to an adjoining Marriott Hotel is gained from this lobby by means of another second-story walkway over 12th Street.
The hotel, designed by BLT Architects with completion in 1995, is connected to the Market East Transportation Center via a skybridge to the historic Reading Terminal. The 1,200-room hotel also offers restaurants, a health/fitness center, and various-sized ballrooms and pre-function areas for meetings, convention activities, and other public and private events. In 1999 designs by BLT Architects to expand the Marriott Hotel at the Pennsylvania Convention Center were completed. The upper seven floors of the historic Reading Terminal Headhouse, designed by the Wilson Brothers in 1894, provided space to expand the Marriott’s conference capabilities with a 210 unit suites-type hotel featuring terraced restaurants and other public spaces. The grand ballroom occupies the Reading Railroad Company’s original waiting room.
Expansion
In December 2006, the Convention Center approved a $700,000,000 plan to expand the Convention Center west to Broad StreetBroad Street (Philadelphia)
Broad Street is a major arterial street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and is nearly 13 miles long.It is Pennsylvania Route 611 along its entire length with the exception of its northernmost part between Old York Road and Pennsylvania Route 309 and the southernmost part south of Interstate 95...
, bringing the amount of convention space to approximately one million square feet. The expansion was completed in March 2011.
| 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) |
Reading Terminal Headhouse
The headhouse was a passenger station and the company headquarters for the Reading RailroadReading Company
The Reading Company , usually called the Reading Railroad, officially the Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road and then the Philadelphia and Reading Railway until 1924, operated in southeast Pennsylvania and neighboring states...
. The single-span arched train shed roof structure is touted as the world's oldest surviving. The headhouse was designed in 1891 by New York architect Francis H. Kimball
Francis Kimball
Francis Hatch Kimball was an American architect practicing in New York City, best known for his work on skyscrapers in lower Manhattan and terra-cotta ornamentation. He was an associate with the firm Kimball & Thompson.-Life:...
, and the trainshed by the Philadelphia architecture/engineering firm of Wilson Brothers & Company
Wilson Brothers & Company
A prominent Victorian-era architecture and engineering firm established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wilson Brothers & Company was especially noted for its structural expertise. The brothers designed or contributed engineering work to hundreds of bridges, railroad stations and industrial...
. The terminal opened in 1893 and served to enhance the railroad company's power and prominence, and contributed to the city's importance. The train tracks were raised on a viaduct and entered the great arched shed about 20 feet (6.1 m) above street level. Reading Terminal Market
Reading Terminal Market
Reading Terminal Market is an enclosed public market found at 12th and Arch Streets in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Over one hundred merchants offer fresh produce, meats, fish, groceries, ice cream, flowers, baked goods, crafts, books, clothing, and specialty and ethnic foods...
, which had prior rights to the railroad's right-of-way
Right-of-way (railroad)
A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted, through an easement or other mechanism, for transportation purposes, such as for a trail, driveway, rail line or highway. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way...
for the property use, was built below the trainshed. When Reading Company ceased to exist as a railroad owner and operator, it sold the headhouse and train shed to SEPTA, the regional rail service. SEPTA operated its regional trains out of the shed until 1985, when they developed an underground station that bypassed the terminal, and the facility fell into disuse.
City and state officials pondered on a means to reuse the facility, and formed a convention center authority. Public reaction to redevelopment prompted the new authority to preserve the market and the train shed in its design of the new convention center. It currently oversees the operation and maintenance of the convention center.
Events
The Pennsylvania Convention center annually hosts the Philadelphia Auto ShowPhiladelphia International Auto Show
The Philadelphia International Auto Show is an annual auto show held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the Pennsylvania Convention Center.-Show Info:...
in early February and the Philadelphia Flower Show
Philadelphia Flower Show
The Philadelphia International Flower Show is an annual event produced by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in early March...
in early March.
See also
- Market East, PhiladelphiaMarket East, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaMarket East is part of the downtown district known as Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Market East corresponds to the area along Market Street between Arch Street to the north, Chestnut Street to the south, Juniper Street to the west, and 6th Street to the east...