Reading Terminal Market

During out family Center City Adventure in Philadelphia with the kids yesterday we stopped in the Reading Terminal Market. This place is an adventure in itself and has been one of my favorite places my entire life.

On this particular trip we didn't get to spend a lot of time there. We just sort of passed through on our way to the train station and looked around for a bit. We had already had our lunch so at this point we were only buying a few things to take back home with us and to use the bathrooms. 

I have many fond memories of the Reading Terminal Market and have eaten there many times over the years. I would have loved to have had a Philly cheese steak while we were there. The old Reading Terminal Train Station used to be in the same building before everything changed with the construction of the new station and the new convention center. Now there is a Hard Rock Cafe where the station used to be but the market is still there and going strong.

In fact the market has been doing well and is on the rebound after a rough patch due to the pandemic and the closing of so many downtown offices and workspaces as people worked from home and were not taking the train to and from work. It was always fun to stop at the market whenever I was taking the train home from being downtown. 

As a kid I can remember taking the train downtown with my grandmother or great aunts to go to Wanamakers or Gimbles department stores around Christmas time and actually many times throughout the year. We would always stop at the market for goodies to take home. When I was taking some classes at the center city campus of Temple University I would usually stop at the market on the way back home on the train and bring something back.

There was a time in the early 2000's when I was in Philly for a library conference. We were on a lunch break and I had gathered together a bunch of attendees from around the country who were looking for a place to eat lunch and I took them over to the Reading Terminal Market. We picked up over a dozen people. I was like a pied piper and everyone was very happy. Some folks later told me the market was one of the highlights of their conference.

I'm looking forward to being in Philadelphia this coming year first in January for the birth of our new grandchild and then again in the spring for another visit. I plan to have that cheese steak sauce and onions at the Reading Terminal Market.