One place that must absolutely go on your bucket list if you are visiting Philadelphia is Reading Terminal Market (RTM). It’s located next to the Pennsylvania Convention Center and near City Hall. Reading Terminal is a huge, indoor market that is home to over 80 different merchants that sell a wide variety of foods and products. It is also one of the nation’s oldest public markets, opening in 1893. This year it has celebrated its 130th anniversary!
In 1890, the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company purchased a block of land in the city for its new terminal. However, two major markets were already located there, and they refused to move. The two parties ended up agreeing to having a new, combined market underneath the train tracks, and voilà! Reading Terminal Market was born! The market is 78,000 sq. ft and laid out in a grid system with 12 aisles running east-west and 4 avenues running north-south. The location of the market actually worked out for the benefit of everyone. The train company and RTM prospered off one another for years. Travelers could grab some food from the market, and there was also a delivery service. People living near Reading or Pennsylvania Railroad stations could place orders and get their food and products dropped off nearby. Even during the Great Depression and WWII, Reading Terminal managed to stay afloat. In 1944, 97% of the stalls were still occupied.
It wasn’t until railroad companies began to go out of business that the market faced the real possibility of shutting down. RTM gradually fell into a state of disrepair, and efforts to revive it didn’t begin until the 1980s. Eventually, the Pennsylvania Convention Center acquired the market from the Reading Company in 1990 and helped to bring it back to its former glory, while maintaining its historical charm.
Today, Reading Terminal is visited by thousands of tourists and regulars every week. You could get your breakfast, lunch, dinner and even dessert there if you really wanted to. Amish merchants from Lancaster County sell their freshly baked goods, including … pretzels! Workers at Miller’s Twist make all the pretzels by hand, and people can also buy breakfast pretzels stuffed with eggs, cheese, and/or meat.
For lunch, a great stop is DiNic’s Roast Pork and Beef for some quality sandwiches or cheesesteaks. The business has been family owned and operated for four generations. It started out as a butcher shop in the city in 1918 and eventually led to the sandwich shop in the late 1970s. DiNic’s opened in the market in 1980, and its roast pork sandwich has since been crowned the Best Sandwich in America in 2013.
After a nice big lunch, feel free to walk over to Bassetts Ice Cream, which calls Reading Terminal and Philadelphia home. Established in 1861, it’s the oldest ice cream company in America. Back in 1892, it became the first merchant to sign a lease at RTM, and the business continues to be operated by the very same family! There are around 40 different flavors to choose from, with vanilla being Bassetts’ signature classic.
With the abundance of food found at Reading Terminal Market, it is nearly impossible to walk out of there still feeling hungry.
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March 30, 2023 at 2:00 pmI visited the RTM in 5th grade on a school field trip to Philly, and it was mesmerizing to see the amount of shops packed together as shown in your last photo. While I think my teacher and chaperones were worried about not losing a 12-year old in there, most of us were concerned with finding the ice cream and other sweet treats. I never realized how much could fit into a small space, especially one that’s underground!
Olivia Cimbora
April 3, 2023 at 2:46 pmWow this place looks AWESOME! It’s so cool that they were able to take an unused plot of land and transform it into a thriving market. I’m sure this is the place to go with family or visiting friends, and if I am ever in that area, I will definitely check it out. Once again, I loved your use of pictures to elaborate on the blog, and I can definitely see the appeal of this attraction!