A history of the nearly 20-year battle to transform the Reading Viaduct into a public space

Almost 20 years after two Callowhill residents first dreamed up plans for a park along the Reading Viaduct, only a small section of the old rail tracks has been built into a public space, and development of the viaduct has been at a standstill for years.

But the city is renewing its efforts to build the Rail Park. Councilmember Mark Squilla in June introduced a bill to authorize the city to acquire the property from Reading International, an entertainment and real estate company, by any means necessary. Once acquired, the city would lease out the property to the Center City District for the annual price of $1, according to a proposed lease included in the bill.

Take a look back at the challenges to build the Rail Park over the years, from disagreements among the park’s surrounding neighborhoods, complications around the structure’s ownership, and a need to raise millions of dollars to make the project possible.

The viaduct structure was built by the Reading Railroad in the 1890s and used by trains to transport coal into the city to power its factories and homes. The tracks were used until 1984, when an alternate underground rail tunnel opened. Part of the viaduct was torn down in 1990 as part of the Pennsylvania Convention Center construction.

By 2004, two Callowhill residents created a nonprofit, which would later become known as Friends of the Rail Park, to explore the possibility of converting the abandoned area into a public park.

Center City District started working with Friends of the Rail Park, along with the city’s Commerce Department and the Department of Parks & Recreation to better understand the options for the area in 2010. That year, an environmental and feasibility study of the viaduct was commissioned, which concluded that it would be more expensive to demolish the structure than to repurpose it into a public space.

The proposal to repurpose the tracks into a public park was included in a citywide master plan in 2011, but surrounding neighborhoods were divided about what the future park should look like. Some residents in Chinatown wanted to tear down parts of it as the dark shadows cast by the viaduct were known as a crime area. And they were unhappy about the proposed creation of the Callowhill Reading Viaduct Neighborhood Improvement District, intended to clean up streets and carry out other improvements in the area surrounding the park. The district would have been funded by an additional 7% tax on property owners in the area.

Because the city still didn’t own most of the viaduct, the rehabilitation project focused on a quarter-mile section of the rail property owned by SEPTA. Designs for that section were presented, with input from the community, in 2012.

The viaduct project was one of several identified as part of an $11 million pledge to Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park Conservancy from the William Penn and Knight Foundations in 2015. That same year, Squilla introduced a bill to allow the city to acquire part of the rail property owned by SEPTA and, construction on the smaller park began in 2016. The cost to construct that smaller portion of the viaduct was estimated at $9.6 million at the time.

The first section of the Rail Park opened to the public in 2018. People flocked to take pictures at the scenic spot, and Mayor Jim Kenney said at the opening that the park would “serve as a stimulus for residential and commercial development.”

The quarter-mile stretch, made possible by the collaboration between Friends of the Rail Park, Center City District, and Department of Parks and Recreation, resulted in an area complete with benches to take in views of the city.

Designed by Studio Bryan Hanes, the rehabilitated area starts at Broad and Noble Streets and extends east to 10th and Callowhill Streets. It cost $10.3 million to build, of which the city and state funded almost $7 million, and the rest was made up of donations from foundations and individuals.

The opening did not quell disagreements among surrounding neighborhoods. In 2019, Callowhill and Chinatown clashed over distinct business improvement districts they wanted to build. Callowhill wanted to create a BID to clean up the lots surrounding the new Rail Park, but Chinatown worried that a district might fuel gentrification.

The head of Chinatown’s development group, John Chin, who once feared gentrification caused by the park, recently said that the project could be a good way to bring some green space to the area.

Reading International, the owner of the viaduct, hasn’t yielded to the city’s efforts to buy the structure. The city has tried to acquire the viaduct many times, even going as far as trying to use foreclosure, claiming unpaid property taxes. The company sent a check for the unpaid dues in response. The company has offices in Los Angeles and owns movie theaters across the country. It also owns other lots in Philadelphia, which have not been redeveloped and which have attracted illegal dumping.

Paul Levy, CEO of the Center City District, who has been working for years to make the park a reality, will lead negotiations with the structure’s owner as part of the plan outlined in Squilla’s most recent bill. Levy, who is retiring at the end of 2023, has pledged to raise the money necessary to build the whole park — which could cost over $35 million.

Friends of the Rail Park, which has been involved since its formation in 2004 and recently spent $100,000 devising a plan to develop a 3-mile public park as part of the viaduct rehabilitation, has expressed fear of being left out of future plans.