Broad Street (Philadelphia)
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| Broad Street | |
|---|---|
| PA Route 611 (from I-95 north to Old York Rd.) | |
| Length: | 12.5 mi (20.1 km) |
| Location: | Philadelphia County |
| South end: | Admiral Peary Way in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, South Philadelphia |
| Major junctions: |
 I-95 in South Philadelphia I-76 in South Philadelphia PA 3 (Market Street) in Center City  I-676/US 30 in Center City US 1 (Roosevelt Boulevard) in North Philadelphia |
| North end: |  PA 309 (Cheltenham Avenue) in Cheltenham Township |
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 (Cheltenham Avenue) and the southernmost part south of Interstate 95. The north–south street lies between 13th Street and 15th Street, in lieu of 14th Street. It is interrupted at the block containing Philadelphia City Hall, which stands where Broad and Market Street would intersect in the center of Center City; Broad meets Market as a pedestrian path at the center of the City Hall block.
SEPTA's Broad Street Line subway, which served about 110,000 riders per day in 2007, runs beneath Broad for most of its length. Distinguished by its orange cars, the subway starts in the Fern Rock neighborhood and extends through Center City to Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia.
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[edit] Cultural landmarks
Broad Street is home to several Philadelphia cultural landmarks. Between Spruce and Market Streets, it is called the Avenue of the Arts, where it is home to art galleries, the Academy of Music, and the Kimmel Center.
The South Philadelphia Sports Complex, near Broad's south end, is the site of Citizens Bank Park, Lincoln Financial Field, and the Wells Fargo Center. Defunct sports facilities JFK Stadium, The Spectrum, and Veterans Stadium were located in this area. As a result, the Philadelphia Flyers are nicknamed the "Broad Street Bullies." Broad Street often serves as the main parade route for Philadelphia sports championship parades; in the most recent, for the Phillies 2008 World Series victory, an estimated 2 million people lined Broad Street.[1] The largest gathering for a championship parade was for the Flyers in 1974.[1][2][3]
South of the sports complex and interchanges with the Schuylkill Expressway (Interstate 76) and Interstate 95, Broad Street has its southern terminus in the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.
The offices for The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News newspapers are on Broad Street just north of City Hall. Also located on North Broad at its intersection with Fairmount Street is the historic Divine Lorraine Hotel. Farther north, Broad passes through the campus of Temple University.
One of the busiest streets in the country, Broad Street is shut down for the annual 10-mile (16 km) Broad Street Run. Additionally, the section of Broad Street from near Oregon Avenue (Marconi Plaza) to City Hall, in South Philadelphia and Center City, is the traditional location of the Mummers Parade on January 1.
[edit] Other names
- "Avenue of the Arts" (from Locust Street to Washington Avenue). This section of Broad Street includes many prominent theater and concert halls, including the Academy of Music, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Merriam Theater, Wilma Theater, University of the Arts Gershman Hall, and Suzanne Roberts Theater. The street has "AA" lights all along the way, which is the abbreviation for Avenue of the Arts.
- Avenue of the States: from Washington Avenue to Oregon Avenue. Along this section of Broad Street fly the flags of all 50 states in the US.
- C. A. Tindley Boulevard: from South Street to Washington Avenue. This was dedicated to the late Charles A. Tindley, the father of gospel music. Tindley Temple United Methodist Church was his home, at the corner of Broad and Fitzwater Streets.
- Georgie Woods Boulevard: from Norris Street to approximately Cumberland Street.
[edit] Major intersections
- Pennsylvania Route 309
- Roosevelt Boulevard
- Vine Street Expressway
- Market Street
- Chestnut Street
- South Street
- Schuylkill Expressway
- Interstate 95
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Nunnally, Derrick (November 1, 2008). "A party for, oh, 2 million of their closest friends". Philadelphia Inquirer: p. F2. "Some in the news media guessed two million, about the same number long tied to Flyers parades in 1974 and 1975, and more than the current population of Philly."
- ^ Lin, Jennifer; Steele, Allison; Dwight Ott (October 31, 2008). "Parade for the Champs; Noon High: Million-plus expected at celebration". Philadelphia Inquirer: p. A1. "In the annals of Philadelphia sports parades, the biggest crowd turned out for the 1974 celebration of the Flyers' Stanley Cup. More than two million fans flocked to Broad Street."
- ^ "Thousands attend Phillies World Series parade". Yahoo! Sports. October 31, 2008. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=txphilliesparade&print=1. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
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