19th Street station (SEPTA)

19th Street station is a subway station in Philadelphia. It is located underneath Market Street in Center City Philadelphia, and serves all routes of the SEPTA subway–surface trolley lines. The station was opened by the Philadelphia Transportation Company in 1907.

19th Street
SEPTA trolley station
Route 11 trolley arrives at the station bound for City Hall
Location	19th and Market Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	39.953278°N 75.171437°W / 39.953278; -75.171437
Owned by	Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Connections	SEPTA City Bus: 17, 38, 44, 48, 78 SEPTA Suburban Bus: 124, 125
History
Opened	1907[1]
Electrified	Overhead lines
Services
Preceding station SEPTA Following station 22nd Street toward 36th Street Portal or 40th Street Portal Subway–surface trolley lines 15th Street toward 13th Street
Former services
Preceding station Philadelphia Transportation Company Following station 24th Street toward 69th Street Market Elevated 15th Street toward Frankford
Location
19th Street Location within Philadelphia

Touches of the original 1907 station, such as columns and railings, still remain. The station lies in the heart of Philadelphia's financial district, steps away from the Philadelphia Stock Exchange and two blocks north of Rittenhouse Square.

History

Route 13 PCC streetcar at the station in 1980

The station was built by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT), and for the first two years formed part of a subway–surface trolley loop operating underground between 15th Street and the Schuylkill River.[1] In 1907, the Market Street subway–elevated line was completed from 15th Street to 69th Street.[1] The original line featured a bridge – located north of Market Street and south of Filbert Street – that carried both the subway and subway–surface lines over the Schuylkill River. The PRT bridge connected trolley lines in West Philadelphia to the underground subway–surface loop in Center City. 19th Street was originally the westernmost underground trolley station, as tracks rose up to an embankment west of the station to cross the PRT bridge.

The station originally served Routes 10,[2] 11,[3] 31, 34, 37 and 38. Route 31 was rerouted out of the tunnel in 1949 and buses replaced trolleys on routes 37 and 38 in 1955. Routes 13 and 36 began serving the station (and the subway–surface tunnel) in 1956.[4][5]

Modernization

Turnstiles were constructed on the westbound platform for the SEPTA Key fare collection system. As such, fares are paid prior to entering the turnstiles and not on the trolleys themselves as opposed to eastbound where riders must still pay upon entering the trolleys.

Station layout

Similar to 22nd Street station, the station has two low-level side platforms with a total of four tracks. The two inner tracks are used by Market–Frankford Line trains, which travel express between 15th Street and 30th Street.

G	Street level	Entrances/exits, buses
P Platform level	Side platform and unused fare control
	Westbound	←      Subway–surface trolley lines toward West Philadelphia (22nd Street)
	Westbound	←      Market–Frankford Line does not stop here
	Eastbound	→      Market–Frankford Line does not stop here →
	Eastbound	→      Subway–surface trolley lines toward 13th Street (15th Street) →
	Side platform and unused fare control

References

1. Hepp, John (2013). "Subways and Elevated Lines". The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia.
2. ISEPTAPHILLY Blog. "Route of the Week - 10". SEPTA. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
3. ISEPTAPHILLY Blog. "Route of the Week - 11". SEPTA. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
4. ISEPTAPHILLY Blog. "Route of the Week - 13". SEPTA. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
5. ISEPTAPHILLY Blog. "Route of the Week - 36". SEPTA. Retrieved June 2, 2020.

External links

• Media related to 19th Street (SEPTA station) at Wikimedia Commons
• SEPTA – 19th Street Station (archived)
• 19th Street Subway-Surface Trolley Line station (The Subway Nut)
• 19th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View