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Commercial Corridors

    Putting the Market Street Elevated Underground

    Between 1947 and 1955, the Philadelphia Transit Company completed a subway tunnel for the Market Street Elevated west of the Schuylkill and took down the El between 32nd and 45th streets.

    An early 20th-century postcard displays the Market Elevated subway at 32nd and Market Streets.
    The Market Street Elevated ("The El")

    The Market Street Elevated or “El” shaped 20th Century West Philadelphia.

    Market Street Bridge and the Schuylkill River, 1900
    Entering West Philadelphia in 1900

    In 1900, streetcars, carriages, and pedestrians shared the Market Street bridge across the Schuylkill River.

    Philadelphia Evening Ledger page illustrating the Market Elevated's impact on West Philadelphia's growth in 1914.
    Social Impacts of the Market Street Elevated, 1900–1930

    From before its opening in 1907, the Market Street Elevated spurred tremendous construction and population growth in West Philadelphia.