Филадельфиядағы «Ридинг Терминал» базары

Shopping center in Philadelphia

Reading Terminal Market is an enclosed public market located at 12th and Arch Streets in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It opened originally in 1893 under the elevated train shed of the Reading Railroad Company after the city of Philadelphia advocated to move public markets from the streets into indoor facilities for both safety and sanitary reasons. When the Center City Commuter Connection was completed in 1984, the Reading Terminal ceased operating as a train station, impacting foot traffic at the Market. The Reading Company then proposed using the Reading Terminal complex as the site for a new convention center. The site was chosen for the convention center, and in 1990 the Company transferred title to the complex to the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority. Presently, the Market still occupies the ground floor and basement levels of the Reading Terminal's former train shed which is now part of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Vendor stalls occupy the ground floor with entrances on Filbert Street to the South, Twelfth Street to the West, and Arch Street to the North. The stalls are arranged in a grid pattern with an open area in the center with tables and seating. Over one hundred merchants offer fresh produce, meats, fish, artisan cheese, groceries, ice cream, flowers, grilled cheese, baked goods, smoothies, crafts, books, clothing, and specialty and ethnic foods. Two of the vendors are descendants of original merchants from the initial opening in the late 1800s. The basement floor of the market holds the refrigerated storage area for vendor use. The storage area was considered state of the art when it was built, in 1893. Currently, the market is open every day of the week, although the Pennsylvania Dutch merchants (a small but significant minority) generally do not operate Sunday through Tuesday.

Open air markets have flourished in Philadelphia since its founding. Growth of the city demanded more markets, and the string of open air markets extending from the Delaware River ran for six blocks, or one full mile, prompting the main street (then called 'High Street') to be renamed 'Market Street' in 1858. Soon after the markets reached their peak growth and capacity, the public began to perceive open air markets within the city as dirty and unhygienic. Some residents also considered the frenzy of activity along the High/Market Street as a nuisance and traffic hazard. In 1859, city officials bowed to public pressure and dismantled all of them and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania chartered seventeen different market companies. This prompted two indoor markets to open at 12th and Market Streets, Franklin Market and Farmers' Market. These two would be the foundation of the Reading Terminal Market.

The Industrial Revolution brought with it the expansion of the railroad, and great palatial urban terminals sprang up in major cities. Architect F. H. Kimbal of the Wilson Brothers Architecture & Engineering firm designed the Reading Railroad's headhouse terminal in 1891, prior to its opening in 1893. The rails were elevated to reach the train shed platform built over top of the new consolidated market, which opened a year earlier. George McKay was chosen to be the market's first superintendent while the building was undergoing its final phase of construction. The state of the art refrigerated storage area in the basement opened for use in July 1893. The basement storage area consists of 52 separate rooms ranging in volume from for a total of of storage space. The temperature of each room can be controlled individually to meet temperature requirements for different goods: for meat and poultry, for fruits and vegetables. The refrigeration system uses brine water and ammonia, and includes an array of specially designed pumps, compressors, and other equipment in its operation. The storage area was more expensive to maintain and had a larger staff than the market itself, though refrigerating the basement storage area was thought to be well worth the high cost. It allowed merchants to keep seasonal products in stock all year round for the first time. Third parties also leased the storage area for storing other goods. Restaurants and plant and produce sellers around the area leased out space in the basement. Hospitals used the basement area to store perishable medicine. Local Breweries, including Yuengling, used it to store their hops. In its first few decades, the Reading Terminal Market was a success. There were 380 merchants in its first year of operations, and the market had nearly full occupancy for the following 60 years. Business, already good, flourished with the innovation of a free market basket service, which allowed suburban housewives to get grocery orders delivered to and held at their nearest train station. Refrigerated trucks allowed the market to reach into some 60 suburban towns as well as seaside resorts along the Jersey Shore.

Philbert the pig, a sculpture by Eric Berg, is the Market's mascot and donations made to this 'piggy bank' go to support healthy eating programs at The Food Trust. The market has been a filming location for several major motion pictures including Trading Places and National Treasure. More specifically, one of the market's stands, Tommy DiNic's Beef and Pork, was featured on the Travel Channel show Man v. Food as well as Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America. Mueller Chocolate Co. was featured on Guilty Pleasures on the Food Network, as well as on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern.