Reading Terminal Market celebrated its 130th birthday on Wednesday. Here are five facts you might not know about the Philadelphia favorite.
1. Reading Terminal Market is one of America's oldest and largest public markets
Reading Terminal Market opened for business on Feb. 22, 1893, but its storied history goes back to the founding of Philadelphia in the late seventeenth century. Informal markets allowed farmers and fishermen from New Jersey to sell their goods in the city.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, Philadelphia was home to a six-block string of markets that is now known as Market Street. When open air markets became less popular due to health hazards and issues with streetcar traffic, Farmers' Market and Franklin Market popped up at 12th and Market streets. They came together with Butchers' Market to form what we know today as Reading Terminal Market.
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2. The market is housed in a National Historic Landmark building
Reading Terminal Market opened in its current location at 1136 Arch Street in 1893. At its opening, the location was 78,000 square feet and had almost 800 spaces for merchants. The new state-of-the art location included the largest refrigeration facility in the city. By 1913, the market was home to 250 food merchants and 100 farmers.
The building was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1976 alongside the Reading Terminal Train Shed. The train shed is one of the only surviving train sheds in the country and one of the oldest in the world.
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3. In-town customers used to get free delivery
In its early years, the market was known for its free delivery service. So-called "Market brats" brought orders to in-town customers. Some merchants had their own fleet of trucks for deliveries and a parcel post department shipped products across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The market also started a free market-based service on suburban trains that allowed homeowners to arrange for their grocery order to be filled in the market and placed on a train bound for the customer's town and held at the station until they could pick it up.
After World War I, the market improved its delivery service with refrigerated trucks that provided hourly service to 60 suburban towns and resorts at the Jersey Shore.
Today, more than 40 merchants offer delivery within a 10-mile radius through their delivery partner Mercato. Sixteen merchants offer nationwide shipping.
4. One of the current merchants has been at the market since its opening
One of the nearly 80 merchants has been at the market since its opening 130 years ago.
Bassetts Ice Cream was one of the original merchants at Reading Terminal Market, signing its lease in 1893. The family is currently on its seventh generation of owners and operators. Today, you can choose from dozens of flavors, including its most popular, vanilla.
5. Reading Terminal Market has made it onto the movie screen
The market is featured in one of the many chase scenes in the 2004 action movie "National Treasure," which stars Nicholas Cage, Diane Kruger, and Justin Bartha. The 1983 Eddie Murphy movie "Trading Places" also featured footage of a butcher stand in Reading Terminal Market.
Several merchants have also been featured on food and travel shows. Tommy DiNic's Beef and Pork was featured on "Man v. Food" and "Adam Richman's Best Sandwich in America." Mueller Chocolate Co. was featured on "Guilty Pleasures" on the Food Network and "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern."
