Philly’s Reading Terminal Market Just Turned 130

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The Reading Terminal Market just celebrated its 130th birthday on Wednesday. Here are some interesting facts on America’s oldest and largest indoor market.

The year 1893 was known for many things… Grover Cleveland was sworn in as POTUS, Thomas Edison built the first motion picture studio, and the first gasoline-powered automobile was introduced to Americans. But none of that compares to the opening of Philly’s own Reading Terminal Market!

One of the nation’s oldest and largest markets to date, the Reading Terminal Market first opened its doors at the corner of 12th and Arch on February 22, 1893. It was the first market of its size to offer refrigerated storage. Fun fact… local breweries, most notably Yuengling, took advantage of the market’s state-of-the-art climate-controlled rooms to store their precious hops.

The Reading Terminal also first introduced grocery deliveries to the Philadelphia area. Using refrigerated trucks, various medicine and food items were delivered to train stations all across the surrounding suburbs, with some deliveries going as far as Atlantic City.

Fast forward to today, the Reading Terminal Market is still very much a staple of Philadelphia culture. Home to wildly popular merchants such as DiNic’s Roast Pork & Beef, Beiler’s Donuts, and Bassetts Ice Cream, a trip to the Reading Terminal is truly a special occasion for Philadelphians and tourists alike.