Franklin Street station (Pennsylvania)

{{for|the abandoned subway station in Philadelphia| Franklin Square station}}

{{Infobox station

| name = Franklin Street

| style = SEPTA |style2 = SEPTA Former

| type = BARTA bus terminal
Former SEPTA regional rail station

| image = Franklin Street station 2024a.jpg

| image_caption = Franklin Street building front, now a restaurant in 2024

| address = Franklin Street and 7th Street
Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| coordinates = {{coord|40.3328802|-75.9242991|type:railwaystation_region:US-PA}}

| owned = BARTA

| line =

| platform = 2 side platform

| tracks = 2

| connections={{Bus icon|12px|Local Transit}} BARTA buses: All at the BARTA Transportation Center

| other =

| structure = Stone

| depth =

| levels =

| parking = Yes

| bicycle =

| accessible = Yes

| code =

| zone =

| opened =

| closed = June 30, 1981{{cite news |title=Rail Service Marks End of an Era |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43604728/septa_quakertown_july_29_1981/ |accessdate=February 4, 2020 |work=The News Herald |date=July 29, 1981 |location=Perkasie, Pennsylvania |page=1|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}

| rebuilt = February 8, 1929–February 25, 1930{{cite news |title=Contract Awarded for New Depot |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57870004/franklin-street-february-9-1929/ |accessdate=August 23, 2020 |work=The Reading Times |date=February 9, 1929 |page=7|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}{{cite news |title=New Reading Station Dedicated Yesterday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/57869890/franklin-street-february-26-1930/ |accessdate=August 23, 2020 |work=The Evening News |date=February 26, 1930 |location=Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |page=24|via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}
2013

| electrified = No

| former =

| mpassengers =

| passengers =

| pass_system =

| pass_year =

| pass_percent =

| other_services_header=Former services

| other_services= {{Adjacent stations|system1=SEPTA

|line2=Pottsville|left2=Leesport|right2=Birdsboro

|system3=Reading Company

|line3=Main Line|left3=Reading|right3=Neversink

|line4=Wilmington and Northern Railroad|left4=Reading|right4=Lorane

}}

| mapframe = yes

| mapframe-custom = {{Infobox mapframe |shape=none |line=none |marker=bus |marker-color=#000 |zoom=14 }}

}}

Franklin Street station is a former railroad and bus station in Reading, Pennsylvania. It currently is owned by Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority (BARTA) and hosts a brewpub restaurant operated by Saucony Creek Brewing Company.

Built by the Reading Railroad and dedicated on February 25, 1930, Franklin Street Station later served the SEPTA diesel service extending the Manayunk/Norristown Line to Pottsville. It closed when SEPTA cancelled the diesel service in 1981. BARTA acquired the building on December 14, 2005, and converted it into a bus depot in May 2013.{{cite web|url=http://www2.readingeagle.com/mobile/article.aspx?id=453889|title=From grim to grand: Franklin Street Station gleams again 2/20/2013 }}

History

File:POTTSVILLE 19720206.jpg

The Franklin Street station served the railroad from 1930 until 1981 when SEPTA diesel service ceased operations. Medium distance trains serving the station included the King Coal and Schuykill.'Official Guide of the Railways,' June 1961, Reading Railroad section, Table 3 From 1981 until 2013, the building sat vacant until BARTA acquired and refurbished the building for bus services. The plan was to alleviate overcrowded services at the BARTA Transportation Center located about a block away, as well as make an effort to preserve the historic station.{{cite web|url=http://m.wfmz.com/blob/view/-/20098360/data/1/-/bt2mn4z/-/Link--Franklin-Street-Station-history.pdf|title=Franklin Street in its heyday}} Grants from federal, state and local sources funded the acquisition and rehabilitation costs. The purpose for the acquisition was to create a multi-use complex in which the rehabilitation/renovation of the existing Franklin Street Station building and site was an integral component of the overall development of a transportation facility in the area. Between September 2013 and January 2014 BARTA bus service to Lebanon was operated from the Station. Due to low ridership, the bus service was discontinued.

In July 2017 the station was used for a multimedia art exhibition entitled "This is Reading" {{Cite web|url=http://www.lynnnottage.com/this-is-reading---outlet.html|title=This is Reading|last=|first=|date=17 July 2017|website=Lynn Nottage|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}

File:Franklin Street station.jpg

In June 2018, Saucony Creek Brewing Company leased the facility and opened a brewpub restaurant{{Cite web|url=https://www.readingeagle.com/money/article/saucony-creek-to-open-downtown-reading-location|title=Saucony Creek Brewery to open downtown Reading location|last=|first=|date=22 July 2019|website=Reading Eagle|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}} in July 2019.

There is a proposal to return SEPTA Regional Rail service to the station by way of an extension of the Manayunk/Norristown Line, providing passenger train service from Reading to Philadelphia. In 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation conducted a feasibility study on bringing passenger train service to Reading via Amtrak.{{cite news|last=Vasil|first=Jim|title=Reading to Philly rail study shows idea gaining steam|publisher=WFMZ-TV|location=Allentown, PA|date=January 11, 2021|url=https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/berks/reading-to-philly-rail-study-shows-idea-gaining-steam/article_d8c651b4-545f-11eb-8dd5-13a1ae1e4143.html|accessdate=January 11, 2021}}{{cite web|title=Reading to Philadelphia Passenger Rail Analysis|publisher=Pennsylvania Department of Transportation|date=December 2020|url=https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/wfmz.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/1c/c1c173ee-5460-11eb-88b2-b71a86748329/5ffcd898b752c.pdf.pdf|accessdate=January 11, 2021}}

References

Category:Former SEPTA Regional Rail stations

Category:Former Reading Company stations

Category:Former railway stations in Pennsylvania

Category:Transportation museums in Pennsylvania

Category:Museums in Reading, Pennsylvania

Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Berks County, Pennsylvania

Category:Bus stations in Pennsylvania

Category:Repurposed railway stations in the United States

Category:Railway stations in the United States closed in 1981