Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnIII
The topic of a subway on Delaware Avenue isn't a new idea; they had one years ago and to build one would open an important question; would it be above ground in an elevated line which was the way the old subway was or would it be below ground. If the subway were below ground then it would be more costly especially because what is now Delaware Avenue was once the banks of the Delaware River; must of it is landfill; and it would possible require historical excavation such as old ship yard docks from the 1700's and earlier fortification that still exist under the surface like a British Fort built for colonial Philadelphia near what was called Wicaco Lane but is now Washington Avenue; that fort is still there under the surface probably. If you build an Elevated Subway the same excavations may still take place but the subway may be cheaper to construct.
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As an additional historical note,
all of Delaware Ave., from Center City down to Washington Ave., was once open river. The banks of the river were inland at what became Water Street, now largely under I-95. The avenue was first created in the early 19th century by filling in the area between the wharves, and then widened at the end of the century. There is no danger of finding fortifications for the old fort under Delaware Avenue. The fort used to stand on a hill; later, the hill was leveled, and the soil and rocks were used to fill in the river in order to build Delaware Avenue in that vicinity.
I first heard about the old Delaware Avenue elevated line from my grandfather, who remembered it well. It was an extension of the Market St. subway, which used to branch off of what became the Frankford El (which it predated) at around Arch Street, make a big loop and run southward to a terminus station at South Street. It was used, of course, to connect with the ferries before the construction of the subway line running over the Bridge to Camden.
Finally, I was a bit surprised that Tony Tone had not heard about the tremendous amount of destruction that I-95 caused to some of Philadelphia’s most historic and picturesque neighborhoods. Several hundred houses from the 18th and early 19th century (as well as industrial buildings, churches, etc.) were demolished, and thousands of people were forced to move. The publicized plans showed that
all of I-95 in Center City would be covered by a green park, but the work was never completed.