Philadelphia-Suburban Station was one of two replacement stations, plus 30th Street Station, built by the Pennsylvania Railroad to replace its original Philadelphia terminus at the Broad Street Station. This station is really the direct replacement of the original Broad Street station with this new station partially located on the station site. The new station is entirely underground except for a 21 story office tower built above it, One Penn Center a building that was the headquarters of the Pennsylvania Railroad from 1930 until 1957. The main station entrance through three sets of grand doors on the west side of 16th Street between John F Kennedy Blvd and Cuthbert Street has grade art deco doors beneath tall lettering that says Pennsylvania Railroad Suburban Station.
The station's main concourse is lined with shops and counter service eateries (named both MetroMarket and the Shops at Suburban Station on different signage). There is a fully staffed ticket office along one wall. To reach the trains there is a central bank of turnstiles for passengers to Tap their SEPTA Key Cards both to enter and leave the fare paid areas of the platforms (except for stub-end track 0 used by very few trains, it just has readers). These turnstiles lead into a central waiting area with benches and signs for various track assignments. To reach the trains, stairs, escalators, and elevators lead down to the two major platforms for through trains (in the center of this area) with slightly harder to find staircases and elevators (more in the back of the concourse) leading down to the stub-end platforms used by terminating trains from the west (including all Cynwyd Line trains that don't through run through the station).
This building and the station concourse and good examples of art deco design. The core of the station concourse above the stairs is lined with clad in marble columns. Very distinctive small art deco style lights fixtures line the ceiling. These light fixtures are a good visual indication to passengers that they have entered Suburban Station as they walk SEPTA Center City Pedestrian Concourse (or simply signed Philadelphia Concourse). This large concourse (although some sections are now closed off because of the COVID-19 pandemic) provides fully underground connections for over a mile with connections all the way from the Comcast Technology Center (the highest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere) along 19th Street all the way to 8th Street.
The SEPTA City Pedestrian Concourse (or Philadelphia Concourse as labeled on a different generation sign) means that Suburban Station is fully connected underground to Jefferson Station, the next Regional Rail stop. There are also underground connections to 15th on the Market-Frankford Line (be in the front of trains westbound, rear eastbound) and Subway-Surface Trolley Lines, plus City Hall on the Broad Street Subway, with underground connections continuing all the way to 13th, 11th, and 8th Stations on the Market Frankford Line, and the 13th-(Juniper) terminus of the underground Subway-Surface Lines.
It's impossible for me to describe all the entrances to Suburban Station at this time. I need to go back and explore it with a much finer tooth comb than rushing through it to catch Regional Rail trains as I continue my quest to visit all 155 Regional Rail Stations. The core of the station concourse is lined with shops and restaurant kiosks. The shops are advertised as MetroMarket on the elevator and subway street stair-style staircase at the SE corner of 17th Street and John F Kennedy Blvd. Other signage for the shops in the station advertise them as the Shops at Suburban Station.
Additional direct entrance street stairs are located the SE corner of 18th Street and JFK Blvd, and the SE corner of 16th Street and JFK Blvd. These three street stairs, including 17th Street's are each original and clad in decorative marble. A metal slab across from the actual staircase has “Pennsylvania Railroad Suburban Station” etched into it facing the Street.
Photos 1: September 13, 2011; 2-4: April 10, 2013; 5-9: September 1, 2024; 10-22: September 2, 2024; 23: September 3, 2024;
