In 1984, the last train pulled out of Reading Terminal on Market Street in central Philadelphia. Regional commuter trains now use the tunnel under Center City, and there is no longer train service between Philadelphia and Reading. (Though, as a footnote, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has explored funding options for the Schuylkill Valley Metro that would run 94 miles to connect the two cities.)

Meanwhile, the mile-long viaduct between the Terminal and 8th & Brown has stood for 20 years as a weed-grown, litter-strewn reminder of a bygone era. It is also a place for the homeless to rest their heads 20 feet above the city streets. It is the Reading Viaduct.

The pictures, taken March 5, 2004, have been featured on Urban Photo, a Montreal-based web site devoted to, as its name might suggest, urban photography. They are roughly in order from the north end to the south end. If you like, here is a map I made in the days before Google Maps.

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