Yesterday saw a big day for one of our very favorite (yet sometimes frustrating) public spaces in the city — the Reading Terminal Market. As Mayor Nutter cut the ribbon on Friday Architects/Planners, Inc.‘s $3 million renovation of the historic market, one thing was for sure: Any improvements at all would be welcome. To that end, Friday produced concrete results: Roughly 2,500 sq. ft. of additional leasable floor space; the new Rick Nichols Room, a multipurpose rental space, named after the legendary Philly food writer; new public restrooms and consolidated management offices. All of these cannot be underestimated as improvements (especially, if we are to be honest, the bathrooms; no amount of money would have been too much). But will these improve the pedestrian flow of the space? It wouldn’t be Friday’s fault if they didn’t; something tells us that people have been walking very, very slowly with mouths agape in the Terminal before we were born, and they will be doing so long after we die. Perhaps it’s the nature of the beast. We’ll meet you in the book stall later. Take your time.

More renderings after the jump.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 19th, 2012 at 1:57 pm.