The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 8

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, THURSDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 15, 1970 AERIAL COMPARISON OF BICENTENNIAL SITE 1970 ah ICS I JJL- -jBSite25 aawT1 SwSjj? POST jjCHUYLIOLLir PENN tV. OFFICE -JJ CENTRAL jS 1 Su. 1 ir statiqn Ti sr 'M CENTER gjgfe Nil new 4 Pi SCHUYLKILL iSK fe 7 EXPRESSWAY di If; SOUTHBOUND 1 A SSSsSss? pact A rs office S35 C-- CENTRAL -r-TSl I STATION tffl "if 5s? tS Site That Will Be Central Point of Bicentennial as Depicted by Model of 30th St. Area Transit Network For Fete Planned Bicentennial Board Releases Figures, But Holds Up Plans At $324 By SHErHEN SEPLOW Inquirer Transit Writer An extensive transportation network for an estimated $324 million was proposed Wednesday for the 1976 Bicentennial. The scheme, both for linking the various exposi I A I SOCIETY TV fa TOWERS lit fj tBMT 1- DELAWARE RIVER PENN'S 1 fSsitK ISLANDING I i Penn's Landing Would Be an Important Element Historic Sections of City major exposition site.

At one time Mayor James H. J. Tate publicly favored a Fairmount Park site and was supported by his former executive director of the Planning Commission, Edmund Bacon. When objections to the park site were raised by Senate minority leader Hugh Scott, opposition to the 30th st. plan cooled, but members of the city's financial community still demanded revised physical and economic plans which were prepared over the last 2lA weeks.

The plan approved Wednesday is an equal partnership between the Agenda for Action community development proposal and. the international exposition, with both being slated for expenditures of $277 million. STARTED IN 1957 Philadelphia received President Nixon's designation as exposition host city on Sept. 11 after recommendation by tne American Revolution bicen-tenial Commission on June 30. The commission's recommendation was forwarded to Mr.

Nixon on July 4. The city's quest for the bicentennial host slot began in September 1957 when then Mayor Richardson Dilworth asked the Junior Chamber of Commerce to develop a bicentennial plan. Further planning resulted in the appointment of the Philadelphia Bicentennial Committee of 200 by Mayor Tate in May 1965. That committee became the current corporation in March 1967 and presented its plans to the ARBC in September 1969 and again in January 1970. In late May the ARBC decided against an international exposition but at the urging of state leaders Philadelphia's plan received a "second chance" on June 23.

Final approval by the Bureau of International Expositions, the international exposition treaty or. ganization, is expected on Jan. 22 in Paris. To Be Included in Aerial View Is the Million A special Metroliner stop is planned in the Transportation Center and the minirail would also stop there. Riders could transfer to the east-west belts and people-movers or the north-south 30th st.

supplemental system. A rubber-wheeled tram, looking something like an elephant's trunk, would run from the south portion of Fair-mount Park along the river to Spring Garden west on Spring Garden to about 30th and then south to JFK Blvd. SMALLER SYSTEMS In all, the internal system at 30th st. is designed to carry about 116,000 persons a day. About 250,000 visitors are expected at the Bicentennial on each of its 184 days.

Planners believe about 45 percent of the crowd on any one day would visit the 30th st. site. The other sites North Philadelphia Station and Landing would hava similar but smaller transit systems, Gallery said. The transportation center at North Philadelphia will be a meeting spot for the Reading and Penn Central railroads and the Broad Street subway. A ground level still-to-be-designed system will run from Penn's Landing to 30th st.

along the Chestnut Street Mall. The Mall would be closed to traffic east of 22d St. BYPASS CALLED FEASIBLE While some experts have questioned the feasibility of building a Schuylkill Expressway Bypass by 1976, Gallery said engineers at the State Transportation Department in Harrisburg have said it could be done. The cost fo rthe road simplified in design since it was first proposed is estimated at $156 million, not counting right-of-way. Sketch Depicts 1 I m-f '78 Fete proposed by various community groups.

Also a hotel and day care center planned by the Manlua Community Planners and the Young Great Society, an English village in Kensington, a Community training center in West Philadelphia and a neighborhood renovation in Tioga-Nicetown. The bicentennial will occupy a total of 210 sites, not counting the 76 dispersed sites of various sizes. It would include about 80 acres at 30th st. and the Schuylkill River banns. 50 acres in the Penn's Landing-historical section, and another 50 acres on the Camden riverbank.

There would be nothing of major proportion located in Fairmount Park except for the possibility of ecological displays. Mustin Field at the Philadelphia Naval Base was not included in the final plans. By JOHN F. CLANCY Of The Inquirer Staff Penn's Landing, the city's historic area, North Philadelphia Station, and the Camden riverfront will be included in the 1976 Bicentennial Celebration along with the main site over the railroad tracks outside 30th Street Station. A major site would be the Penn's Landing-Independence Hall historical area.

This would include the city's colonial area, the Penn's Landing Development and the downtown Camden waterfront. On the Delaware's bank, it would extend from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge south possibly as far as South st. Across the river, it would occupy property now owned chiefly by the Radio Corp. of America and the Campbell Soup Co. The Penn's Landing-Independence Hall site would be devoted chiefly to the na tion's founding in that very area.

There also is a possibility that Pettys Island in the middle of the Delaware River opposite the Port Richmond railroad terminals will be developed for recreational purposes. Another major site will be the air rights over the Penn Central railroad tracks at North Philadelphia Station, Broad st. and Glemvood ave. Here would be located the overflow from the International activities and examples of urban development, community improvements and other projects devoted to the general good. The rest of the celebration will involve 76 dispersed sites around the city, none of which have yet been decided.

These would be the sites of urban renewal projects, cultural centers, community developments and various other projects Continued from First Page cording to corporation spokesmen. In effect, the master plan designates the entire city as the scene of the celebration, the planners say. FROM MID-APRIL The exposition will run from mid-April to mid-October in 1976 with the focal point being a July 4 commemoration. Funding for the project will be sought from all three levels of government and the business community, with nearly' 60 percent of the total expenditure expected from the Federal Government. PARKING SPACE Parking for 22 750 cars is planned, with 13,300 of those spaces planned for 30th st.

The 30Lh st. exposition site itself would total 3,438.000 square feet and the total exposition square footage would be 7.708,000. At the heart of the 30th ft. plans are a series of developments which are contemplated for completion prior to the exposition year. These include: TWO NEW OFFICE buildings totaling 1 million square feet, one at 31st and JFK blvd.

and the other at 31st and Walnut sts. TWO NEW HOTELS one of 800 rooms at 29th and Walnut and one at the present Century 21 site on the north side of JFK blvd. between 23d st. and the river. HOUSING UNITS for both temporary bicentennial use and permanent integration into the West Philadelphia community from Race to Spring Garden sts.

and from east of 31st st. to the proposed path of the Schuylkill Expressway bypass an area of approximately 12 acres in the northwest quadrant of the north station site; and an additional two acre site in the south station area at approximately 32d and Locust sts. A MERCHANDISE MART of three to four stories on the south site, totaling 300.000 square feet similar to the Place Bonaventure in Montreal. In addition, closed circuit television from the 76 dispersed sites throughout the city will be relayed to visitors viewing areas at the 30th st. complex, showing performing arts and other bicentennial activities as they happen live around the city.

NEEDS OF COMMUNITY After the board meeting David Crane, the corporation's chief architectural consultant, explained that the planners made every effort to match the needs of the exposition in 1976 to the needs of the community after the celebration. Crane also explained tiiat the 2V2 week interval between Wednesday's approval and the originally scheduled board meeting on Sept. 24 had produced a "practical working relationship with the City Planning Commission" and the corporation staff which was "invaluable." "Up until that time the city had been a distant observer" in bicentennial planning, he said. LOCATION OF SITES The plan approved by the board came after months of haggling within the corporation about the location cf the tion sites and for transport ing people around Philadelphia, includes several futuristic devices. In the plans are a minirail system, a rubber-wheeled tram, a Chestnut Street Mall with its own newly conceived transportation system, two transportation centers at 30th st.

and in North Philadelphia and a moving belt to carry people much like cans on an assembly line. SEPARATE ACCOUNTING Also included is a Schuylkill Expressway Bypass, a midcity tunnel to connect Reading Terminal and Suburban Station, and completion of the Vine Street and Delaware Expressways. The tunnel, at about $90 million, and completion of the two expressways were excluded from the $324 million figure. "These are projects that were designed for the area even without the Bicentennial," said John Gallery, coordinator of physical development for the Bicentennial Corp. Gallery said the Federal Government would be expected to furnish about $277 million for transportation facilities, and that completion of the network would depend on simplifying of administrative procedures and a no-strike agreement with construction unions.

MINT-MONORAIL "If we don't get the money from the Federal Government, there is no way to do it," Gallery said. "If they say they want the Bicentennial, they'll have to pay for it." The 30th St. site, where 45 percent of the exposition activity is to occur, will be furnished with the most intricate transportation pattern, according to the plans. Central to the job of moving visitors around the site will be an elevated minirail (a mini-monorail) from the Civic Center at 34th st. and Convention blvd.

through the exposition site, across the Schuylkill to the east bank, and north along the river into the park north of the Art Museum. SEVERAL STOPS The system will be designed to carry 5000 to 10,000 passengers an hour, depending oa the capacity of the cars used, and it will include several stops. A supplemental system is to transport passengers among the main exposition areas crossed by the monorail. The latter system would run from just north of 30th Street Station to just south of Walnut st. A major transportation feature is to run from the east side of the Schuylkill almost to 32d st.

This would be the movable belt plus a people-mover small cars running on a similar belt. METROLINER STOP The belts would transport people from the large exposi tion space in the west portion of the site to the exposition space and park on the east in the Exposition 30th St. Station Built to Serve 1876 Birthday 30th St. Station site, selected for the major focus of the nation's Bicentennial celebration in 1976, was greatly developed by the observance of the country's 100th birthday in 1876. The decision to hold the Centennial celebration in Fair-mount Park 100 years ago prompted the Pennsylvania Railroad to shift its operations from center city to it's West Philadelphia station at the western end of the Market St.

Bridge across the Schuylkill. In 1876, a red brick station trimmed in terra cotta, and an 800-foot-long trainshed of tin roofing supported by iron columns was erected in two months time, at 32d and Market st. During the two months following its completion, the station served 2V2 million arriving and departing passengers visiting the great fair. The original development of the site began with the construction of the West Philadelphia Railroad from Columbia Road in Ardmore. The Pennsylvania Railroad later acquired the road and hauled passengers and freight cars out Market st.

from 11th to the 30th stsite. Railroad travelers in the mid-1800s going through Philadelphia from the west, north or south had to go by carriage from the separate terminals in West Philadelphia, Kensington and the South Philadelphia waterfront. Directors of the "Pennsy" decided to link the roads, and after much controversy and consideration they decided on 30th st. for the central station. Two small stations were used at the site before the construction of the Centennial depot.

In 1880, the site was linked to center city by the "Chinese Wall" elevated line along Filbert demolishing 190 dwellings, stores, shops and stables. The wall ended at a new four-story brick Broad St. Station erected opposite City Hall. That station was torn down along with the wall in 1952 for construction of Pena Center. ..1 v'v', BUILDING tj -irf 4ftfP: Jf fiHgf housing 1 -r 'Tit A SEPTA to Open New Bus Spur A new spur for Rte.

20 buses running from the intersection of Academy and Woodhaven rds. to Thornton rd. will start operation Monday, SEPTA announced Wednesday. Four peak-period trips will be operated in the morning and five in the afternoon. Morning buses will leave the apartment complex on Wood-haven rd.

east of Thornton at 6:07, 6:30, 7:09 and 7:37 A. M. During the afternoon peak, SEPT said, a local bus to Thornton and Woodhaven rds. will leave Frankford ave. and Pratt st.

at 4:35 P. M. Express buses will leave at 5:07, 5:24, 5:38 and 6:04 P. M. Other northbound Rte.

20 buses will continue to operate beyond the spur to the northern terminals at Knights and Academy rds. or Street rd. and Brookwood Bensalem Township They Prefer France PARIS, Oct. 14 CAP). About 150 Romanians have defected to France from their Communist homeland in the past six months, an informed source reported.

WEST SCHUYLKILL PARK One of Park Areas Proposed for Bicentennial.