PHILLY: Railroad villages, Center City, narrow streets & 2 completely separate Yunks

[Cirrus]

Have you noticed I'm posting a lot of photo threads lately? This will be my 11th of 2024 so far, which is more than 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019 combined. Since Instagram changed its algorithm to favor videos and influencers, it isn't very much fun to post there anymore. So here I am, working through years of never-shared-on-SSP photos.

Today, Philadelphia photos from a quick stop in 2022.

Chestnut Hill is an adorable and wealthy railroad suburb, built around a cluster of SEPTA Regional Rail stations. Seriously it's actually kind of ridiculous how many stops there are in the one neighborhood. There also once was a trolley, whose tracks remain. Sadly it was bustituted 9n 1992.

But there's no denying it's cute.












The more central SEPTA station:






The more architecturally interesting SEPTA station:






TBH I love the steps as waiting benches.






The third SEPTA station. These are all like 5 minutes apart walking. Crazy.






Oh look a 4th station, visible from one of the others! Nothing matters!




Alright let's go to Manayunk. A little quirkier, a few fewer Regional Rail stations.
















There's really just the one Manayunk Regional Rail station, atop a big honking el. A big yonking el.










Passyunk is a completely different yunk. Someone's gonna need to tell me what a yunk is. Lenape word for village or something?








Quick roll through the Rittenhouse Square part of Center City. Walnut Street needs transit lanes.












Society Hill is one of Philadelphia's oldest neighborhoods, and is famous for its super narrow Europesque cobblestone streets. There are several like this:








This wide boi didn't get the memo:




Let's round this thread off with a little 30th Street Station, Philadelphia's gorgeous entry in the Big Northeast Corridor Rail Station Sweepstakes (tm).




You know it's only Europesque and not actually Europe because if it were actually Europe, this dude wouldn't be wearing pants.













Thanks for looking!

[OhioGuy]

Nice! I finally made it up to Philly a couple weeks ago after not having visited since 2003... there's a lot to like!

[DetroitSky]

Great stuff! Love the glimpse of the new Acela train sets at the end.

[Centropolis]

Noice

[Cirrus]

Originally Posted by OhioGuy

I finally made it up to Philly a couple weeks ago after not having visited since 2003

But Philly is like... where you end up if you start in DC and have a violent sneeze. It's so close!

[geomorph]

Thank you for the yunk tour! It is the past tense of the verb yank.

[Murphy de la Sucre]

Beautiful Philadelphia, I address him with full name to show respect.

[montréaliste]

Originally Posted by geomorph

Thank you for the yunk tour! It is the past tense of the verb yank.

Who would have thunk?

[ColDayMan]

Literally called Cake. They couldn't even add something more hipster-sounding. Ugh.

[Cirrus]

You are baiting me to reference the Cheesecake Factory, aren't you? Well I'm not going to. Shit.

[xzmattzx]

Nice pictures! Chestnut Hill is a really nice neighborhood, and doesn't get covered enough in here.

Manayunk should actually be Manayung, which is the anglicized version of the Lenape word for river. Passyunk is "yunk" instead of "yung", and is the word for valley or something.

[The162urbandude]

[Removed]

[The162urbandude]

Debate this all you want, but 30th Street Station should be the flagship train station for Amtrak. It's clearly the best looking train station in the US, even though the bar is quite low.