Broad Street (Philadelphia)

Infobox road
state=PA
highway_name=Broad Street
name_notes=PA Route 611 for most of its length
type=PA
route=611
maint=


length_mi=12.5
length_round=
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established=
decommissioned=
direction_a=South
starting_terminus=Admiral Peary Way in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, South Philadelphia
junction=
direction_b=North
ending_terminus=
counties=Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
cities=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
system=
previous_type=
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Broad Street is a major arterial street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is Pennsylvania Route 611 for most of its length. The north-south street lies between 13th Street and 15th Street, in lieu of 14th Street. It is interrupted at the block containing Philadelphia City Hall, which sits where Broad and Market Street would intersect in the center of Center City; Broad meets Market as a pedestrian path at the center of the City Hall block.

The Broad Street Line subway, which serves about 110,000 riders per day in 2007, runs underneath Broad for most of its length. Distinguished by its orange cars, the subway starts in the Fern Rock neighborhood and extends through Center City to the south end of Philadelphia at Pattison Avenue.

Broad Street is home to several Philadelphia cultural landmarks. Between Spruce Street and Market Street, it is called the Avenue of the Arts and is home to art galleries, the Academy of Music, and the Kimmel Center.

The Philadelphia Sports Complex, near Broad's south end in South Philadelphia, is home to Citizens Bank Park, Lincoln Financial Field, the Wachovia Spectrum and the Wachovia Center. JFK Stadium and Veterans Stadium were former sports facilities in the area. As a result, the Philadelphia Flyers are nicknamed the "Broad Street Bullies."

South of the sports complex and interchanges with the Schuylkill Expressway (Interstate 76) and Interstate 95, Broad Street has its southern terminus in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.

The offices for "The Philadelphia Inquirer" and "Philadelphia Daily News" newspapers are on Broad Street just north of City Hall. In North Philadelphia, Broad bisects the campus of Temple University.

One of the busiest streets in the city, Broad Street is shut down for the annual 10-mile Broad Street Run. Additionally, the section of Broad Street from near Oregon Avenue (Marconi Plaza) to City Hall, in South Philadelphia and Center City, is the traditional location of the Mummers Parade on January 1.

Other names

* Avenue of the Arts (from Glenwood Avenue to Washington Avenue). This section of Broad Street features the city's most vibrant artistic activities, including Academy of music, Kimmel Center for the performing arts, Merriam Theater, Wilma Theater, Prince Music Theater, Uptown Theater, University of the Arts Gershman Hall, Suzanne Roberts Theater, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia Doll Museum, Fabric Workshop & Museum... The street has "AA" lights all along the way, which is the abbreviation for Avenue of the Arts.

* Avenue of the States: from Washington Avenue to Oregon Avenue. This section of Broad Street has flags of all states in the US.

* C. A. Tindley Boulevard: from South Street to Washington Avenue. This was dedicated to the late Charles A. Tindley, the father of gospel music. Tindley Temple United Methodist Church was his home, at the corner of Broad and Fitzwater Streets.

* Georgie Woods Boulevard: from Norris Street to approximately Cumberland Street.

Major intersections

*Pennsylvania Route 309
*Roosevelt Boulevard
*Vine Street Expressway
*Market Street
*South Street
*Schuylkill Expressway
*Interstate 95