Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Freight Shed

Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Freight Shed

Company type	Historic railroad freight facility
Industry	Rail transport / Freight
Founded	1876
Headquarters	Philadelphia , United States
Products	Freight services (historically)

The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Freight Shed stands as a significant historic freight facility located within Philadelphia's Southwest Center City district, positioned along Broad Street. Recognized on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011, this structure now forms an integral component of the Lincoln Square mixed-use development.

History and notable features

Since the mid-1800s, the site served the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad; notably, it was the initial Philadelphia stop for President Abraham Lincoln's funeral train in 1865.

Erected in 1876, the freight shed is a one-and-a-half-story edifice constructed from brick and stone, exemplifying the Late Gothic Revival style. It spans roughly 99 feet in width and 235 feet in length. The building is distinguished by its extended sloping roof supported by a Fink truss framework with glazed monitor windows.

Originally accommodating passenger trains for a period of four years, it shifted exclusively to freight service after January 1882. The nearby passenger terminal on Washington Avenue was dismantled during World War II to facilitate military storage needs. By the late 1960s, ownership transferred as the shed was repurposed for warehouse functions; subsequently, the head house and eight bays on the eastern side were removed.

In 2016, Alterra Property Group launched the Lincoln Square project—a $100 million mixed-use development integrating the historic shed. Renovations included creating an eastern entrance that now hosts a Sprouts Farmers Market grocery store. The redevelopment, led by Philadelphia-based architectural firm Kelly Maiello, received several accolades recognizing excellence in preservation and adaptive reuse.