underpass at 56th and Lancaster ave. (Phila.)

[ex Budd man]

I was getting lunch friday at Popeye's on Lancaster Ave. When I noticed an underpass beneeth the Amtrak/Septa main by Overbrook shop. It is gated and looks as if its filled with debris. Was this a street, did it come out where the Acme warehouse is now? Any body got any info?

[JimBoylan]

In olden days, Lancaster Pike ran on the other side of the Main Line along Mill Creek between that 56th St. tunnel and another one at 62nd St. That's why the 62nd St. houses behind the trolley loop are lower than the present street. This was before the freight yard was expanded West of 52nd St. Later a cut was made through the rock by Overbrook High School to straighten the pike, now a State Highway, and eliminate the 2 tunnels. About that time, fill was dumped to be the West approach for a Malvern Ave. overpass, which has not yet been built.