SEPTA to Rename 5th Street Station

Photo | Jared Brey

On Thursday, SEPTA will announce a new name for 5th Street Station on the Market-Frankford line, according to a press release from the transit agency.

The press release is a teaser, as it doesn’t reveal what the new name will be. And SEPTA spokeswoman Heather Redfern wouldn’t spill the beans when we asked.

But the announcement, scheduled for 1 p.m. on Thursday at the northeast corner of 5th and Market, will include officials from both Independence National Historical Park and the Independence Visitors Center. So, it’s probably a safe bet the new name will have something to do with American independence.

In recent years, SEPTA has renamed Pattison Station as AT&T Station and Market East as Jefferson Station. Some people grumble that those changes have been detrimental to transit riders’ sense of orientation. But Independence Hall is a well-enough known landmark that if the new name hangs on that identity, riders shouldn’t get too confused.

And this time, Redfern said, there’s no corporate sponsor. To independence!

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