The westward extension of Market Street became the principal entrance to the city, first by a ferry and after 1800 by Timothy Palmer's immense woodtruss, arched toll bridge that helped turn 30th Street into a regional transportation hub. During the nineteenth century, this was the site of slaughterhouses, market houses, and, after the Civil War, stations for the Pennsylvania Railroad, first by Wilson Brothers for the centennial and in 1901 by Furness, Evans and Co. It also was the site of small hotels and service buildings for travelers. With the construction of Frank Furness's Broad Street Station (demolished) and the growth of downtown, west Market Street became more institutional. It is now framed by two of Philadelphia's most imposing public buildings, the Pennsylvania Railroad's 30th Street Station ( PH143) on the north, and the U.S. Post Office ( PH145) on the south. Together these behemoths were built just as the railroad era was about to be supplanted by the truck and the airplane.
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