# In Philly, can I walk most of the way und6erground from Jefferson Station to 10th and Sansom? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 2, 2019, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823 "2019-02-02T04:42:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/1 "2019-02-02T04:42:43Z")
I want to take the regional line to Jefferson Station but I want to avoid walking very far in the cold. I have a doctor’s appointment at 132 South 10th which is Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2019, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/2 "2019-02-03T16:26:51Z")
The only thing I do know is that you can walk underground from 7th and Market to 18th and JFK alongside the subway, coming partly out only around City Hall Plaza. So you can walk from 7th to 10th and Market. But after that you have to go outside down 10th. I don’t know what Jefferson Station is, so I don’t know whether this helps. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/3 "2019-02-04T19:06:47Z")
I decided to drive in instead (I’m currently sitting in the doctor’s office) so the question is moot, but thanks for the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2019, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/4 "2019-02-04T22:22:40Z")
Question is moot already, but the answer is not really; you can walk to anywhere around it in a C shape. [Here](http://www.phillylovenotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Underground-Concourse-2.jpg)’s a map of the underground concourse. If you want to walk to Broad St, you can take the concourse under Locust St, but of course that’s a bit far south for where you want to go. > [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > The only thing I do know is that you can walk underground from 7th and Market to 18th and JFK alongside the subway, coming partly out only around City Hall Plaza. So you can walk from 7th to 10th and Market. But after that you have to go outside down 10th. I don’t know what Jefferson Station is, so I don’t know whether this helps. Jefferson Station is the marketing-renamed Market East (10-12th & Market). During the day, you can stay underground around City Hall; on the north side, walking thru the MSB, & on the south side walking around the concourse. The north side is more direct but gate-closed evening & weekends. **Cite source:** I used to run down there on cold winter days. It was probably 15° warmer than surface, no rain, wind, or traffic lights. Downside was no GPS info. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2019, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/5 "2019-02-05T01:42:29Z")
Also downside is no nice tall buildings to websling from. But then, downtown Philly is rather lacking in those even above the surface. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/6 "2019-02-08T01:32:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But then, downtown Philly is rather lacking in those even above the surface. :dubious:[ul] [li]The only US city with a top-10 tallest building that isn’t in Chicago or New York.[/li][li]3rd most 800’ or taller buildings, after Chicago & New York.[/li][li]Top 10 for tallest buildings over 400’[/li][/ul] according to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_the_United_States#Cities_with_the_most_skyscrapers) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/7 "2019-02-08T02:00:32Z")
Hm, I guess my information is a bit outdated. I remember there being an unofficial rule that no building in Philadephia could be taller than the statue of Penn atop City Hall. And it looks like most of the buildings taller than that are fairly recent. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/8 "2019-02-08T02:49:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Hm, I guess my information is a bit outdated. I remember there being an unofficial rule that no building in Philadephia could be taller than the statue of Penn atop City Hall. And it looks like most of the buildings taller than that are fairly recent. The William Penn rule was abandoned years ago. > **[Philadelphia Cityscape Philly Skyline Skyscrapers Buildings](https://www.123rf.com/photo_97484580_philadelphia-cityscape-philly-skyline-skyscrapers-buildings.html)** > > 123RF - Millions of Creative Stock Photos, Vectors, Videos and Music Files For Your Inspiration and Projects. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/9 "2019-02-08T06:31:24Z")
I have no familiarity with Philadelphia. I’m just glad to see a post from **DavidM** where he’s inquiring about walking a good distance as a reasonable possibility. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/10 "2019-02-08T07:03:56Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > :dubious:[ul] > [li]The only US city with a top-10 tallest building that isn’t in Chicago or New York.[/li][li]3rd most 800’ or taller buildings, after Chicago & New York.[/li][li]Top 10 for tallest buildings over 400’[/li][/ul] > according to [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_the_United_States#Cities_with_the_most_skyscrapers) Seconded, that sounds like a guy who last visited when City Hall was the tallest building in Phila – like 1985. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/11 "2019-02-08T07:05:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Hm, I guess my information is a bit outdated. I remember there being an unofficial rule that no building in Philadephia could be taller than the statue of Penn atop City Hall. And it looks like most of the buildings taller than that are fairly recent. Yeah you’re only, what, 30 years late? Not only that, but you’re missing the ultra-modernization of the skyline. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/12 "2019-02-08T13:06:17Z")
It was actually in the 90s that I was last in Philadelphia, but I guess that there were still few enough and new enough tall buildings at that time that knowledge of the “William Penn rule” was still knocking around, and it wasn’t blatantly obviously false. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/13 "2019-02-08T19:04:31Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I have no familiarity with Philadelphia. I’m just glad to see a post from **DavidM** where he’s inquiring about walking a good distance as a reasonable possibility. 🙂 I actually decided that I was still a little unsure about walking that distance. I was also unsure about driving into the city since the Schuylkill Expressway is a dangerous poorly designed nightmare and I only recently started driving again. I decided that on balance driving in was the lesser evil. I had no problem so it was the right decision. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/14 "2019-02-08T20:05:34Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I actually decided that I was still a little unsure about walking that distance. I was also unsure about driving into the city since the Schuylkill Expressway is a dangerous poorly designed nightmare and I only recently started driving again. > > I decided that on balance driving in was the lesser evil. I had no problem so it was the right decision. The Surekill Distressway is real PIA. You have to be on your toes at all times if traffic is anything other than light. Not for the timid or inexperienced driver, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2019, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/15 "2019-02-08T21:14:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It was actually in the 90s that I was last in Philadelphia, but I guess that there were still few enough and new enough tall buildings at that time that knowledge of the “William Penn rule” was still knocking around, and it wasn’t blatantly obviously false. All but three of the [top ten](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Philadelphia) (all taller than City Hall) have beed around since at least 1992. Moody sunset city [skyline](https://www.flickr.com/photos/74663312@N08/33155043788/) view. The yellow circle is the City Hall clock. Seven of the nine pictured skyscrapers are 1991 or older. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2019, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/16 "2019-02-09T05:22:59Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > The Surekill Distressway is real PIA. You have to be on your toes at all times if traffic is anything other than light. Not for the timid or inexperienced driver, that’s for sure. That’s a good description. I have plenty of experience driving it, I was just a little unsure because I hadn’t driven at all for so long. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2019, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-philly-can-i-walk-most-of-the-way-und6erground-from-jefferson-station-to-10th-and-sansom/828823/17 "2019-02-10T02:39:12Z")
In any event, I think we can all agree that there are very few underground skyscrapers.