Richard Allen Lane station (formerly Allen Lane station) is a

SEPTA Regional Rail The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by SEPTA and serving the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, its suburbs and satellite town ...

station in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. It is located at 200 West Allens Lane in the Mount Airy neighborhood and serves the

Chestnut Hill West Line The Chestnut Hill West Line is a route of the SEPTA SEPTA Regional Rail, Regional Rail network. It connects Northwest Philadelphia, including the eponymous neighborhood of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Chestnut Hill, West Mount Ai ...

. The station building was built circa 1880. Like many in Philadelphia, it retains much of its Victorian/

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

appearance. The former station building now houses a coffee shop, the High Point Cafe. The station is in zone 2 on the Chestnut Hill West Line, on former

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

tracks, and is 10.1 track miles from

Suburban Station Suburban Station is an Art Deco office building and underground commuter rail station in Penn Center in Philadelphia. Its official SEPTA address is 16th Street and JFK Boulevard. The station is owned and operated by SEPTA and is one of the t ...

. In fiscal 2012, this station saw 307 boardings on an average weekday.

Naming

Allen Lane station got its name from the adjoining street, Allens Lane, which was named for William Allen, a prominent man of the colonial-era

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

. His estate, Mount Airy, is the source of the surrounding neighborhood's name, was at the top of the hill where Allens Lane meets Germantown Avenue. The site is now the campus of the

Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) was one of eight theological seminary, seminaries associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheranism, Lutheran denomination in Lutherans#North America, No ...

. Since at least the 19th century, there has been variation in the lane's name between "Allen", "Allen's", and "Allens". Today, through maps and signage, the names have reached a level of written codification that leaves the lane's name written consistently as "Allens" and the station's name written consistently as "Allen". Colloquially, the Allen/Allen's/Allens variation persists in local speech, such as when train conductors sometimes announce the stop as "Allen's Lane". The "Allen Lane" variation that became the codified station name may have been reinforced by a timetable printer's error—the Pennsylvania Railroad's timetables were printed by the firm of Allen, Lane & Scott. On February 14, 2022, Allens Lane was re-attributed to

Richard Allen Richard, Rick, or Dick Allen may refer to: Artists *Dick Allen (poet) (1939–2017), American poet, literary critic and academic *Richard Allen (abstract artist) (1933–1999), British painter *James Moffat (author) (1922–1993), Canadian-Britis ...

, (1760-1831, a minister, educator, writer, and one of America's most active and influential Black leaders) by resolution of the Philadelphia city council, facilitated by the efforts of State Rep.

Chris Rabb Christopher M. Rabb (born February 21, 1970) is an American politician, professor, and author. A Democrat, he is a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 200th District since 2017. In a heavily Democratic distric ...

(PA House 200th). The station was renamed to Richard Allen Lane station.

Restoration and renovation

Allen Lane station underwent a two-phase restoration and renovation project in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The first phase of work on the historic station building and shelters was completed in September 1999. The second phase, which included the construction of high level platforms, a rebuilt pedestrian overpass, and accessible ramp, was completed in 2011.

In popular culture

Allen Lane station was featured as a filming location for the 1988 film '' The In Crowd''.

References

External links

* * *Existing Railroad Stations in

Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Philadelphia County is the most populous of the List of counties in Pennsylvania, 67 counties of Pennsylvania and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, 24th-most populous county in the nation. As of the 2020 United State ...

Old Allen Lane PRR Station photo

2005 Rob Mandeville photoAllens Lane entrance from Google Maps Street ViewStation House from Google Maps Street View
{{Pennsylvania Railroad New York Division stations, state=collapsed SEPTA Regional Rail stations Former Pennsylvania Railroad stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1880 Railway stations in Philadelphia