Municipal Pier No. 9, also known as the Cherry Street Pier, on N. Delaware Ave just south of the Race Street Pier (which was Municipal Pier No. 11), was constructed by the city in 1919 to improve commerce. When construction finished in 1919, Municipal Pier 9 was considerably larger than any other piers previously constructed by the city, measuring 100 feet in width and 535 feet in length. The pier was first used by Charles Kruz and Company, a steamship company. In 1921, the United Fruit Company moved to Pier No. 9 (from the Arch Street Pier) where they received large, weekly shipments of bananas from Jamaica. The fruit was then loaded onto wagons and sent to markets across the city.
Along with other municipal piers along the river, Pier 9 was a vital part of Philadelphia’s shipping and trade community until the industrial waterfront’s decline in the mid-20th century. Municipal Pier 9 sat vacant for decades before finding new life as Cherry Street Pier.
1918 during construction, can 1918, almost done 1919
see (old) Race St Pier in background
2017, before rehab
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