Center City nightlife is even more bustling than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Late-night owls are apparently flocking to the neighborhood at a rate that has begun to exceed 2019 levels, per the latest state of Center City report. Evening pedestrian volumes in Midtown Village, for example, were up 6% on weekdays and 25% on weekends in 2024, compared with the numbers five years ago. Rittenhouse Row also saw a 4% increase in weekend night pedestrian volumes, though it’s 4% under the 2019 baseline on weekdays.
It’s not just those corridors. The picture across the entire neighborhood is promising. Average pedestrian volumes in “core” Center City — defined as the area between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, and Vine and Pine streets — was up between the hours of 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. in 2024 compared with 2019…