I love that food court. We have an American Chemistry Society meeting in Philly every 5 years or so and I indulge greatly.
Steve, I know you intended this fully as a compliment, but "food court" connotes some small "fast food" area of a suburban mall that's been around for a few years or so. That's just my interpretation - not necessarily anyone else's, and I'm sure it wasn't your intent...
But lest anyone get the wrong idea... the roots of the Reading Terminal Market has been around since Colonial days and the market has been in it's current location since very close to the turn of the century - ie,
1800 or so - THAT century! It's had it's ups and downs and nearly died altogether a couple of times, but it's still going pretty strong and has been a key part of downtown Philly as long as there's been one. It was and is a real working market that sells produce and meats and fish and everything else, and a lot of downtown residents and workers do their daily shopping there as well as grab lunch there. It ALSO has several working shops and restaurants which serve more of a food court function, but they're local Mom and Pop establishments, not national chains.
Sort of like Seattle's Pike Place Market (which I lived and/or worked within a few blocks of for several years back in the '80s), it's a real working market-place that serves a day to day function for local residents. For a couple of years I was lucky enough to be able to stop at Pike Place almost daily on my walk home from work for fish and veggies, or whatever. It's ALSO a tourist destination where you can get all sorts of stuff to eat and shop for books or pottery or similar stuff. But both places have enormous history and continued function going for them than a typical food court doesn't. Closer to you, I know Roanoke has a pretty cool little public marketplace as well in it's downtown area. I've been there many times but don't know it's history well enough to make any claims about it...
Sorry, something about the term "food court" put me into lecture mode. I
KNOW you didn't mean it that way at all and none of this is intended as a shot at you in the least. But I felt the need to clarify lest someone else get the wrong impression of what this place is.
It's also a really good place to do some indoor "street" photography and I usually spend at least a half hour or so walking through the place any time I'm in Philly. And usually take home something to cook up for dinner too!
-Ray