Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia's famous 30th Street Station was built between 1929 and 1933 by the Pennsylvania Railroad. It’s long stood as a beacon of versatility and progress in American railroading and urban planning. Constructed in West Philadelphia to replace an older station near City Hall, it functions as the western anchor to Center City, and its impressive eight story high portico is the visual terminus for John F. Kennedy Boulevard.

 

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, 30th Street Station was one of the last major passenger rail facilities to be constructed by an American railroad. Dressed in neoclassical garb with Art Deco styling, the building was more than just a transportation center, for it originally housed a chapel, a mortuary and hospital space. The reinforced concrete roof was even designed as a landing pad for small aircraft. Innovations in its architecture, technology and construction—such as the grade separation of intercity and commuter concourses—laid the groundwork for advances across the railroad industry. 30th Street Station remains one of the few rail facilities in the country where trains arrive and depart from all four directions - north, south, east and west – allowing you to get there from anywhere.

 

Today, the station serves as the gateway to legendary landmarks in our nation’s history.  Visit the site of the print shop and home of Philadelphia’s most celebrated resident, Benjamin Franklin, Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence was signed, or the Liberty Bell. If history’s not your thing, catch a Phillies game, or take a trip to the famous Philadelphia Museum of Art and run the Rocky Steps!