30th Street Station is the main
railroad stationA train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
in
Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, and one of the five stations in SEPTA's Center City fare zone. It is also a major stop on Amtrak's
NortheastThe Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
and
KeystoneThe Keystone Corridor is a Federal Railroad Administration "designated high speed corridor" with a 349-mile railroad line between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a top speed of...
Corridors. At the end of fiscal year 2010, a total of 3,787,331 Amtrak passengers used 30th Street, making it the 3rd busiest Amtrak station in the system.
History
The
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White designed the structure, originally known as
Pennsylvania Station–30th Street (as with other
Pennsylvania StationPennsylvania Station is a label first applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals.-New York City:...
s). The station is listed on the
National Register of Historic PlacesThe National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Its design was influenced by the
Northeast CorridorThe Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
electrification. This allowed the tracks to pass beneath the main body of the station without exposing the passengers to soot as steam engines of earlier times had.
The station itself also included a number of innovative features, including a pneumatic tube system, an electronic intercom, and a reinforced roof with space to allow the landing of small aircraft.
The station was opened in 1933, shortly after the peak of expansion by the former
Pennsylvania RailroadThe Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
(PRR), which was headquartered in Philadelphia. It replaced
Broad Street StationBroad Street Station at Broad & Market Streets was the primary passenger terminal for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1881 to the 1950s...
as the latter became too small to handle Philadelphia's growing passenger-rail traffic. The PRR sought a location on its main line between New York and Washington.
Broad St. Station was a stub-end terminal in Center City and through trains had to back in and then out again to continue on their journey. As Broad St. Station handled a very large commuter operation, an underground Suburban Station was built as part of the 30th St. Station project to handle it. Because of the Depression and World War II, Broad St. Station continued to operate until 1952. At that time, 30th St. Station took over all its operations.
The opening scenes of the 1985 motion picture
WitnessWitness is a 1985 American thriller film directed by Peter Weir and starring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis. The screenplay by William Kelley, Pamela Wallace, and Earl W...
were filmed inside the station.
"Ben Franklin Station"
On December 25, 2005,
The Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
reported that the Philadelphia-based Pew Charitable Trust had asked Amtrak to change the name of 30th Street Station to Ben Franklin Station. The change would have coincided with the celebration of Ben Franklin's 300th birthday in January 2006. The cost of replacing signage at the train station was estimated at about $3 million.
On Jan. 13, the
Inquirer reported that then-Philadelphia Mayor
John StreetJohn Franklin Street was the 97th Mayor of the City of Philadelphia. He was first elected to a term beginning on January 3, 2000, and was re-elected to a second term beginning in 2004...
, who initially said he was unaware of the request, had thrown his support behind the name change. Philadelphians had mixed reactions to the proposal, according to the
Inquirer stories. Former Philadelphia mayor and then-current Pennsylvania Governor
Ed RendellEdward Gene "Ed" Rendell is an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 2002, and his term of office began January 21, 2003...
expressed a lukewarm reaction. Amtrak officials worried that a "Ben" station could be confused with its other three "
PennPennsylvania Station is a label first applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals.-New York City:...
" stations. Still, Pew and Amtrak officials said that conversations were still underway. But the newspaper quoted Philadelphia charity manager
H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest-Early Life and Career:He was born in Jacksonville, Florida, then later grew up in Scarsdale, New York and Hunterdon County, New Jersey. After attending Flemington High School, and graduating from Mercersburg Academy, Lenfest went on to receive his BA from Washington and Lee University in 1953 and...
as saying that Pew had abandoned its proposal.
On January 25, 2006, Pew announced that it was abandoning its campaign, providing no reason.
Present day
The building is currently owned by
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
and houses many Amtrak corporate offices (although Amtrak is officially headquartered in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
). The 562,000 ft² (52,000 m²) facility features a cavernous main passenger concourse with ornate art deco decor.
Prominently displayed is the
Pennsylvania Railroad World War II MemorialIn November 2010, following years in storage, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston put Walker's one-third-scale plaster model on permanent exhibit in the new Art of the Americas Wing.-References:...
, a bronze statue which honors
Pennsylvania RailroadThe Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
employees killed in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It consists of a statue of the archangel
MichaelMichael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...
lifting the body of a dead soldier out of the flames of war, and was sculpted by
Walker HancockWalker Kirtland Hancock was a 20th-century American sculptor and teacher. He created notable monumental sculptures, including the Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
in 1950. On the four sides of the base of that sculpture are cast the 1,307 names of those employees in alphabetical order.
The Amtrak 30th Street Parking Garage was designed by BLT Architects and completed in 2004. This nine-level, double helix garage provides 2,100 parking spaces and glass enclosed stair tower and elevator to offer views of Philadelphia. The following year (2005) the Arch Street Pedestrian Bridge was completed and designed with contribution from BLT Architects. The Arch Street Pedestrian Bridge provides direct access for pedestrians from 30th Street Station to the parking garage and Cira Centre; this prevents pedestrians from interacting with heavy traffic from PA 3 and I-76. When the station was renovated, updated retail amenities were added. They include several shops, a large
food courtA food court is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining. Food courts may be found in shopping malls and airports, and in various regions may be a standalone development...
, car rental facilities, Saxbys Coffee (formerly Bucks County Coffee),
McDonald'sMcDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, Dunkin Donuts, and others. The station was featured in the 1981 film
Blow OutBlow Out is a 1981 thriller film, written and directed by Brian De Palma. The film stars John Travolta as Jack Terry, a movie sound effects technician from Philadelphia who, while recording sounds for a low-budget slasher film, serendipitously captures audio evidence of an assassination involving a...
, the 1983 film
Trading PlacesTrading Places is a 1983 American comedy film, of the satire genre, directed by John Landis, starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy. It tells the story of an upper class commodities broker and a homeless street hustler whose lives cross paths when they are unknowingly made part of an elaborate bet...
, the 1985 film
WitnessWitness is a 1985 American thriller film directed by Peter Weir and starring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis. The screenplay by William Kelley, Pamela Wallace, and Earl W...
starring
Harrison FordHarrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
, and the 2010 videogame
Heavy RainHeavy Rain is an interactive drama psychological thriller video game created by Quantic Dream exclusively for the PlayStation 3. The game is written and directed by Quantic Dream's founder and CEO David Cage....
.
Rail access
Trains from
SEPTAThe Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is a metropolitan transportation authority that operates various forms of public transit—bus, subway and elevated rail, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolley bus—that serve 3.9 million people in and around Philadelphia,...
,
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
, and
New Jersey TransitThe New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...
serve this station. The three east-west Upper Level platforms serve
SEPTA Regional RailThe SEPTA Regional Rail system consists of commuter rail service on thirteen branches to over 150 active stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States and its suburbs. Service on most lines runs from 5:30 AM to midnight...
suburban trains. The north-south Lower Level platforms serve Amtrak and New Jersey Transit trains. SEPTA's
Market-Frankford LineThe Market–Frankford Line is a rapid transit line in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority .-Route:The Market–Frankford Line begins at 69th Street Transportation Center, in Upper Darby...
(also known as the "El") and all of SEPTA's
Subway-Surface LinesThe Subway–Surface Trolley Lines or Green Lines are five SEPTA trolley lines that operate on street-level tracks in West Philadelphia and Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and in a shared subway with rapid transit trains in Philadelphia's Center City....
stop at the
30th Street30th Street is a rapid transit and trolley station on SEPTA's Market–Frankford and Subway–Surface lines in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is located on Market Street between 30th and 31st Streets in the University City neighborhood near Drexel University, and is the first station located...
subwayA rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
station, less than 1/2 block (< 1/10 mile) from the southwest entrance to 30th Street Station. A tunnel connecting the underground subway station and 30th Street Station was closed due to crime and vagrancy concerns. A number of the SEPTA system's bus lines include stops at the station on their routes.
Amtrak maintenance facilities
Amtrak owns and operates the Penn Coach Yard and Race Street Engine House equipment repair and maintenance facility at
30th Street30th Street is a rapid transit and trolley station on SEPTA's Market–Frankford and Subway–Surface lines in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is located on Market Street between 30th and 31st Streets in the University City neighborhood near Drexel University, and is the first station located...
.
Busiest station
The station is one of the busiest intercity passenger railroad facilities in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The station also has extensive local and regional passenger volume; it is one of SEPTA's three primary regional rail
hubsA transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include train stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stop, airports and ferry slips. Freight hubs include classification yards, seaports and truck...
. It is within walking distance of various attractions in
West PhiladelphiaWest Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though there is no official definition of its boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Line Avenue to the northwest, Cobbs Creek to the southwest, and...
, notably the
University of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
and
Drexel UniversityDrexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...
in
University CityUniversity City is the easternmost region of West Philadelphia.The University of Pennsylvania has long been the dominant institution in the area and was instrumental in coining the name University City as part of a 1950s urban-renewal effort...
.
Street access
Many important highways and streets pass next to or near the station. Vehicles and taxicabs can easily access the station from various major routes, including Market Street (
PA 3Pennsylvania Route 3 is a state highway located in the southeastern portion of Pennsylvania. The route connects West Chester with Philadelphia. The divided highway that comprises much of its route is the West Chester Pike, built as a turnpike by the Philadelphia and West Chester Turnpike Company...
),
Interstate 76Interstate 76 is an Interstate Highway in the United States, running 435 miles from an interchange with Interstate 71 west of Akron, Ohio, east to Interstate 295 near Camden, New Jersey....
(more commonly known as the
Schuylkill ExpresswayThe Schuylkill Expressway , locally known as the Schuylkill, is a freeway through southwestern Montgomery County and the city of Philadelphia, and the easternmost segment of Interstate 76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania...
in the Philadelphia area), and
Interstate 676Interstate 676 is an Interstate Highway that serves as a major thoroughfare through Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where it is known as the Vine Street Expressway, and Camden, New Jersey, where it is known as the northern segment of the North–South Freeway, as well as the Martin Luther King Jr....
(more commonly known as the Vine Street Expressway in the city of Philadelphia). The
John F. Kennedy Boulevard BridgeThe John F. Kennedy Boulevard Bridge was built in 1959 and reconstructed 2009 by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. It carries John F. Kennedy Boulevard across the Schuylkill River, Schuylkill River Trail, and CSX Transportation tracks.-References:...
is just east of the station.
Cira Centre
Cira CentreThe Cira Centre is a 29-story, office high-rise in the University City district of West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Developed by Brandywine Realty Trust and designed by César Pelli, the Cira Centre sits across the street from Amtrak's 30th Street Station...
, a 28-story glass-and-steel office tower opened in October 2005, is across Arch Street to the north and is connected by a
skywayIn an urban setting, a skyway, catwalk, sky bridge, or skywalk is a type of pedway consisting of an enclosed or covered bridge between two buildings. This protects pedestrians from the weather. These skyways are usually owned by businesses, and are therefore not public spaces...
at the station's mezzanine level next to the upper-level SEPTA Regional Rail platforms. The tower is owned by Philadelphia-based
Brandywine Realty TrustBrandywine Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust in the United States that buys, sells, leases and manages approximately 225 commercial properties, no more than 25 industrial parcels of land, mixed-use property, and over of undeveloped parcels. They also offer construction and...
, was designed by architect
César PelliCésar Pelli is an Argentine architect known for designing some of the world's tallest buildings and other major urban landmarks. In 1991, the American Institute of Architects listed Pelli among the ten most influential living American architects...
and BLT Architects, and sits on land leased from Amtrak. César Pelli is best-known for the Petronas Towers in
Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
,
Malaysia.
Because Amtrak's service to
Newark Liberty International AirportNewark Liberty International Airport , first named Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport within the city limits of both Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States...
is codeshared with
Continental AirlinesContinental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
, the station has the
IATA Airport CodeAn IATA airport code, also known an IATA location identifier, IATA station code or simply a location identifier, is a three-letter code designating many airports around the world, defined by the International Air Transport Association...
of ZFV.
ClubAcela
The station is home to one of four ClubAcelas in the Amtrak System for First Class Acela Passengers. Passengers that can enter the facility include Amtrak Guest Rewards members with a ClubAcela pass, Amtrak Guest Rewards Select Plus members, Acela Express First Class Passengers, Sleeping Car Passengers on overnight trains, and Continental Airlines President's Club members.
See also
- Center City Commuter Connection
The Center City Commuter Connection, commonly referred to as "the commuter tunnel", is a passenger railroad tunnel in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, built to connect the stub ends of the two separate regional commuter rail systems, originally operated by two rival railroad...
- Suburban Station
- Reading Terminal
The Reading Terminal is a complex of buildings located in the Market East section of Center City in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States...
- Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
- Commuter rail in North America
Commuter rail services in the United States, Canada, and Mexico provide common carrier passenger transportation along railway tracks, with scheduled service on fixed routes on a non-reservation basis primarily for short-distance travel between a central business district and adjacent suburbs and...
- Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority is a metropolitan transportation authority that operates various forms of public transit—bus, subway and elevated rail, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolley bus—that serve 3.9 million people in and around Philadelphia,...
- New Jersey Transit
The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...
External links