Editing 30th Street Station (section)

== History ==

=== Pennsylvania Railroad Era ===

The Pennsylvania Railroad began planning a new Philadelphia terminal in the 1920s to replace Broad Street Station, which had become obsolete and congested. The new station was strategically located in West Philadelphia to facilitate through-train service and connect with the railroad's electrified lines.

Construction began in '''1929''' just weeks before the stock market crash that triggered the Great Depression. Despite the economic crisis, the Pennsylvania Railroad pressed forward with construction, employing thousands of workers during the worst years of the Depression. The station opened on '''March 12, 1933''', and cost approximately $38 million (equivalent to over $800 million today).

=== Design and Architecture ===

Architects Graham, Anderson, Probst & White designed the station in the Neoclassical style, drawing inspiration from ancient Roman baths. The exterior features massive Corinthian columns supporting a heavy entablature, while the interior main concourse measures 290 feet long, 135 feet wide, and 95 feet high.

The building's architectural program was intended to convey the power and permanence of rail travel during an era when the railroad was America's primary mode of long-distance transportation. The design represents the final expression of the "city beautiful" movement in American rail architecture.

=== The Angel of the Resurrection ===

The station's most famous artwork is the '''Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial''', a 39-foot bronze sculpture created by Walter Hancock. Dedicated in 1952, the statue depicts the Archangel Michael lifting a fallen soldier from the flames of war. The memorial honors the 1,307 Pennsylvania Railroad employees who died in World War II and remains one of the most moving war memorials in Philadelphia.

=== Renaming ===

In 2014, the station was officially renamed '''William H. Gray III 30th Street Station''' in honor of Congressman William H. Gray III (1941-2013), who represented Philadelphia in Congress from 1979 to 1991 and later served as president of the United Negro College Fund.