Photography: William H. Gray III 30th Street Station, Philadelphia, PA 3/22/24

Photography: William H. Gray III 30th Street Station, Philadelphia, PA 3/22/24

Last Friday, I was heading to Moynihan Train Hall, Penn Station to take a Southbound Northeast Corridor train to Philadelphia for the first weekend of Asian Arts Initiative’s Sound Type Music Festival and Music Writers Workshop. There will be more on that in the upcoming weeks and more.

Although I had been in Philadelphia twice in the past couple of years, I hadn’t taken Amtrak in at least six years. But William H. Gray III/30th Street Station may arguably be one of the more memorable stations along the Northeast Corridor line: As you head towards the restrooms, there’s a large marble relief that stretches across the length of the wall, Karl Bitter’s The Spirit of Transportation. I’ve seen that piece dozens of times, and for whatever reason I never got a picture of it — until the other day. The artwork was in the original Broad Street Station and moved to its current location in 1933. And fittingly, it represents a triumphant procession of progress, led by a child carrying an airship.

As you head out to 30th Street and Market Street, there’s Walter Hancock’s Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial that’s dedicated to the brave souls, who worked the Pennsylvania Railroad, who never made it back home. It’s a gorgeous and haunting reminder of those who sacrificed everything.

The station is in the middle of much-needed renovation and modernization that from the renderings look like it’ll restore the building to its glory. I’m looking forward to seeing that come about.