30th Street Station (Philadelphia)

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Template:Amtrak station 30th Street Station is the main railroad station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is the heart of Philadelphia's passenger rail network.

The Chicago-based architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst and White designed the structure, originally known as Pennsylvania Station-30th Street (as with other Pennsylvania Stations), which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1934 by the former Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), which was headquartered in Philadelphia, to replace Broad Street Station when the latter became too small to handle Philadelphia's growing passenger-rail traffic. The PRR sought a location away from Center City Philadelphia, where Broad Street Station was located, which would allow room for a larger yard as well as multiple tracks and platforms. It found such a place on Market Street between 29th and 30th Streets, directly on the Schuylkill River, and built 30th Street Station there.

Image:Philly 30th St. Station.jpg

It is the second-most active railway station in the United States, containing roughly 562,000 ft² (52,000 m²). The cavernous main passenger concourse contains a large Winged Victory statue erected in honor of Pennsylvania Railroad employees killed in World War II. The station also played prominent roles in the 1983 film Trading Places and the 1985 film Witness starring Harrison Ford.

Currently, trains from SEPTA, Amtrak, and New Jersey Transit (usually known as NJ Transit) serve this station. Amtrak intercity trains and NJ Transit's Atlantic City line run through the station's lower level, while SEPTA commuter trains serve the upper level.

In addition, SEPTA's Market-Frankford subway line (also known as the "Blue Line" or the "El") and many of SEPTA's various trolley lines (collectively known as the "Green Line") stop at 30th Street Station -- although there is no longer direct access from the subway station to the rail station due to crime and vagrancy concerns. Image:Philly 30th St. Station interior.jpgPassengers wishing to transfer to or from the subway must walk above-ground for approximately one block. A number of the SEPTA system's bus lines also include stops at the station on their routes.

Vehicles and taxicabs access the station from any one of the major roadways that meet in the area, including Market Street, the Schuylkill Expressway (signed I-76 in this region), and the Vine Street Expressway (signed I-676 in this area).

The building is presently owned by Amtrak and houses many Amtrak corporate offices (although Amtrak is officially headquarted in Washington, D.C.). Also found in the station are multiple shops, a McDonald's restaurant, a Dunkin Donuts, and a large food court.

Cira Centre, a 28-story glass-and-steel office tower, is across Arch Street to the north and is connected by a skyway at the station's mezzanine level next to the upper level SEPTA train platforms. The tower is owned by Philadelphia-based Brandywine Realty Trust, was designed by architect César Pelli, and sits on land leased from Amtrak. César Pelli is best-known for the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Because Amtrak's service to Newark Liberty International Airport is codeshared with Continental Airlines, the station has the IATA Airport Code of ZFV.

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"Ben Franklin Station"

On December 25, 2005, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the Philadelphia based Pew Charitable Trust had asked Amtrak to change the name of 30th Street Station to Ben Franklin Station [1]. The change of the station name would coincide with the celebration of Ben Franklin's 300 birthday in January 2006. A subsequent report by the Inquirer on January 13, 2006 stated that Philadelphia Mayor John Street has thrown his support behind the name change; at the time of the initial report the mayor’s office stated that it was unaware of the request [2]. In the same report, though, fellow Philadelphia charity manager H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest stated that Pew had abandoned its plan for the name change, yet Pew and Amtrak (officially) stated that conversations were still underway. From the two reports by the Inquirer, reaction to the name change by Philadelphians has been mixed, with even former Philadelphia mayor and current Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell expressing a lukewarm reaction to the report. It had been estimated that to replace all the signage at the train station to reflect the new name would cost approximately $3 million. Though some Philadelphians supported the change, others preferred the straightforward geographic name of the station that was currently in use. Amtrak also raised concern about confusion between "Ben" station and its other three "Penn" stations.

On January 25, 2006, the Pew Charitable Trust announced that it was abandoning the campaign to have name of the station changed. Pew gave no reason for its change of stance. [3]

Image:30th Street Station East Elevation.png

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