{"nrhp_refnum":"78002456","name":"Thirtieth Street Station","other_names":["West Philadelphia Station","Pennsylvania Railroad Station","Penn"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"W. River Dr., Market, 30th, and Arch Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.95593579800004,"lon":-75.18202257499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-06-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A monumental railroad passenger station on the west bank of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built between 1929 and 1934 in the modern classic style. It is cruciform in plan and was designed by the Chicago firm Graham Anderson Probst and White.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the station is significant as a transitional design that moved from neo-classicism toward a more modern style, with novel features for its time such as a chapel, mortuary, hospital space and a landing space for small aircraft. It is also tied to the history of American railroading and urban planning, as one of the last major city gateways and the product of a 1925 central city improvement program between the City of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Railroad.","narrative":"Built between 1929 and 1934 by the Chicago firm Graham Anderson Probst and White, the cruciform station on the west bank of the Schuylkill River was designed in the modern classic style. Its exterior is faced with Alabama limestone and carries a continuous entablature, while the main concourse measures 290 by 135 feet beneath a coffered ceiling that keeps its original red, gold and cream scheme. The station was commissioned by the Pennsylvania Railroad as part of a central city improvement program begun in 1925 with the City of Philadelphia, and it replaced the older Broad Street Station as the railroad's principal terminal. Its design marks a transition from strict neo-classicism toward a more modernized style, and it included novel features for its time such as a chapel, a mortuary, hospital space and a landing area for small aircraft. It was constructed during the Great Depression with Public Works Administration financing, and it is regarded as one of the last major passenger gateways of the railroad era in an American city.","period_of_significance":"1929-1934","architect_builder":"Graham, Anderson Probst and White (architect)","architectural_style":"Modern classic","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The bowling lanes that replaced the bus terminal and concession area at the north end of the station are described as closed; the station is in use as a passenger station.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.295176-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/78002456.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002456/5e07a8783b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002456/5e07a8783b-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:30th_Street_Station_Philly.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:30th_Street_Station_Philly.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71997424","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/30th_Street_Station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q224214"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/thirtieth-street-station-78002456/"}