Rail travel built itself a Neoclassical temple here in 1933, and 30th Street Station remains one of the finest train station interiors in the United States. Philadelphia's 30th Street Station was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad, the most powerful railroad in American history, on a massive scale intended to express the permanence and grandeur of rail travel. The main hall is 290 feet long and 135 feet high, its coffered ceiling supported by massive Corinthian columns and lit by enormous chandeliers.
The original Pennsylvania Railroad eagle, cast in bronze and weighing thousands of pounds, stands outside the Amtrak station today as a relic of the railroad that built it. Inside, the Pennsylvania Railroad War Memorial, a towering bronze angel holding the body of a fallen soldier, commemorates the Pennsylvania Railroad's employees who died in World War II — more than 1,300 men. The station serves Amtrak, SEPTA regional rail, and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor high-speed rail, and is one of the busiest train stations in the country.
Notice the coffered ceiling overhead, supported by massive Corinthian columns and lit by enormous chandeliers.