Revitalizing a historic asset

In 2016, SOM worked with Amtrak and its partners to create a master plan for Philadelphia’s William H. Gray III 30th Street Station and the surrounding area, envisioning a mixed-use neighborhood with a vibrant public realm centered around transit. The renovation of the station—a Beaux-Arts architectural landmark designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White—represents the first phase of this plan. Led by a public-private partnership between Amtrak, Plenary, Vantage, and Johnson Controls, with Gilbane and SOM as the design-build team, the project will transform the travel experience for millions of people every year.

With ridership on the rise, the station’s untenanted retail, vacant northern concourse, limited seating, aging infrastructure, and siloed customer service spaces require an overhaul. The project will modernize and expand the rail hub’s retail areas, extend and pedestrianize its outdoor space, activate its concourse, and consolidate Amtrak’s engineering headquarters within the upper floors. In doing so, the project will fulfill a core goal of the master plan: to create the heart of an equitable, transit-oriented district that bridges Center City and University City.

Reimagining Market Street Plaza

Market Street Plaza, a public space to the south of the station where a majority of foot traffic arrives, will play a critical role in forming this link. The plaza will expand the Porch at 30th Street Station—a popular public gathering place—replacing a vehicular access road with a blend of hardscapes and plantings. Adjacent to the station’s Market Street entrance, a freestanding glass canopy will provide weather protection for visitors and farm stands, and create a seamless transition between interior and exterior. The result will be an active and green civic space with more room for gathering, improved safety and accessibility, and new amenities for community programming and events.

Creating a 21st-century travel experience

A series of meticulous interventions throughout the concourses will vastly improve navigation and accessibility within 30th Street Station. For decades, ticketing, information booths, baggage drop-off, and red cap boarding assistance have been spread across the main hall, while a smaller, adjacent northern concourse was rarely used. Now those customer services, as well as additional seating, are being consolidated to the north concourse itself—bringing essential functions to a concentrated area that is easy to find.

The main hall—30th Street Station’s signature space—will be revitalized as not only a waiting room but a destination itself. New retail and restaurants, designed in collaboration with Nelson Worldwide, will complement the station’s western corridor, which will be transformed into a food hall. Throughout these interiors, historic architectural elements including stone finishes, storefronts, bronze doors, Art Deco lighting, and wood benches will be carefully restored according to the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for rehabilitation.

The Metropolitan Lounge

Among the key elements of 30th Street Station’s existing design is a mezzanine level that rises above the north waiting room and leads commuters to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) regional rail network. Part of this floor will be redesigned into Philadelphia’s Metropolitan Lounge, a private waiting area for Amtrak travelers inspired by a similar space in New York’s Moynihan Train Hall. The space, echoing the bronze and stone finishes throughout the station, will overlook the north concourse and offer a range of amenities, including a family zone, a quiet room, a phone pod, a conference room, and pantries.

A new workplace for Amtrak

Building on the model of Moynihan Train Hall, in which the historic Farley Post Office was converted into a rail station with retail and offices above, the repositioning of 30th Street Station includes an extensive renovation of its upper floors. Levels two through five are slated to become Amtrak’s engineering headquarters, uniting all the railroad’s Philadelphia operations within the transit hub itself.

The historic layout of these floors presented a major challenge: faced with narrow, C-shaped floor plates and immovable stacks of elevator shafts, stairs, and restrooms, SOM designed a series of precise interventions to create a 21st-century workplace. To accommodate about 1,500 staff, the design provides ample shared amenity spaces, from collaboration hubs with wood finishes or whiteboard walls to cafes and touchdown spaces. The main work areas feature an open plan, with new doors and glass walls along the stairs to create a sense of connection between each floor. It is a complete overhaul of the siloed workspaces that previously existed, and will prepare Amtrak for a modern, hybrid work model.