New translucent panels can now be seen covering the windows inside the 30th Street Station in University City, writes Peter Crimmins at WHYY. 

The window panels are part of Art at Amtrak, a system-wide railroad initiative launched in 2022 to incorporate artwork in train stations along the Northeast Corridor. 

As an architecturally protected building on the National Register of Historic Places, altering the space to accommodate art installations is rather difficult. 

For that reason, Amtrak curator Debra Simon decided to settle on the windows with an installation that doesn’t leave a negative impact on the building.  

“I’m trying to complement the amazing architecture,” she said.  

The newest addition to 30th Street Station is called “Euphonic and Chromatic Drift,” and was designed by Philadelphia artist Adam Crawford. 

He has painted murals around Philadelphia, and his work can be seen at Cherry Street Pier, the Union Transfer and Fillmore concern halls.  

For the 30th Street design, Crawford’s thought process was about the sounds of the station, from the shuffling footsteps to the suitcase wheels and train announcements. 

“The sound of people, and the flow of people going in and out, a lot of the atmosphere here is the echoing of people doing their everyday transient stuff,” said Crawford. 

Learn more about how Amtrak is illuminating its interior with new art installations in WHYY. 

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Amtrak’s 30th Street Station is heavily used by travelers.