Over the next several years, the William H. Gray III Memorial Foundation, in partnership with Amtrak and Monument Lab, will be embarking on a Living Legacy commemorative campaign to honor the namesake of this train station, William H. Gray III. The Honorable William H. Gray III represented Pennsylvania’s second Congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives between 1979 and 1991. He rose to leadership as Chair of the House Budget Committee and was then elected House Majority Whip, third highest ranking position in the House, becoming the nation’s highest-ranking African-American elected official. Congressman Gray was a political leader, international statesman, and pastor who was deeply committed to civil rights and social justice around the globe. In 2014, President Barack Obama signed U.S. House resolution 4838 directing Amtrak to rename Philadelphia's 30th Street Station to William H. Gray III 30th Street Station.

The process for the commemorative project begins with an open question posed to the many people who spend time in this station each day: What does LEGACY mean to you? Responses will be gathered in the form of brief personal definitions or short poems, and will be collected by Monument Lab. The responses will be sorted and analyzed, shared with the Gray Foundation and Amtrak, and will inform a future Open Call for Artist Ideas for a memorial artwork to launch in Fall 2024. Responses to the central question can be shared below: 

Form: What does LEGACY mean to you?

Curatorial team: Paul Farber and Yolanda Wisher
Project Manager(s): Nico Rodriguez and Gina Ciralli
Monument Lab Team: Kristen Giannantonio, Florie Hutchinson, Sue Mobley, Julie Rhoad, Bella Rodriguez, Dina Paola Rodriguez, and Elliot Waters-Fleming
Design: William Roy Hodgson, Creative Repute
Documentation: Steve Weinik
Monument Lab Board of Directors: Lola Bakare (Secretary), Ellery Roberts Biddle, Amari Johnson, Monica O. Montgomery (Vice Chair), Stephan Nicoleau (Treasurer), Michelle Angela Ortiz, Samala, Kirk Savage, and Tiffany Tavarez (Chair)

Gray 30th Street Station is supported by the William H. Gray III Memorial Foundation, in partnership with Amtrak.