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Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial

Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial
30th Street Station
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States
30th Street Station Angel of the Resurrection.jpg

For the 1,307 PRR employees who died in World War II.

Unveiled

August 10, 1952

  • Height: 39 feet (11.88 meters)
  • Weight: 10.5 tons (9.53 metric tons)
Location 39°57′21″N 75°10′57″W / 39.95583°N 75.18238°W / 39.95583; -75.18238Coordinates: 39°57′21″N 75°10′57″W / 39.95583°N 75.18238°W / 39.95583; -75.18238
Designed by Walker Hancock

For the 1,307 PRR employees who died in World War II.

August 10, 1952

The Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial is a monument on the main concourse of 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It commemorates the 1,307 Pennsylvania Railroad employees who died in World War II.

The monument features a 28-foot (8.53 m) heroic-sized bronze sculpture, Angel of the Resurrection, that portrays Michael the Archangel lifting up a dead soldier out of the "flames of war." This is set upon an 11-foot (3.35 m) black-granite base, with two inscribed dedications and four bronze plaques listing the 1,307 names in alphabetical order. The work was designed and created by Walker Hancock (1901-1998), Instructor of Sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and a U.S. Army veteran of World War II. Hancock had been one of the "Monuments Men" who recovered art looted by the Nazis.

The monument is unusual in its intense verticality, which was inspired by the tall Corinthian columns of the concourse's east colonnade, Hancock recalled. Viewing the monument is particularly dramatic in the morning, when it is silhouetted against sunlight streaming through the 4-story windows between the columns. It remains Hancock's most famous work, and was his personal favorite.

The memorial was dedicated on August 10, 1952. Army General Omar Bradley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke at the ceremony. It was unveiled by Army Sergeant Robert E. Laws, a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his bravery in combat in the Philippines, and a sheet-metal worker at the Pennsylvania Railroad's Altoona Works.


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