Pennsylvania Station, often abbreviated to Penn Station, was a historic railroad station in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, named for the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
(PRR), its builder and original tenant. The station occupied an plot bounded by Seventh and Eighth Avenues and 31st and 33rd Streets in
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
. As the station shared its
name with several stations in other cities, it was sometimes called New York Pennsylvania Station.
The building was designed by
McKim, Mead, and White
McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), W ...
and completed in 1910, enabling direct rail access to New York City from the south for the first time. Its
head house
A head house or headhouse may be an enclosed building attached to an open-sided shed, or the aboveground part of a subway station.
Markets
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, head houses were often civic buildings such as town halls or courth ...
and
train shed
A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...
were considered a masterpiece of the
Beaux-Arts style and one of the great architectural works of New York City. The station contained 11 platforms serving 21 tracks, in approximately the same layout as the current
Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals.
Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to
Current train stations
* Baltimore Penn Station
* Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...
. The original building was one of the first stations to include separate waiting rooms for arriving and departing passengers, and when built, these were among the city's largest public spaces.
Passenger traffic began to decline after World War II, and in the 1950s, the Pennsylvania Railroad sold the
air rights
Air rights are the property interest in the "space" above the earth's surface. Generally speaking, owning, or renting, land or a building includes the right to use and build in the space above the land without interference by others.
This legal ...
to the property and shrank the railroad station. Starting in 1963, the above-ground head house and train shed were demolished, a loss that galvanized the modern
historic preservation
Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...
movement in the United States. Over the next six years, the below-ground concourses and waiting areas were heavily renovated, becoming the modern Penn Station, while
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
and
Pennsylvania Plaza
Pennsylvania Plaza (Penn Plaza) is the office, entertainment, and hotel complex occupying and near the site of Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded by 31st Street to the south, Eighth Avenue to the west, 34t ...
were built above them. The sole remaining portions of the original station are the underground platforms and tracks, as well as scattered artifacts on the mezzanine level above it.
Design
Occupying two city blocks from
Seventh Avenue to
Eighth Avenue and from 31st to 33rd Streets, the original Pennsylvania Station building was designed by
McKim, Mead & White
McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...
. The overall plan was created by
Charles Follen McKim
Charles Follen McKim (August 24, 1847 – September 14, 1909) was an American Beaux-Arts architect of the late 19th century. Along with William Rutherford Mead and Stanford White, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the partn ...
. After McKim's health declined, William Symmes Richardson oversaw the completion of the design, while Teunis J. Van Der Bent oversaw the engineering.
Covering an area of about , it had frontages of along the side streets and long along the main avenues. The
land lot
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property (meaning practically the same thing) in ...
occupied about along 31st and 33rd Streets.
Over of dirt had been excavated during construction. The original structure was made of of pink granite, of interior stone, of steel, of brick, and 30,000 light bulbs. The
superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
consisted of about 650 steel columns.
The building had an average height of above the street, though its maximum height was . Some or
of track surrounded Penn Station.
At the time of Penn Station's completion, ''The New York Times'' called it "the largest building in the world ever built at one time".
Exterior
![Pennsylvania Station Sketch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Pennsylvania_Station_Sketch.jpg)
The exterior of Penn Station was marked by
colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...
s of
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
unfluted columns based on the
Classical Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
-style
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...
. These columns, in turn, were modeled after landmarks such as the
Acropolis of Athens
The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. Th ...
.
The rest of the facade was modeled on
St. Peter's Square
Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the pope, papal enclave and exclave, enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighbor ...
in Vatican City, as well as the
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...
headquarters.
The colonnades embodied the sophisticated integration of multiple functions and the circulation of people and goods. The colonnades had a strongly horizontal orientation, interrupted only by the
lunette
A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void.
A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc take ...
windows and the roof of the waiting room. The ornamentation was intentionally simple, with emphasis being placed on the "unity and simplicity" of different parts of the design. The roof was made of
Monel
Monel is a group of alloys of nickel (from 52 to 67%) and copper, with small amounts of iron, manganese, carbon, and silicon. Monel is not a cupronickel alloy because it has less than 60% copper.
Stronger than pure nickel, Monel alloys are res ...
alloy, an
Inco
Vale Canada Limited (formerly Vale Inco, CVRD Inco and Inco Limited; for corporate branding purposes simply known as "Vale" and pronounced in English) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Brazilian mining company Vale. Vale's nickel mining and ...
product.
Entrances and colonnades
The building had entrances from all four sides. The main entrance was at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and 32nd Street, at the center of the Seventh Avenue facade. It was the most elaborate of Penn Station's entrances. Above the center of the entrance, above the sidewalk, was a clock with faces. Two plaques were placed above the arcade entrance. One plaque contained inscriptions of the names of individuals who had led the New York Tunnel Extension project, while the other included carvings of franchise dates and the names of contractors.
Twin carriageways from either northeast and southeast corners, modeled after Berlin's
Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after restoring the Orangist power by suppressing the Dutch popular unrest. One ...
, led to the two railroads served by the station.
One carriageway led from the north side of the building, serving LIRR trains, while the other led from the south side, serving PRR trains.
The walls of each carriageway were flanked by pilasters for a distance of . Ramps spanned the carriageways and led into the waiting room and concourse. The carriageways descended to the exit concourse at the middle of the station. From there, vehicles could travel to the baggage drop on the eastern end or return to Seventh Avenue. A separate passageway along the south side of the station carried baggage to the Eighth Avenue end of the station.
An open colonnade was used along the north, east, and south facades. The entirety of the east facade had a Doric-style colonnade. The easternmost portions of the north and south facades, adjacent to the carriageways, also contained colonnades.
Each column measured high by across. The remainder of the facade contained pilasters rather than columns. An approximately section of the Eighth Avenue facade was divided into three large openings, which comprised a large rear entrance to the main concourse.
The station contained four pairs of sculptures designed by Adolph Weinman, each of which consists of two female personifications, ''Day'' and ''Night''. These sculptural pairs, whose figures were based on model
Audrey Munson
Audrey Marie Munson (June 8, 1891 – February 20, 1996) was an American model (person), artist's model and film actress, considered to be "America's first supermodel." In her time, she was variously known as "Miss Manhattan", the "Panama–Paci ...
, flanked large clocks on the top of each side of the building.
''Day'' was depicted with a garland of sunflowers in her hand, looking down at passengers, while ''Night'' was depicted with a serious expression and a cloak over her head.
The ''Day'' and ''Night'' sculptures were each accompanied by two small stone eagles.
There were also 14 larger, freestanding stone eagles placed on Penn Station's exterior.
Interior
![Pennsylvania Station, NYC, Waiting Room, Cassatt Statue](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Pennsylvania_Station%2C_NYC%2C_Waiting_Room%2C_Cassatt_Statue.jpg)
Penn Station was the largest indoor space in New York City and one of the largest public spaces in the world. The ''
Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'' said in April 2007 that the station was "as grand a corporate statement in stone, glass and sculpture as one could imagine."
Historian Jill Jonnes called the original edifice a "great Doric temple to transportation". The interior design was inspired by several sources, including French and German railway stations; St. Peter's Basilica; and the Bank of England.
Entrance arcade
The main entrance on Seventh Avenue led to a shopping
arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
that led westward into the station.
The arcade measured wide by long, with a similar width to 32nd Street. Cassatt modeled the arcade after those in Milan and Naples, filling it with high-end boutiques and shops.
The stores were included because Cassatt wanted to give passengers a cultural experience upon their arrival in New York.
At the western end of the arcade, a statue of Alexander Johnston Cassatt stood in a
niche
Niche may refer to:
Science
*Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development
*Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species
*Niche differentiation, in ecology, the ...
on the northern wall where stairs descended to a waiting room where passengers could wait for their trains.
There was also a statue of PRR president
Samuel Rea
Samuel Rea (September 21, 1855 – March 24, 1929) was an American engineer and the ninth president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, serving from 1913 to 1925. He joined the PRR in 1871, when the railroad had hardly outgrown its 1846 charter to bu ...
directly across from Cassatt's statue, on the southern wall, which was installed in 1930.
Main waiting room
The expansive waiting room, which spanned Penn Station's entire length from 31st to 33rd Streets, contained traveler amenities such as long benches, men's and women's
smoking lounges, newspaper stands, telephone and telegraph booths, and baggage windows.
The main waiting room was inspired by Roman structures such as the
Baths of Caracalla
The Baths of Caracalla ( it, Terme di Caracalla) in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, durin ...
,
Diocletan, and
Titus
Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death.
Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...
. The room measured long, wide, and tall. Additional waiting rooms for men and women, each measuring , were on either side of the main waiting room.
The room approximated the scale of
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...
in Rome. The lower walls were of
travertine
Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...
, while the upper walls were expressed in a steel framework clad in plaster, decorated to resemble the lower walls.
The travertine was sourced from
Campagna
Campagna (Italian: ) is a small town and ''comune'' of the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of Southern Italy. Its population is 17,148. Its old Latin name was Civitas Campaniae (City of Campagna). Campagna is located in one of the ...
in Italy. This made Penn Station the first major American building to use travertine.
The north and south walls each contained small colonnades of six Ionic columns, which flanked the staircases on those walls.
There were also larger Corinthian columns on pedestals, measuring about tall from the tops of the pedestals to the tops of the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
s.
There were eight
lunette
A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void.
A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc take ...
windows on top of the waiting room's walls: one each above the north and south walls and three each above the west and east walls.
The lunettes had a radius of .
The artist
Jules Guérin
Jules Guérin (14 September 1860 – 10 February 1910) was a French journalist and anti-Semitic activist. He founded and led the Antisemitic League of France (), an organisation similar to the , and edited the French weekly (Paris, 1896–190 ...
was commissioned to create six murals for Penn Station's waiting room.
Each of his works were over high, placed above the tops of the Corinthian columns.
The murals themselves measured tall and across.
They contained maps depicting the extent of the PRR system.
Concourses
![NYP LOC5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/NYP_LOC5.jpg)
Penn Station was one of the first rail stations to separate arriving and departing passengers on two concourses. Directly adjoining the waiting room was the main concourse area for departing passengers, with stairs directly to each platform. The floor area of the main concourse was variously cited as having floor measurements of
or . This concourse was covered by glass vaults that were held up by a plain steel framework.
The glass roof measured . McKim wanted to give "an appropriate transition" between the decorated nature of the waiting room and the utilitarian design of the tracks below. After the general shape of the vaults was determined,
Purdy and Henderson
Purdy and Henderson was a New York City-based engineering firm founded by Corydon Tyler Purdy and Lightner Henderson. They were active in the United States and Cuba between 1890 and 1944.
Purdy and Henderson was founded in Chicago, and transferr ...
designed the steelwork.
The steel frame was less heavy at the top.
![Pennsylvania Station New York street level floor plan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Pennsylvania_Station_New_York_street_level_floor_plan.png)
LIRR commuters could also use an entrance on the northern side, along 34th Street.
The LIRR commuter concourse was above the tracks. There was an additional mezzanine level below the main concourse and waiting room for arriving passengers; it contained two smaller concourses, one for each railroad. The smaller northern mezzanine, used by the LIRR, connected to the LIRR platforms via short stairs and to the 34th Street entrance via escalators. The smaller southern mezzanine, used by the PRR, contained stairs and elevators between the PRR platforms and the level of the main concourse and waiting room.
Running from north to south was a separate exit concourse, measuring wide. This concourse led to both 31st and 33rd Streets and was subsequently connected to the subway stations on Seventh and Eighth Avenues. Two stairways and one elevator led to the exit concourse from each platform.
Platforms and tracks
The tracks were variously cited as being or below ground. At platform level, there were 21 tracks serving 11 platforms. LIRR trains had exclusive use of the station's northernmost four tracks, while the PRR was exclusively assigned the southernmost tracks. The two railroads shared the center tracks as necessary.
An estimated of storage tracks in and around the station could store up to 386 train carriages. The station contained 25 elevators for baggage and passenger use. The storage yards were located between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in a
cut
Cut may refer to:
Common uses
* The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force
** A type of wound
** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past
** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment
** Cut (ea ...
that was later covered and built over. The structure above it was supported by 650 steel columns, each supporting a weight of up to .
East of the station, tracks 5–21 merged into two three-track tunnels, which then merged into the East River Tunnels' four tracks. West of the station, at approximately Ninth Avenue, all 21 tracks merged into the North River Tunnels' two tracks. Tracks 1–4, the station's southernmost tracks, terminated at bumper blocks at the east end of the station, so they could only be used by trains from New Jersey. Four switch towers, lettered from A to D, controlled train movements around the station. The main switch tower was Tower A, located between Eighth and Ninth Avenues; it still exists, although it is now located below the Farley Post Office.
History
Planning
Before 1910, there was no direct rail link from points west of the Hudson River into Manhattan. The
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
(PRR)'s rail network terminated on the western side of the
Hudson River
The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
, once known locally as the
North River, at
Exchange Place in
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.[ferries
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...]
to cross the Hudson River for the final stretch of their journey.
In 1896 alone, there were 94 million passengers traveling to Manhattan from railroad terminals in Jersey City. Ferries were not a viable solution in the long term; a ferry trip across the Hudson River lasted 20 minutes in good weather.
The rival
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
(NYC)'s line transported passengers from the
Hudson Valley
The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...
in the city's north, ran along
Park Avenue
Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...
in Manhattan, and terminated at
Grand Central Depot
Grand Central Terminal is a major commuter rail terminal in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, serving the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem, Hudson and New Haven Lines. It is the most recent of three functionally similar buildings on the same s ...
(later
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
) at
42nd Street and Park Avenue.
PRR president
Alexander Johnston Cassatt wanted to build a terminal that surpassed Grand Central Depot in scale.
Early proposals
![Bromley Manhattan V](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Bromley_Manhattan_V._2_Plate_20_publ._1920.jpg)
Many proposals for a cross-Hudson connection were advanced in the late 19th century, but financial panics in the 1870s and 1890s scared off potential investors. In any event, none of the proposals advanced during this time were considered feasible. The PRR considered building a rail bridge across the Hudson, but the state of New York insisted that a cross-Hudson bridge had to be a joint project with other New Jersey railroads, which were not interested.
The alternative was to tunnel under the river, but
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s could not use such a tunnel due to the accumulation of pollution in a closed space, and the
New York State Legislature
The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...
prohibited steam locomotives in Manhattan after July 1, 1908.
The idea of a Midtown Manhattan railroad hub was first formulated in 1901, when the Pennsylvania Railroad took interest in a new railroad approach recently completed in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. In the Parisian railroad scheme,
electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...
s were substituted for steam locomotives prior to the final approach into the city.
Cassatt adapted this method for the New York City area in the form of the
New York Tunnel Extension
The New York Tunnel Extension (also New York Improvement and Tunnel Extension) is a combination of railroad tunnels and approaches from New Jersey and Long Island to Pennsylvania Station (New York City), Pennsylvania Station in Midtown Manhattan ...
project. He created and led the overall planning effort for it. The PRR, which had been working with the
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...
(LIRR) on the Tunnel Extension plans, made plans to acquire majority control of the LIRR so one new terminal could be built in Manhattan, rather than two.
The project was to include New York Penn Station; the
North River Tunnels
The North River Tunnels are a pair of rail tunnels that carry Amtrak and New Jersey Transit passenger lines under the Hudson River between Weehawken, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Built between 1904 ...
, crossing the Hudson River to the west; and the
East River Tunnels
The East River Tunnels are four single-track railroad passenger service tunnels that extend from the eastern end of Pennsylvania Station under 32nd and 33rd Streets in Manhattan and cross the East River to Long Island City in Queens. The tracks ...
, crossing the
East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
to the east.
Cassatt's vision for the terminal itself was inspired by the
Gare d'Orsay
Gare d'Orsay is a former Paris railway station and hotel, built in 1900 to designs by Victor Laloux, Lucien Magne and Émile Bénard; it served as a terminus for the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans (Paris–Orléans Railway). It was the f ...
, a
Beaux-Arts style station in Paris.
The original proposal for the station, which was published in June 1901, called for the construction of a bridge across the Hudson River between 45th and 50th Streets in Manhattan, as well as two closely spaced terminals for the LIRR and PRR. This would allow passengers to travel between Long Island and New Jersey without having to switch trains. In December 1901, the plans were modified so that the PRR would construct the North River Tunnels under the Hudson River, instead of a bridge over it. The PRR cited costs and land value as a reason for constructing a tunnel rather than a bridge, since the cost of a tunnel would be one-third that of a bridge. The New York Tunnel Extension was quickly opposed by the New York City Board of Rapid Transit Commissioners who objected that they would not have jurisdiction over the new tunnels, as well as from the
Interborough Rapid Transit Company
The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the private operator of New York City's original underground subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT w ...
, which saw the New York Tunnel Extension as a potential competitor to its as-yet-incomplete rapid transit service. The city had initially declined to give the PRR a franchise because city officials believed that the PRR needed to grant thirteen concessions to protect city interests; the PRR ultimately conceded to nine of the city's requests.
The project was approved by the
New York City Board of Aldermen
The New York City Board of Aldermen was a body that was the upper house of New York City's Common Council from 1824 to 1875, the lower house of its Municipal Assembly upon consolidation in 1898 until the charter was amended in 1901 to abolish t ...
in December 1902 by a 41–36 vote.
Approved plans
![Penn Station interior](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Penn_Station_interior.jpg)
In April 1902, Cassatt sent a telegram to
Charles McKim
Charles Follen McKim (August 24, 1847 – September 14, 1909) was an American Beaux-Arts architect of the late 19th century. Along with William Rutherford Mead and Stanford White, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the partn ...
of the New York architectural firm
McKim, Mead & White
McKim, Mead & White was an American architectural firm that came to define architectural practice, urbanism, and the ideals of the American Renaissance in fin de siècle New York. The firm's founding partners Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909), Wil ...
.
According to one account, when McKim received the telegram, he said: "I suppose President Cassatt wants a new stoop for his house".
After McKim talked with Cassatt, the architect learned that he had received the commission for the new Pennsylvania Station.
McKim was pleased to receive the commission, writing to his friend
Daniel Burnham
Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ...
, who had congratulated him. The historian Mosette Broderick wrote that McKim faced an "internal conflict" because Burnham and Cassatt had collaborated on the development of
Chicago Union Station
Chicago Union Station is an intercity and commuter rail terminal located in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The station is Amtrak's flagship station in the Midwest. While serving long-distance passenger trains, it is also ...
, which indicated that Cassatt had some type of "loyalty" to Burnham.
McKim may have received the commission for New York Penn Station because of his friendship with Daniel Smith Newhall, the PRR's purchasing agent, who had praised McKim's work.
The plans approved in December 1902 called for an "immense passenger station" on the east side of Eighth Avenue between 31st and 33rd Streets in Manhattan. The project was expected to cost over $100 million.
Though the tracks were to be entirely underground, the plans had to resemble a typical railway station while also serving as a major gateway to New York City.
The new design also had to compete with that of the new Grand Central Terminal, designed by
Reed & Stem.
McKim studied the role of public buildings in Ancient Rome, including the
Baths of Diocletian
, alternate_name = it, Terme di Diocleziano
, image = Baths of Diocletian-Antmoose1.jpg
, caption = Baths of Diocletian, with the basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri built in the remains of the baths.
, map_dot_ ...
. Cassatt and McKim collaborated closely to define the structure of the station.
Their original plan called for a structure measuring long by wide, with three floors open to passengers and 25 tracks.
Cassatt had wanted to build a hotel above the station, but McKim had dismissed the proposal,
having been opposed to high-rise buildings.
According to architectural writer Leland Roth, the absence of the hotel eliminated income that could have helped the station's preservation in later years.
As part of the station's construction, the PRR proposed that the
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
construct a post office across from the station on the west side of Eighth Avenue. In February 1903, the U.S. government accepted the PRR's proposal and made plans to construct what would later become the
Farley Post Office, which was also designed by McKim, Mead & White. The PRR would also build a train
storage yard in Queens east of Penn Station, to be used by both PRR trains from the west and LIRR trains from the east. The yard was to store passenger-train cars at the beginning or end of their trips, as well as to reverse the direction of the locomotives that pulled these train cars.
Construction
Land acquisition
Land purchases for the station started in late 1901 or early 1902. The PRR purchased a site bounded by Seventh and Ninth Avenues between 31st and 33rd Streets. This site was chosen over other sites farther east, such as
Herald Square
Herald Square is a major commercial intersection in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, formed by the intersection of Broadway, Sixth Avenue (officially Avenue of the Americas), and 34th Street. Named for the now-defunct ''New ...
, because these parts of Manhattan were already congested. Penn Station proper would be located along the eastern part of the site between Seventh and Eighth Avenue. The northwestern block, bounded by Eighth Avenue, Ninth Avenue, 32nd Street, and 33rd Street, was not part of the original plan.
The condemnation of 17 city-owned buildings on the station's future site, an area of four blocks, began in June 1903. All 304 parcels within the four-block area, which were collectively owned by between 225 and 250 entities, had been purchased by November 1903.
The PRR purchased land west of Ninth Avenue in April 1904, such that it owned all the land between Seventh and Tenth Avenues from 31st to 33rd Street. This land would allow the PRR to build extra railroad switches for the tracks around Penn Station. The PRR also purchased land along the north side of the future station between 33rd and 34th Streets, so the company could create a pedestrian walkway leading directly to 34th Street, a major crosstown thoroughfare. The properties between 33rd and 34th Street that the PRR had purchased were transferred to PRR ownership in 1908. Clearing the site entailed "displacing thousands of residents from the largely
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
community in what was once known as the
Tenderloin district in Manhattan."
Early work
The details of the track layout were finalized by 1904. A $5 million contract to excavate the site was awarded that June, marking the start of the construction. Overall, some 500 buildings had to be demolished to make way for the station.
By early 1905, contractors were installing granite in the station's lower levels, and an adjacent power station on 31st Street was finished. During this time, McKim's health began to decline as he experienced stress in his personal and professional life.
McKim withdrew from the project in 1906 as his health worsened, and Richardson replaced him as lead architect.
Even as excavation proceeded, the federal government was still deciding whether to build a post office next to the PRR station. The PRR planned to turn over the
air rights
Air rights are the property interest in the "space" above the earth's surface. Generally speaking, owning, or renting, land or a building includes the right to use and build in the space above the land without interference by others.
This legal ...
to the blocks between Eighth and Ninth Avenues to the federal government once excavations were completed.
However, the PRR would still own the land below the post office leading some Congress members to oppose the post office plan, as they believed that the government would only own "a chunk of space in the air" above the tracks.
The
Postmaster of New York City
A post office may have operated in New York City as early as 1687. The United States Postal Service has no information on New York's postmasters prior to the year 1775. The New York City Post Office is first mentioned in Hugh Finlay's journal dat ...
,
William Russell Willcox
William Russell Willcox (April 11, 1863 – April 9, 1940) was an American politician from New York. On January 1, 1905, he became the Postmaster of New York City. By 1909 he was chairman of the New York Public Service Commission. He served on t ...
, ultimately approved the post office anyway. McKim, Mead & White was selected to design the post office in 1908. By this time, the excavations were near completion and the structural steel for the post office building was being laid.
Completion and opening
The North River and East River Tunnels ran almost in a straight line between Queens and New Jersey, interrupted only by the proposed Pennsylvania Railroad station.
The technology for the tunnels connecting to Penn Station was so innovative that the PRR shipped an actual diameter section of the new East River Tunnels to the
Jamestown Exposition
The Jamestown Exposition was one of the many world's fairs and expositions that were popular in the United States in the early part of the 20th century. Commemorating the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown in the Virginia Colony, it w ...
in
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
, in 1907, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the nearby founding of the colony at
Jamestown. The same tube, with an inscription indicating that it had been displayed at the Exposition, was later installed under water and remains in use. Construction was completed on the Hudson River tunnels on October 9, 1906, and on the East River tunnels on March 18, 1908. Construction also progressed on Penn Station during this time. Workers began laying the stonework for the station in June 1908; they had completed it thirteen months later.
New York Penn Station was officially declared complete on August 29, 1910.
A small portion of Penn Station was opened nearly two weeks later, on September 8, in conjunction with the opening of the East River Tunnels. As a result, LIRR riders gained direct railroad service to Manhattan. Prior to the opening of Penn Station, LIRR riders entered Manhattan via the
34th Street Ferry Terminal, where they could transfer to
an elevated shuttle station. The rest of the station opened on November 27, 1910. One hundred thousand people visited the station during its first day of full service, excluding the 25,000 commuters and intercity riders. With the station's full opening, the PRR became the only railroad to enter New York City from the south. All of the architectural details were completed by October 1911.
At the station's completion, the total project cost to the Pennsylvania Railroad for the station and associated tunnels was $114 million (equivalent to $ billion in ), according to an
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminat ...
report. The railroad paid tribute to Cassatt, who died in 1906, with a statue designed by
Adolph Alexander Weinman
Adolph Alexander Weinman (December 11, 1870 – August 8, 1952) was a Germany-born American sculptor and architectural sculptor.
Early life and education
Adolph Alexander Weinman was born December 11, 1870 at Durmersheim, near Karlsruhe, Germ ...
in the station's grand arcade, subsequently moved to the
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is a railroad museum in Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
The museum is located on the east side of Strasburg along Pennsylvania Route 741. It is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museu ...
after the station's demolition. An inscription below it read:
Operation
Early years
![Penn station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Penn_station.png)
When Penn Station opened, it had a capacity of 144 trains per hour on its 21 tracks and 11 platforms. At the start of operations, there were 1,000 trains scheduled every weekday: of these, 600 were LIRR trains, while the other 400 were PRR trains. The commuting times of LIRR riders were cut by up to a half-hour. The station was so heavily used that the PRR soon added 51 trains to its daily schedule.
The station also served New Haven trains to
Westchester County
Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...
and
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
after the Hell Gate Bridge opened in 1917. During half a century of operation, many intercity passenger trains arrived and departed daily to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
and
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
, where passengers could make connections to other railroads. Along with Long Island Rail Road trains, Penn Station saw trains of the New Haven and the
Lehigh Valley Railroad
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad built in the Northeastern United States to haul anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Pennsylvania. The railroad was authorized on April 21, 1846 for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, w ...
s. A side effect of the tunneling project was to open the city up to the suburbs, and, within 10 years of opening, two-thirds of the daily passengers coming through Penn Station were commuters.
Richard Guy Wilson
Richard Guy Wilson (born 1940) is a noted architectural historian and Commonwealth Professor in Architectural History at the University of Virginia.
Wilson was born and raised in Los Angeles (residing in a house designed by Rudolph Schindler). H ...
wrote that "in catching or meeting a train at Pennsylvania Station one became part of a pageant".
The station put the Pennsylvania Railroad at a comparative advantage to its competitors offering service to the west and south. The
Baltimore & Ohio
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...
(B&O),
Central of New Jersey (CNJ),
Erie
Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
, and the
Lackawanna railroads began their routes at
terminals in New Jersey, requiring travelers bound for New York City to use ferries or the interstate Hudson Tubes to traverse the Hudson River. During World War I and the early 1920s, the rival B&O passenger trains to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, Chicago, and St. Louis also used Penn Station, initially by order of the
United States Railroad Administration
The United States Railroad Administration (USRA) was the name of the nationalisation, nationalized railroad system of the United States between December 28, 1917, and March 1, 1920. It was the largest American experiment with nationalization, and ...
, until the Pennsylvania Railroad terminated the B&O's access in 1926. Atypically for a public building, Penn Station was well maintained during its heyday. Such was the station's status that whenever the
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
arrived in New York by rail, he would arrive and depart on tracks 11 and 12. Royalty and leaders of other countries also traveled via Penn Station.
![Pennstation1910](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Pennstation1910.jpg)
Over the next few decades, alterations were made to Penn Station to increase its capacity. The LIRR concourse, waiting room, amenities and platforms were expanded. Connections were provided to the
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
stations at
Seventh Avenue and
Eighth Avenue.
The electrification of Penn Station was initially
third rail
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway t ...
, which provided 600
volt
The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827).
Defi ...
s of
direct current
Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or even ...
. It was later changed to
11,000-volt alternating current
Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...
overhead
catenary
In physics and geometry, a catenary (, ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field.
The catenary curve has a U-like shape, superficia ...
when
electrification
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source.
The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic histor ...
of PRR's mainline was extended to Washington, D.C., in the early 1930s.
The expansion of electrification also allowed the PRR to begin running electric-powered commuter trains from
Trenton via
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
starting in 1933; previously, steam-powered commuter trains continued to originate and terminate at Exchange Place. By 1935, Penn Station had served over a billion passengers.
A
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pac ...
bus terminal was built to the north of Penn Station, facing 34th Street, in 1935. However, within a decade, the bus terminal had gone into decline, and was frequented by low-level criminals and the homeless. The Greyhound bus terminal soon saw competition from the
Port Authority Bus Terminal
The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus station, bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving abo ...
, located seven blocks north of Penn Station. Opened in 1950, it was intended to consolidate bus service. Greyhound resisted for almost a decade afterward, but by 1962 it had closed the Penn Station bus terminal and moved to the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
Decline
Penn Station had started to decline in the 1930s.
The station was busiest during World War II: in 1945, more than 100 million passengers traveled through Penn Station.
The station's decline came soon afterward with the beginning of the
Jet Age
The Jet Age is a period in the history of aviation defined by the advent of aircraft powered by jet turbine engines, and by the social change this brought about.
Jet airliners were able to fly much higher, faster, and farther than older pisto ...
and the construction of the
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...
.
The PRR recorded its first-ever annual operating losses in 1947, and intercity rail passenger volumes continued to decline dramatically over the next decade.
By the 1950s, its ornate pink granite exterior had become coated with grime.
During the decade, the PRR relied increasingly on real estate to keep it profitable.
A renovation in the late 1950s covered some of the grand columns with plastic and blocked off the spacious central hallway with the "Clamshell", a new ticket office designed by
Lester C. Tichy.
Architectural critic
Lewis Mumford
Lewis Mumford (October 19, 1895 – January 26, 1990) was an American historian, sociologist, philosopher of technology, and literary critic. Particularly noted for his study of cities and urban architecture, he had a broad career as a wr ...
wrote in ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' in 1958 that "nothing further that could be done to the station could damage it".
Advertisements surrounded the station's Seventh Avenue concourse, while stores and restaurants were crammed around the Eighth Avenue side's mezzanine. A layer of dirt covered the interior and exterior of the structure, and the pink granite was stained with gray.
Another architectural critic,
Ada Louise Huxtable
Ada Louise Huxtable (née Landman; March 14, 1921 – January 7, 2013) was an architecture critic and writer on architecture. Huxtable established architecture and urban design journalism in North America and raised the public's awareness of the ...
, wrote in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' in 1963: "The tragedy is that our own times not only could not produce such a building, but cannot even maintain it."
Demolition
![NYP LOC4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/NYP_LOC4.jpg)
The Pennsylvania Railroad optioned the air rights of New York Penn Station to real estate developer
William Zeckendorf
William Zeckendorf Sr. (June 30, 1905 – September 30, 1976) was a prominent American real estate developer. Through his development company Webb and Knapp — for which he began working in 1938 and which he purchased in 1949 — he developed ...
in 1954. He had previously suggested that the two-block site of the
main building could be used for a "world trade center".
The option allowed for the demolition of the main building and
train shed
A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...
, which could be replaced by an office and sports complex. The station's underground platforms and tracks would not be modified, but the station's mezzanines would be reconfigured.
A blueprint for a "Palace of Progress" was released in 1955 but was not acted upon.
Plans for the new
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
above Penn Station were announced in 1962 by
Irving Mitchell Felt
Irving Mitchell Felt (25 January 1909 – 22 September 1994) was a New York businessman who led the drive in the 1960s to build a new Madison Square Garden.[Graham-Paige
Graham-Paige was an American automobile manufacturer founded by brothers Joseph B. Graham (1882-1970), Robert C. Graham (1885-1967), and Ray A. Graham (1887-1932) in 1927. Automobile production ceased in 1940, and its automotive assets were acq ...]
, the company that purchased the air rights to Penn Station. In exchange for the air rights, the Pennsylvania Railroad would get a brand-new, air-conditioned, smaller station completely below street level at no cost, and a 25 percent stake in the new Madison Square Garden Complex. A 28-story hotel and 34-story office building, now part of
Penn Plaza, would be built on the eastern side of the block, facing Seventh Avenue. The arena proper would take up most of the block, facing Eighth Avenue to the west. At the time, one argument made in favor of the old Penn Station's demolition was that the cost of maintaining the structure had become prohibitive. Its grand scale made the PRR devote a "fortune" to its upkeep,
and the head house's exterior had become somewhat grimy.
Those who opposed demolition considered whether it made sense to preserve a building, intended to be a cost-effective and functional piece of the city's infrastructure, simply as a monument to the past. As a ''New York Times'' editorial critical of the demolition noted at the time, "any city gets what it wants, is willing to pay for, and ultimately deserves."
The architectural community in general was surprised by the announcement of the head house's demolition. Modern architects rushed to save the ornate building, although it was contrary to
their own styles. They called the station a treasure and chanted "Don't Amputate – Renovate" at rallies. Despite the controversy generated over the demolition, Felt stated that he "believed that the gain from the new buildings and sports center would more than offset any aesthetic loss." He elaborated, "Fifty years from now, when it's time for
adison Square Gardento be torn down, there will be a new group of architects who will protest." Despite large public opposition to Penn Station's demolition, the
New York City Department of City Planning
The Department of City Planning (DCP) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for setting the framework of city's physical and socioeconomic planning. The department is responsible for land use and environmental review, p ...
voted in January 1963 to start demolishing the station that summer.
Architects protested against the decision, but to no effect.
![Penn Station demolition, June 25, 1966](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Penn_Station_demolition%2C_June_25%2C_1966.jpg)
Under the leadership of PRR president
Stuart T. Saunders (who later headed
Penn Central
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...
Transportation), demolition of the above-ground station house began on October 28, 1963. A giant steel deck was placed above the tracks and platforms, allowing rail service to continue with only minor disruptions.
This was possible because most of the rail infrastructure, including the waiting room, concourses and platforms, was below street level. Around five hundred columns were sunk into the platforms, while passengers were routed around work areas surrounded by plywood. Madison Square Garden and two office towers were built above the extensively renovated concourses and waiting area.
The first girders for Madison Square Garden were placed in late 1965, and, by mid-1966, much of the station had been demolished except for the Seventh Avenue entrance. By late 1966, much of the new station had been built. There were three new entrances: one from 31st Street and Eighth Avenue, another from 33rd Street and Eighth Avenue, and a third from a driveway running mid-block between Seventh and Eighth Avenues from 31st to 33rd Streets. Permanent electronic signs were being erected, shops were being renovated, new escalators were being installed, and platforms that were temporarily closed during renovations had been reopened. A 1968 advertisement depicted architect
Charles Luckman
Charles Luckman (May 16, 1909 – January 26, 1999) was an American businessman, property developer, and architect known for designing landmark buildings in the United States such as the Theme Building, Prudential Tower, Madison Square Garden, ...
's model of the final plan for the Madison Square Garden Center complex.
Impact
Although the demolition of the head house was justified as progressive at a time of declining rail passenger service, it also created international outrage.
One of the most outspoken critics was Huxtable, who published numerous editorials in ''The New York Times'' decrying the demolition of the station. As the dismantling of the structure began, ''The New York Times'' editorial board wrote, "Until the first blow fell, no one was convinced that Penn Station really would be demolished, or that New York would permit this monumental act of vandalism against one of the largest and finest landmarks of its age of Roman elegance."
''New York Times'' reporter Eddie Hausner's photograph of the sculpture ''Day'' by Adolph Alexander Weinman, lying in a landfill in the
New Jersey Meadowlands
New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeastern New Jersey in the United States, a few miles to the west of N ...
, inspired New Jersey Conservation and Economic Development Commissioner
Robert A. Roe to salvage some of the head house's sculptures.
''New York Times'' architecture critic
Michael Kimmelman
Michael Kimmelman (born May 8, 1958) is the architecture critic for ''The New York Times'' and has written about public housing, public space, landscape architecture, community development and equity, infrastructure and urban design. He has report ...
compared the demolition of the head house unfavorably to that of
Lenox Library, destroyed to make way for the
Frick Collection
The Frick Collection is an art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection (normally at the Henry Clay Frick House, currently at the 945 Madison Avenue#2021–present: Frick Madison, Frick Madison) features Old Master paintings and Europe ...
, or the old
Waldorf–Astoria, razed for the construction of the
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its name is derived from "Empire State", the nickname of the st ...
. He claimed that it broke a long tradition of New Yorkers accepting that "what replaced a beloved building would be as good or better."
The controversy over the original head house's demolition is cited as a catalyst for the architectural preservation movement in the United States,
particularly in New York City.
In 1965, two years after Penn Station's demolition commenced, the city passed a landmarks preservation act, thereby creating the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...
(LPC). New York City's other major railroad station, Grand Central Terminal, was also proposed for demolition in 1968 by its owner, Penn Central. Grand Central Terminal was ultimately preserved by the LPC, despite
an unsuccessful challenge from Penn Central in 1978.
Present day
![Penn Station concourse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Penn_Station_concourse.jpg)
The replacement Penn Station was built underneath Madison Square Garden at 33rd Street and Two Penn Plaza. The station spans three levels, with the concourses on the upper two levels and the train platforms on the lowest level. The two levels of concourses, while original to the 1910 station, were renovated extensively during the construction of Madison Square Garden and expanded in subsequent decades.
The tracks and platforms are also largely original, except for newer track connections to the
West Side Rail Yard and the
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
Empire Corridor
The Empire Corridor is a passenger rail corridor in New York State running between Penn Station in New York City and . Major cities on the route include Poughkeepsie, Albany, Schenectady, Amsterdam, Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo ...
serving
Albany and
Buffalo. The station is arranged into separate concourses for Amtrak,
NJ Transit
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
(which operates the former PRR commuter lines from New Jersey), and the LIRR.
General reception of the replacement station has been largely negative. Comparing the new and old stations, Yale architectural historian
Vincent Scully
Vincent Joseph Scully Jr. (August 21, 1920 – November 30, 2017) was an American art historian who was a Sterling Professor of the History of Art in Architecture at Yale University, and the author of several books on the subject. Architect Phil ...
once wrote, "One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat."
Despite having undergone improvements since the 1960s, Penn Station is criticized as a low-ceilinged "
catacomb
Catacombs are man-made subterranean passageways for religious practice. Any chamber used as a burial place is a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire.
Etymology and history
The first place to be referred ...
" lacking charm, especially when compared to the larger and more ornate Grand Central Terminal.
''The New York Times'', in a November 2007 editorial supporting development of an enlarged railroad station, said that "Amtrak's beleaguered customers ... now scurry through underground rooms bereft of light or character."
''Times'' transit reporter Michael M. Grynbaum wrote that Penn Station was "the ugly stepchild of the city's two great rail terminals."
Along similar lines, Michael Kimmelman wrote in 2019 that while downsizing Penn Station and moving it underground may have made a modicum of sense at the time, in hindsight it was a sign that New York was "disdainful of its gloried architectural past." He also claimed that the remodeled station is not commensurate with its status as the main rail gateway to New York.
The General Post Office, directly west of the station, remained largely intact through the 20th century;
the LPC had designated the post office as one of the city's earliest landmarks in 1966. In the early 1990s, U.S. Senator
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick Moynihan (March 16, 1927 – March 26, 2003) was an American politician, diplomat and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New York in the United States Senate from 1977 until 2001 and served as an ...
began promoting a plan to build a replica of the historic Penn Station, since he had shined shoes in the original station during the Great Depression. He proposed erecting it in the nearby Farley Post Office building. The project, later renamed "
Moynihan Train Hall
Moynihan Train Hall is an expansion of Pennsylvania Station, the main intercity and commuter rail station in New York City, into the city's former main post office building, the James A. Farley Building. Located between Eighth Avenue, Nin ...
", was split into two phases. The West End Concourse, opened in the eastern part of the former post office in June 2017. The second phase, an expansion of Penn Station's facilities into parts of the post office building, opened in January 2021.
Surviving elements
Following the demolition of the original Penn Station, many of its architectural elements were lost or buried in the New Jersey Meadowlands. Some elements were salvaged and relocated. Additional architectural elements remain in the present-day station: some were covered over, while others remain visible throughout the current station.
Ornaments and art
Eagles
Of the 22 eagle sculptures around the station exterior, the locations of all 14 larger, freestanding eagles are known.
Three remain in New York City: two at Penn Plaza along Seventh Avenue flanking the main entrance, and one at
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...
, Adolph Weinman's alma mater. Cooper Union's eagle had been located in the courtyard of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering at
51 Astor Place,
but was relocated in the summer of 2009, along with the engineering school, to a new academic building at
41 Cooper Square. This eagle is no longer visible from the street, as it is located on the building's eighth-floor green roof.
Three eagles are on Long Island: two at the
United States Merchant Marine Academy
The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serve as officers in the United States Merchant ...
in
Kings Point,
and one at the
LIRR station in
Hicksville, New York
Hicksville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York. The population of the CDP was 41,547 at the 2010 census.
History
Valentine Hicks, son-in-law of abolitionist an ...
. Four reside on the
Market Street Bridge in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, across from that city's
30th Street Station
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
.
There are also individual eagles at four locations. One is positioned near the end zone at the football field of
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden Sydney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Prince Edward County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census.
Hampden Sydney is the home of Hampden–Sydney College, a private all- ...
near
Farmville, Virginia
Farmville is a town in Prince Edward and Cumberland counties in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 8,216 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Prince Edward County.
Farmville developed near the headwaters of the Appomattox R ...
. Another is located on the grounds of the
National Zoo in Washington, D.C. The other individual eagles are located in
Vinalhaven, Maine
Vinalhaven is a town on the larger of the two Fox Islands in Knox County, Maine, United States. Vinalhaven is also used to refer to the island itself. The population was 1,279 at the 2020 census. It is home to a thriving lobster fishery and ho ...
, as well as at the
Valley Forge Military Academy
Valley Forge Military Academy and College (VFMAC) is a private boarding school (grades 7–12) and military junior college in Wayne, Pennsylvania. It follows in the traditional military school format with army traditions. Though military in ...
in
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
The Village of Valley Forge is an unincorporated settlement located on the west side of Valley Forge National Historical Park at the confluence of Valley Creek and the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania. The remaining village is in Schuylkill Tow ...
.
Of the eight smaller eagles, which surrounded the four ''Day'' and ''Night'' sculptures,
four are accounted for.
Two are located at the entrance to
Skylands in
Ringwood, New Jersey
Ringwood is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,735, a decline of 493 (−4.0%) from the 2010 census count of 12,228,[Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...]
Memorial Fountain in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
. The family of Albert Fritsch, a PRR mechanic, owns a fragment of another eagle.
''Day'' and ''Night'' sculptures
![Eagle Scout Memorial Fountain Kansas City MO](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Eagle_Scout_Memorial_Fountain_Kansas_City_MO.jpg)
Three pairs of the ''Day'' and ''Night'' sculptures have been located.
One of the four ''Day'' and ''Night'' sculptures still survives complete at Kansas City's Eagle Scout Memorial Fountain.
A ''Night'' sculpture was moved to the sculpture garden at the
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...
.
The other pairs of ''Day'' and ''Night'' sculptures were discarded in the Meadowlands.
One of these pairs, recovered by Robert A. Roe, was stored at
Ringwood State Park
Ringwood State Park is a state park in Passaic County in northeastern New Jersey, USA. The Park is located in the heart of the Ramapo Mountains in Ringwood. Its forests are part of the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion.
It contains th ...
in
Passaic County, New Jersey
Passaic County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the population of Passaic County was enumerated at 524,118, an increase of 22,892 (4.6%) from t ...
.
In the late 1990s, NJ Transit wanted to install the sculptures at
Newark Broad Street station.
However, this did not happen, and a writer for the website ''Untapped Cities'' found the sculpture pair in a Newark parking lot in mid-2017.
Another ''Day'' sculpture was found in 1998 at the Con-Agg Recycling Corporation plant in the Bronx;
the damaged sculpture had been stored at the recycling plant since at least the mid-1990s.
Other artifacts
The Brooklyn Museum also owns part of one of the station's Ionic columns as well as some plaques from the station. The largest piece of the station that is known to had been salvaged, a Doric column, was transported upstate to
Woodridge, New York, circa 1963. The Doric column had been intended for an unbuilt college in Woodridge, the Verrazano College. However, the column remained in Woodridge once plans for the college were canceled, since it was very unwieldy to bring the column back downstate.
In addition, eighteen of the station's 84 columns were supposed to be placed in
Battery Park
The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. It is bounded by Battery Place on the north, State Street on the east, New York Harbor to ...
in Lower Manhattan. However, the columns were dumped in a landfill in New Jersey instead.
The statue of Samuel Rea still exists and is located outside the modern Penn Station entrance on Seventh Avenue.
Layout features
Other small architectural details remain in the station. Some of the original staircases to platform level, with brass and iron handrails, still exist, though others have been replaced with escalators.
The original cast iron partition that separates the Long Island Rail Road waiting area on the lower concourse was uncovered during renovations in 1994. Original granite becomes exposed every so often in heavily trafficked corridors where modern flooring has worn, and the modern waiting areas and ticket booths occupy roughly the same spaces as the original 1910 configuration. Vestiges of the northern entrance carriageway also exist.
The modern station still maintains the structural underpinnings of the original station.
From platform level, glass
vault lights can still be seen embedded within the ceiling (the floor of the lower concourse) that once let light pass through the concourse from the glass ceilings of the original train shed.
Penn Station Services Building
The Penn Station Services Building, located just south of the station at 242 West 31st Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, was constructed in 1908 to provide electricity and heat for the station. The building measures long by tall, with a pink granite facade in the
Roman Doric style, and was designed by McKim, Mead and White. A wall runs from north to south, bisecting the building, with power-generating boilers west of the wall and power distributing equipment and offices to the east.
The structure survived the demolition of the main station building, but was downgraded so that it only provided compressed air for the switches in the interlockings under the station.
In January 2020, a
southward expansion of Pennsylvania Station, to be called Penn South, was proposed. The proposal would expand the track area south to West 30th Street and require demolition of the entire block upon which the building is located.
In media
The original Pennsylvania Station has been featured in several works of media. For instance,
Rouben Mamoulian
Rouben Zachary Mamoulian ( ; hy, Ռուբէն Մամուլեան; October 8, 1897 – December 4, 1987) was an American film and theatre director.
Early life
Mamoulian was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire, to a family of Armenian descent. H ...
's 1929 film
''Applause'' depicted the station in a scene between the main character and her daughter.
Several scenes in the 1945 film ''
The Clock'' also take place in Pennsylvania Station, though they were shot on
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
Stage 27 due to World War II cost constraints.
By contrast, the 1951
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
film
''Strangers on a Train'', which has a chase scene in Pennsylvania Station, was filmed on site.
The glass concourse is also shown in the opening and ending scenes of
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
's 1955
noir film
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...
''
Killer's Kiss
''Killer's Kiss'' is a 1955 American crime film noir directed by Stanley Kubrick and written by Kubrick and Howard Sackler. It is the second feature film directed by Kubrick, following his 1953 debut feature '' Fear and Desire''. The film stars ...
''.
After Pennsylvania Station was demolished, it was recreated for a scene in the 2019 film ''
Motherless Brooklyn''. Visual effects were combined with an actual set and actors in period costume, although the version shown reflects its more pristine image in the 1920s and 1930s rather than its more dilapidated condition by the film's 1957 setting.
Gallery
The critic in the Occident (1913) (14769342724).jpg, The main waiting room
NYP LOC2.jpg, The concourse
Penn stationimg023.jpg, The concourse and steps down to the tracks
Greyhound Bus Terminal, 33rd and 34th Streets between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, Manhattan (NYPL b13668355-482565).jpg, The former Greyhound Bus terminal beside the station
References
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
*
*
''The Rise and Fall of Penn Station'' ''
American Experience
''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American his ...
'',
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
(February 2014)
Architectural drawings and photographs of the station(plates 300–310)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pennsylvania Station (1910-1963)
Station
Demolished railway stations in the United States
Demolished buildings and structures in Manhattan
Beaux-Arts architecture in New York City
Historic American Buildings Survey in New York (state)
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1910
Railway stations in Manhattan
Former Long Island Rail Road stations in New York City
McKim, Mead & White buildings
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
Railroad terminals in New York City
Union stations in the United States
Transit centers in the United States
Transit hubs serving New Jersey
Eighth Avenue (Manhattan)
Railway stations located underground in New York (state)
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
New York Tunnel Extension
Railway stations closed in 1963
1910 establishments in New York City
1963 disestablishments in New York (state)