AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Original penn station11/1/2023 ![]() The destruction of Penn Station led to the Landmarks Commission and saved other historic buildings like Grand Central Station.40☄4′59″N 73★9′26″W / 40.74972°N 73.99056°W / 40.74972 -73.99056 Despite widespread opposition to Penn Station’s demolition, the New York City Department of City Planning voted in January 1963 to demolish the station that summer. At rallies, they chanted, “Don’t Amputate, Renovate. Even though it was contrary to their style, modern architects rushed to save the ornate building. Some opposed demolition, questioning whether preserving a building intended to serve as a monument to a past era and add value to the city’s infrastructure was a wise decision. In 1962, plans were revealed to demolish the terminal and build Madison Square Garden. After the advent of the Jet Age and the construction of the Interstate Highway System, the station began to decline. In 1945, more than 100 million passengers traveled through Penn Station during World War II. The station had begun to decline in the 1930s. ![]() ![]() There were 1,000 trains scheduled every weekday when Penn Station opened. Penn Station opened with 144 trains per hour on its 21 tracks and 11 platforms. According to an Interstate Commerce Commission report, the Pennsylvania Railroad spent $114 million on the station and associated tunnels upon completion (equivalent to $2.5 billion in 2021). The lower walls were travertine, while the upper walls were decorated with a steel framework clad in plaster. Many Roman structures in the waiting room, including Caracalla, Diocletian, and Titus. Penn Station was surrounded by 25 acres of the track. It stood 69 feet (21 m) above the street on average, but its maximum height was 153 feet (47 m). It consisted of 14,000 m3 of pink granite, 1,700 m3 of interior stone, 27,000 short tons of steel, 48,000 short tons of brick, and 30,000 light bulbs. The original station was among the first to have separate waiting rooms for arriving and departing passengers, and these were among the city’s largest public spaces when it was built. 11 platforms were serving 21 tracks, roughly the same layout as the current Penn Station. The train shed and the head house of the company was considered masterpieces of the Beaux-Arts style and one of the most significant architectural achievements of New York City. For the first time, direct rail access to New York City was possible from the south. ![]() The original Penn Station building was designed by McKim, Mead & White in 1910 and occupied two city blocks from Seventh Avenue to Eighth Avenue and from 31st to 33rd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. An architectural wonder transformed a point of destination into a wonderland. The Gare du Quai d’Orsay influenced the planners of Penn Station in Paris and Baths of Caracalla in Rome. It was a station that inspired the world, even if only for half a century. Whether they were rich or poor, everyone saw Rome as if it was in their backyard. Tunneling was an idea few were familiar with, so they were visionaries. To reach Manhattan, a global center of commerce, they would first need to lay tracks in the turbulent Hudson and East Rivers. In the late 1890s, Pennsylvania Railroad leaders Alexander Cassatt and Samuel Rea pioneered two feasts. The majestic building stood in New York City from 1910 to 1963, but its memory continues to live to day. The original Pennsylvania Station was one of New York City’s most significant landmarks during the first half of the twentieth century, a palace in the middle of Manhattan.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |