Old penn station7/31/2023 When the station opened in 1910, it was an event that attracted thousands of awestruck onlookers. What better way to instill esteem and respect for the great city that lie ahead? From there, they entered the exquisite marble waiting area before exiting through the regal Doric colonnade of the building. The design of Penn Station led train passengers from track platforms onto a palatial concourse of domed steel and glass. McKim’s design appealed to a philosophy that architecture was a means of achieving social dignity. For McKim, the project was as much a homage to the human spirit as it was a masterpiece of design and engineering. Working with McKim, the two became obsessed with creating the biggest and best railroad station the world had ever seen, an elegant gateway to a city teeming with expansion and power. The sweeping devastation created doubts among many New Yorkers who feared the project was too big, perilous and out-of-control. ![]() Also, as the station itself was erected in Manhattan, scores of city blocks were destroyed with little regard for their inhabitants. Underground workers were maimed and killed as they carved through rock and dug through silt and sand in grueling round-the-clock shifts. In collaboration with the esteemed architect, Charles McKim, (of the legendary firm, McKim, Mead & White), Cassatt took the inspiration of the great Baths of Caracalla in Rome to form the basis of the new station’s design.įor Cassatt, his driving motivation was the bringing of the Pennsylvania Railroad directly into Manhattan rather than end it at its current terminus in Jersey City, where passengers had to depart trains and take ferries across the Hudson River into the great city.īut reaching directly into the metropolis was a dangerous feat for the Pennsylvania Railroad – It required the costly and hazardous construction of tunnels under the river and the technology to electrify the underground tracks. Penn Station was the vision of Alexander Cassatt, brother of the Impressionist painter, Mary Cassatt, who took over the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1910. The construction of New York’s original Penn Station was a magnet that brought together the leading forces of architecture, engineering and a vision of civic pride and purpose that had all but disintegrated when the station was destroyed a little over fifty years after it was built. ![]() The Twentieth Century emerged in a Gilded Age that would change the face of American cities, and New York was clearly the center of attention. It was an era of big dreams and prosperity. Would alter and haunt New York’s landscape to this day. Nonetheless, the once glorious station would neverīe forgotten or become just another dispensable relic. The magnificent structure was put to the wrecking ball just over fifty yearsĪfter it was built. Pennsylvania Station was built to last forever, but due to greed and myopia, Meanwhile, those who support alternative visions for the future of Penn Station have put forth some intriguing renderings.“There has never been a greater loss before or since.” In recent months, support for the plan has waned and developer Vornado has said their work on the project is currently paused. That plan has since been given a new name under Governor Hochul, the Pennsylvania Station Area Civic and Land Use Improvement Project. Under the current redevelopment plan, first put forth under former governor Andrew Cuomo as the Empire Station Complex Project, several landmarked eligible buildings would be sacrificed to make way for 10 new office towers. Today, as plans are put forth for the redevelopment of the area surrounding Penn Station, buildings in the neighborhood are once again at risk of demolition. ![]() The Railroad company did not pay relocation expenses. The last building they kept standing and operating was a pub so the construction workers had somewhere to drink. The workers were methodical with their demolition plan. The Pennsylvania Railroad had to demolish 500 buildings and displace roughly 6,000 people in order to build Penn Station.
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