It’s constructed from the same Stony Creek pink granite, while Doric pilasters and generous windows covered with iron cages recall the classical inspiration of McKim’s design. The plant stopped functioning in the years after Penn was demolished, but the building, which sits unused, gives a sense of the architecture and scale of the original station. That was once a coal-fueled power plant for the original Penn, which helped to power trains as well as provide electricity and heat to the station itself. On West 31st street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, a large classical building sits about midblock. Here are some of the easiest relics to locate the next time you’re passing through Penn. Pieces of the old station still exist to this day-you just have to know where to look. (One of the centerpieces of the hall’s design? A glass canopy meant to recall McKim’s original design.)īut one thing commuters may not realize: Penn Station never closed while it was being demolished, and much of the structure below the grand old terminal survived the demolition. Relief will hopefully come in 2020 with the opening of the $1.6 billion Moynihan Train Hall. The station that replaced McKim’s masterpiece, meanwhile, is difficult to navigate, plagued by ailing infrastucture, and ill equipped to accommodate its 600,000 daily travelers. (In 1965, the Landmarks Preservation Commission was established largely due to the city’s remorse over destroying the station.) A perfect storm of unfortunate circumstances-declining train ridership, out-of-control maintenance costs, and no laws preventing the destruction of architecturally significant buildings-led to its demise. Travelers emerged from their trains under canopies of glass into a hall with ornate architecture based off the Roman baths of Caracalla.ĭemolition on the Charles McKim-designed station, with its granite walls and 150-foot-high vaulted ceilings, began on October 28, 1963-55 years ago this week. Completed in 1910, the original Pennsylvania Station was once a triumphant welcome to New York City for commuters and tourists alike.
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