new york city is laden with train tracks below ground above ground and at times on street level
these tracks in various conditions show the city's evolution throughout the most recent centuries
having thrived on serving america as a gateway to the world there was a time that both the
rolling stock and these stations that serviced the tracks were created for more than just a pragmatic
purpose but as a projection of stature dignity and wealth among them once stood the world's most
beautiful train station sought after for its towering canopies with light shining through the
thousands of glass windows this is the story of pennsylvania station
new york's lost marvel i'm your host ryan socash and you're watching it's history
the second half of the 19th century was a critical time for the development of train
transportation in new york city networks extended between philadelphia north to jersey city and
they were robust but crossing the hudson river remained a major obstacle east of manhattan was
the long island railroad company which ended at the east river meaning that no matter what
latitude passengers approached a boat ride was needed to access manhattan on the flip side
new york's central railroad already served manhattan which was unacceptable to competitors
the only solution was to do the unimaginable tunnel under the river so in 1902 the contract
for building the river tunnel was signed and in 1904 construction was underway the first
leg of construction included digging two shafts just east of 11th avenue a few hundred yards
east of the river shore one moment that scared investors was when the new york state legislator
prohibited steam engines from entering manhattan after july the 1st 1908 recalling the dangers of
pollution accumulation in small spaces an issue that could be resolved by swapping out the steam
engine locomotives for electric ones before crossing the river after years of drilling and
blasting the tunnels opened on november the 27th 1910 as did our prized penn station considering
the fact that this was the first time manhattan had direct train service to the south and that
this station would be every passenger's first site of new york city a statement needed to be made
and it was at the cost of 100 million dollars or over 3 billion when adjusted for inflation
architect charles mckim would see to it that penn station would impose the stylings of
beaux arts celebrating the entrance to one of the great metropolitan cities of the world
he studied the role of public buildings in ancient rome ultimately outlying a plan that called
for a massive terminal with three floors and 25 passenger tracks the land purchase of the station
occurred in early 1902 with the plot occupying 7th and 9th avenue between 31st and 33rd street
developers also bought up plots along the north side of the future station to create a pedestrian
walkway displacing thousands of residents from an african-american community in the process
naturally many affected condemned the project but to little avail laborers began laying stonework
for the station in june of 1908 completing the masterpiece only 13 months later the official
opening was on august the 29th 1910 travelers from manhattan could now take trains directly
to chicago st louis baltimore washington dc and far beyond for the first time in new york city's
history i want you to seriously consider what this meant for the future of manhattan
and how relatively speaking this massive advancement happened hardly a century ago today
on the station's opening day it was visited by over 100 000 people although the construction
process of the station was a major accomplishment in and of itself the completion of the river
tunnel is what stole the headlines that said it was appreciated that this station was special
because it was on par with many of the world's most prized pieces of architecture living up to
the standards of the greatest empires throughout time when the station opened it could serve about
144 trains per hour on 21 tracks and 11 platforms in the early days there were 1 000 trains
scheduled every weekday and only accessible to two companies in fact the station was such a hit
that an additional 51 trains to westchester county and connecticut were added to the schedule in 1917
when the hell gate bridge was opened popular long-distance routes including chicago and st
louis enabled passengers to make connections to other railways there was also a side effect of
suburbia in the first decade as two-thirds of daily travelers were commuters furthermore the
station was very well maintained because it was frequented by vip guests the president of the
united states would arrive and depart on tracks 11 and 12 as well as international royalty and world
leaders as new york grew further capacity demand was put on penn station expansion of waiting rooms
traveler amenities and longer platforms were all installed what's more direct connections to new
york's subway system via the station on 7th and 8th avenue were provided by electrifying a third
rail consequently this move opened service to commuter trains from trenton and newark in 1933
and by 1935 penn station had served over a billion passengers in a class fit for world leaders
perhaps the first sign that things were about to change also occurred in 1935 when greyhound lines
built a bus terminal just north of penn station facing 34th street at minimum this would be an
unsightly omen of the future of planet earth's proudest train station the terminal from 1935
quickly fell into disorder as it was frequented by low-level criminals and was also facing
competition from the port authorities bus terminal located seven blocks north of
penn station by the second world war in 1945 the port authority's new bus station was at its peak
surpassing the accumulative passenger count of penn station with the public's gravitation
towards bus travel compounded by new modes of transportation offered by the so-called jet age
and the interstate highway system developing the famous station started to look a little bit more
like a ghost town rather rapidly the beautiful sprawling halls and archways of penn station would
no longer be graced by the likes of royalty rather they became an appealing domicile for undesirables
1947 was the first year that the station lost money and by the 1950s revenue was so poor that
affording basic maintenance became an issue the grand columns were covered with plastic and the
spacious central hallway was blocked off lewis mumford probably said it best in his article from
the new yorker in 1958 he said nothing further that could be done to this station could damage it
when the ideas for a wrecking ball were brought up even penn station's greatest admirers would
have a very hard time making their case advertisements surrounded the concourse
a layer of dirt covered the structure and the pink granite was stained gray a new york times
article made another very insightful remark about this period exclaiming the tragedy is
that our own times not only could not produce such a building but cannot even maintain it
and so it was the spell was cast in 1954 the pennsylvania railroad optioned their air rights of
the world's most beautiful station to real estate developer william zachendorf in
1954 another monument to humanity would be lost although the train shed would remain below ground
development of a commercial space became possible in the air ideas ranging from a world trade center
to a sporting complex were considered initially settling on the new madison square garden
announced in 1962 this was probably the best possible outcome as the owners of the underground
penn station would get air conditioning a zero cost station and a 25 stake in the new venture the
truth is that the cost of upkeeping a station for the sake of historic preservation was prohibitive
additionally in the time that the station was demolished it had already lost its charm rather
it was a part of the city to be avoided and as sickening as the demolition of penn station was
i challenge you to consider what it may have become if penn station was already a seedy
part of new york back then imagine what it might look like today and how the entire area around
it may have evolved i never thought i'd say this about the demolition of such a beautiful building
but with that image in my mind i suppose that madison square garden was the better of two evils
so despite international outrage demolition began on october the 28th 1963 with a giant steel deck
being placed above the tracks and platforms so that rail service could continue uninterrupted
by the summer of 1966 much of the station had already been demolished very few artifacts were
preserved but after a new york times photographer captured the sculpture day in a new jersey
meadowlands landfill salvage efforts were made of the 22 eagle sculptures on the station's exterior
the location of 14 are known with two remaining in new york city the eagle scout memorial fountain
in kansas city missouri contains a complete intact day and night sculpture from the station
including the small eagles and winged hourglass the brooklyn museum has saved one of the station's
iconic columns and the beautiful night statue at the station itself a few layout features remain
such as vault lights in the original flooring as seen from below and a historic staircase with
brass and iron handrails between tracks three and four others have been replaced by escalators the
penn station service building which is off site but built in 1908 to provide electricity and heat
to the station survived the demolition but in 2020 a southward expansion of penn station was proposed
which would most definitely doom this structure to a wrecking ball as well so why is this tale
of urban decay so tragic in the demolition of pennsylvania station we lost far more than a
work of art we lost our dignity you see there was a time not so long ago when travelers would not
even be permitted to board an airplane without the proper attire in contrast to the state of total
filth and disarray we can see at any american airport shopping mall or even government building
you have to ask yourself how do people become this way and as much as i'd like to blame the
individual it would seem that when cities reduce their citizens prestige by demolishing monuments
and replacing them with eyesores you really shouldn't be so surprised when people don't
even bother getting out of their pajamas to take a train in my mind the demolition of this great
station was a logical business decision but it came at an extreme cost to society progress
is the enemy of tradition but when you remove tradition people have no foundation so progress
might lead you to places you'd rather not go or in other words as yale architectural historian
vincent scully put it one entered the city like a god one scuttles in now like a rat help keep
the story of penn station alive by sharing this video with a friend and for more tales of urban
decay subscribe to its history check out our daily channel stories this is ryan silkesh signing off