Urban Renewal was a hatchet job – New York’s Pennsylvania Station

Jun 29, 2009 by Dan Taylor    10 Comments    Posted under: News

Sadly, it took some personal investigation to discover the topic of Urban Renewal (I truly do not remember covering this topic in High School).  And from what I’ve learned, both from reading, watching, and talking to those that lived through it, I’ve come to a personal conclusion that the ‘Urban Renewal’ projects that took place across this country should be considered a crime against not only architecture, but art, and therefore the human spirit as well.

This crime spread far and wide across the US, beginning just after the second world war, and stretching well into the 1970’s.  While in theory, the project sounded like a massive modernization of America, and again, on paper, that’s exactly what happened.  Don’t get me wrong, there where a number of positives that occurred under the Urban Renewal program, but at the same time, an incredible amount of American architectural history was demolished at the same time.  And let’s not forget about that wonderful rip-off known as ‘Eminent Domain’, as was popularly used to further Urban Renewal projects.

I grew up in a small town in upstate New York, and have personally seen photographs of the downtown area at the turn of the century vs. what’s left today.  In my opinion, a thriving downtown, center city area was stripped of it’s character, and replaced with bland facades, cookie cutter floor plans, and nothing short of defamation of character.

Having lived in New York City for close to 10 years, looking through and watching historical documentations on the city is nothing short of amazing.  Certainly, a city like New York simply needs to reinvent itself all the time, and thankfully today, a number of historical buildings are finding re-usage, but between the late 1940’s and the 1980’s, not so much.

One of the greatest travesties inflicted on the City of New York was the demolition of the original Pennsylvania Station.  Thankfully, the original Grand Central station still stands proudly in the middle of Park Avenue, but the Beaux-Arts style gem on the Hudson was destroyed in 1963, a mere 53 years after it’s completion.

The original Pennsylvania Station, occupying two complete city blocks, stood from Seventh Avenue to Eighth Avenue between 31st and 33rd streets.  Constructed from Pink Granite, McKim, Mead and White’s Pennsylvania station also utilized (then) cutting edge technology by way of glass and steel train areas, illuminating the boarding areas naturally.  Modeled after that Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, twin entrances lead to the two railroads that Penn serviced, the Pennsylvania and Long Island Railroads.  Likewise, the passenger waiting area was inspired by the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, and approximated the scale of St. Peter’s Cathedral.  At the time of it’s construction, Pennsylvania Station was the largest indoor space in New York City, and one of the largest public spaces in the world.

With rising operational costs in the 1950’s, Penn Station’s management began looking for ways to offset this cost, primarily in selling the air rights above the station.  In 1962, plans were announced for the demolition of Penn Station, only to be replaced by a smaller terminal, at no cost, along with a 25 percent stake in the to be built Madison Square Garden (oddly enough, Stanford White of McKim, Mead and White was the designer of the original Madison Square Garden, which was demolished in 1925).

Fortunately, the demolition of Pennsylvania Station did not go unnoticed, with The New York Times lamenting,

“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.”

Sadly, this outcry could not stop what some viewed as progressive of the time (both La Guardia and Idlewild Airports were seeing increased passenger numbers daily).  However, Pennsylvania Station’s legacy can be felt to this day.  The loss of Penn has been recognized as a major catalyst in enacting the City’s architectural preservation statues.  These benefits of these programs were quickly recognized, and spread to the national level rapidly.  Today, there are very few pieces of the original Pennsylvania Station in existence.  One of the sculpted clock surrounds serves at the Eagle Scout Memorial Fountain in Kansas City, Missouri, a caryatid now lives at the sculpture garden at the Brooklyn Museum, and all of the Penn Station eagles are either in the hands of private collectors or museums across the United States.  And while it’s time was short, the original Pennsylvania Station has been forever immortalized in Stanley Kubrick’s 1955 film noir, Killer’s Kiss, with footage of the concourse and exterior façade.

Obviously, New York’s Penn Station is only one example of an architectural demolition catastrophe.  Across the country, there have been countless demolitions of architectural masterpieces.

To view more train station demolitions, have a view of The Infrastructurist’s outstanding collection.