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Videos: The Demolition Of The Old Penn Station

Jen Carlson

Published Jul 31, 2012

Modified Jul 31, 2012

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Jen Carlson

Published Jul 31, 2012

Modified Jul 31, 2012

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via NYC Architecture

The original Pennsylvania Station, designed by Charles F. McKim, of McKim, Mead & White, opened on September 8th, 1910. The gorgeous building lasted an admirable, yet way too short, 53 years on New York City soil before being torn down. As promised yesterday, here's a look at the demolition of the building—one of the biggest mistakes the city ever made (according to people who like nice, pretty architecture over soulless sports arenas). And here are some fun and totally depressing facts about the building:

The original Pennsylvania Station had the biggest waiting room in history.
Natural light streamed through the iron and glass roof, which hovered 150-feet up.
The structure sat upon a (highly valuable) nine-acre lot.
On July 25th, 1961, The NY Times published an article about Madison Square Garden moving to the site of Pennsylvania Station, noting that the original station's waiting room would be part of the new facility. Of course, this didn't happen.
Ada Louise Huxtable, architecture critic for the NY Times, wrote, "We are an impoverished society. It is a poor society indeed that can’t pay for these amenities; that has no money for anything except expressways to rush people out of our dull and deteriorating cities."
Destruction began on October 28th, 1963, as protesters watched silently in the rain.
In a farewell letter to the station, published in the NY Times, the destruction was called "a monumental act of vandalism." The writer also stated, "One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat."
"The origins of the New York City Landmarks Law are often attributed to the loss of New York City’s Pennsylvania Station in 1963."
The building's remains, including 16-ton decorative eagles and the 84 Doric columns were later dumped into the marshlands of Secaucus, New Jersey.

UPDATE: We have been asked to remove the photos we originally posted, so here are some videos of the rise and fall of the station:

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Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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