![]() ![]() And preservationists weren't wrong to treat Moses as an avatar for the historically insensitive, aesthetically blind attitudes that informed its replacement. He did not cause the bad decisions of the struggling Pennsylvania Railroad, which allowed the old station to deteriorate for years before it was finally demolished. Moses is not entirely to blame for this state of affairs, but he is implicated. Long Island Railroad and especially New Jersey Transit passengers still rely on the underground monstrosity. ![]() It's much nicer, but it's designed primarily for Amtrak riders, who make up just a fraction of Penn Station's traffic. Moynihan train hall opened this year in a former post office building across the street. There's no mystery about how miserable this building is, how totally unsuited to human happiness, let alone convenience.Īfter decades of advocacy, the Daniel P. ![]() The poster in that first image actually pledges "higher ceilings" as an improvement to come. Although he was not personally responsible, the rapid and politically unaccountable destruction of a Beaux Arts landmark galvanized opposition to his domineering approach. Ironically, the demolition of the original Penn Station beginning in 1963 was a turning point in the struggle against Moses. If successful, the designation would add another layer of uncertain approvals to plans to renovate or replace the structures. The tensions between brutal dynamism and romantic preservationism were revived this week the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation recommended that the complex including Penn Station, Madison Square Garden, and the 2 Penn Plaza office building should be added to the National Register of Historic Places. Their unintended legacy, though, is proliferating regulations that stifle development, raise prices for infrastructure, and constrain the housing supply. Preservationists like the author Jane Jacobs are celebrated as heroes who saved historic buildings and walkable neighborhoods from Moses' obsession with modernization and automotive convenience (Caro reportedly cut an admiring chapter on Jacobs from The Power Broker). If Moses looks better in retrospect than when Caro published his book, his critics now seem less appealing. And while Moses implemented discriminatory policies that were standard in his day, claims of special animus against minorities (revived last month by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg) are overblown. Though they weren't always pretty, the highways, bridges, and housing developments Moses planned met genuine needs. Despite his sins against democracy, sociology, and good taste, the master builder was driven by a vision of a living city that offered affordable comfort to a growing population. ![]() The sole remaining portions of the original station are the underground platforms and tracks, as well as scattered artifacts on the mezzanine level above it.Moses wasn't all bad, though. Over the next six years, the below-ground concourses and waiting areas were heavily renovated, becoming the modern Penn Station, while Madison Square Garden and Pennsylvania Plaza were built above them. Starting in 1963, the above-ground head house and train shed were demolished, a loss that galvanized the modern historic preservation movement in the United States. Passenger traffic began to decline after World War II, and in the 1950s, the Pennsylvania Railroad sold the air rights to the property and shrank the railroad station. The original building was one of the first stations to include separate waiting rooms for arriving and departing passengers, and when built, these were among the city's largest public spaces. The station contained 11 platforms serving 21 tracks, in approximately the same layout as the current Penn Station. Its head house and train shed were considered a masterpiece of the Beaux-Arts style and one of the great architectural works of New York City. The building was designed by McKim, Mead, and White and completed in 1910, enabling direct rail access to New York City from the south for the first time. ![]()
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