New York's Penn Station Saga

Most people fly into New York if they live out of the state or country, but people living in the states near by or in the state of New York take the trains into the city and Penn Station is the busiest passenger train station in North America. It's located on 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue between 31st Street and 33rd Street. Amtrak runs the intercity trains, while the New Jersey Transit and the Long Island Rail Road operates the commuter rail services. New York City's six subway routes are also served by Penn Station.

The current Pennsylvania Station, which has been compared to a large catacomb with big rooms and many, many hallways, is for some reason criticized for not being charming, especially when they compared Penn Station to its much larger Grand Central Station. Even back in 1990, when owner Amtrak got together with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and did renovation work, improving upon the look by removing the grime built-up over decades, expanding the concession and waiting areas, and updating the stations information system, and yet the image of charmlessness persists.

Penn Stations history is well known among New Yorkers, and when its head-house and train shed were demolished in the 1963 to become what is now known as the Pennsylvania Plaza and Madison Square Garden, some thought the action to be a travesty, while others thought it justified because of the decline in rail passenger service. But, until the first blow, no one in New York thought the demolition would ever take place. When it did take place, New Yorkers were aghast that anyone would allow a structure with such elegance and history to be destroyed.

Before the destruction took place, the original Pennsylvania Station was considered a masterpiece of the Beaux-Arts style and deemed one of the jewels of New York. The station combined glass and steel train sheds with a magnificently proportioned concourse and an entrance to the city that would take your breath away. Penn's' enormous main waiting room, which was inspired by the Roman Baths of Caracalla, was the largest indoor space in New York City. During the demolition, all it took was one photograph of a smashed statue pillar in a landfill to become the catalyst for the enactment of New York City's first architectural preservation statutes.

However, the saga of Penn Station isn't over yet, there are plans for New York to redeem themselves with the hopes of building an even grander railroad station one block west, across the street at the James Farley Post Office. The plans are to move the Penn Station entrances and concourses under the Post Office, which fills an whole city block. When completed, it will be named the Moynihan Station. Let's just hope that Moynihan will at least have some charm.

If you do come into Penn Station to visit New York, you might want to find yourself a hotel.