Places - Lost in Time: Pennsylvania Station

hello and welcome to the fourth episode of places lost in time where we'll be looking at pennsylvania station in new york beneath the surface pennsylvania station in manhattan has changed very little since it first opened in 1910 however at street level the transformation of new york's intercity terminal has been both dramatic and heartbreaking in order to save costs during its ailing final years the pennsylvania railroad sacrificed perhaps its most iconic architectural feat the legacy of which is still endured to this day prior to the creation of the various tunnels and bridges that now span the hudson river manhattan island was connected to new jersey and destinations south of the city by a series of ferry boats the first of which was established in july 1764 when america was still the 13 colonies of the british empire this natural obstacle meant that access to new york was a slow and difficult task and could easily be hampered by weather conditions or currents on the river in 1832 the united new jersey railroad and canal company or unj and cc established one of the original 10 railway lines in the usa this being the main line from jersey city to newark trenton and philadelphia as well as connections to south amboy and camden upon reaching the hudson the united new jersey railroad terminated at several riverside stations the largest of which was exchange place station to connect with the polis hook steam ferry service to manhattan the world's first steam ferry operation established in 1812 exchange place station opened in 1834 and provided direct access to the ferry which would drop passengers in manhattan on west street adjacent to what is now the world trade center however this part of the city prior to the influx of banks and corporate headquarters was heavily industrialized with fishing docks abattoirs and high-density tenement housing as well as being a notable center for prostitution in 1853 the new york and harlem railroad established a terminus on the west side of 4th avenue between 42nd and 43rd streets that being grand central depot the station which replaced an earlier 1837 built harlem railroad maintenance shed was originally criticized for being too far out of town the main centre of new york being around the original dutch settlement in lower manhattan however grand central depot perfectly predicted the rapid expansion of the city and before long the station was sat neatly in the heart of midtown providing connections north and west on the tracks of the newly formed new york central railroad in 1872 following a series of mergers the pennsylvania railroad acquired the united new jersey railroad incorporating into its network the main line between philadelphia and jersey city now part of the wider northeast corridor however the matter of providing a direct rail service to manhattan in order to compete with the new york central still eluded them and thus it became essential for the company to cross the hudson in one form or another this situation was replicated on the other side of the city with the long island railroad which was established in 1834 to serve the rural townships of long island the long island railroad much like the pennsylvania had no means of access to manhattan and thus were forced to terminate at long island city on the opposite side of the east river this was further hampered by the long island railroad's near constant state of operational loss and with the company just barely able to stave off bankruptcy the pennsylvania chose to expand its empire into long island by purchasing a controlling share in the railroad in 1900 together the long island railroad and the pennsylvania developed a concept to build a station in midtown manhattan and originally considered a suspension bridge across the hudson then named the north river the crossing and subsequent station would be situated between 45th and 50th streets and would serve two closely spaced terminals for both pennsylvania and long island operations allowing passengers to travel between long island and new jersey without having to change trains the bridge concept however was quickly dropped when the sheer cost of construction made it unfeasible and therefore a tunnel was considered instead comprising of between two and four tubes with a diameter of 18.5 to 19.5 feet on february 13 1902 the pennsylvania new jersey and new york railroad was incorporated to oversee the development of the north river tunnels as well as the meadows division which would handle the construction of the north river tunnel approaches on the new jersey side despite the protests of the new york city board of rapid transit commissioners and the interborough rapid transit company who feared they would not have jurisdiction over the tunnels and would therefore become a rival to their yet to be completed rapid transit service the project was approved by the new york city board of aldermen in december 1902 with a proposed cost for both the tunnels and the news terminal station being 100 million dollars or 2.6 billion in 2020 following a general theme of prestige in the railroad business the planned pennsylvania terminus in manhattan was to be a grand cathedral-like structure inspired by the gar d'orsay in paris with charles mckim of the new york architectural firm mckim mead and white being hired to design the structure mckim envisaged a station layout that would celebrate one's entrance into the metropolis of new york with wide open spaces and grand towering columns in a manner derived from the public buildings of ancient rome specifically the baths of diocletian the resulting head house penned by both mckim and pennsylvania railroad president alexander johnson cassatt measured 1500 feet long by 500 feet wide with three floors open to passengers and 25 tracks as well as integrating a new united states postal service sorting office on the opposite side of 8th avenue built in a similar grand design to the main terminal and provided direct access to the platforms below in addition to the station and tunnels a new train storage yard called sunnyside yard would be constructed in queens for use by both the pennsylvania and the long island railroad and used to maintain and assemble trains prior to passing beneath the east river on their way to form services at the terminal the construction of the pennsylvania's route through manhattan would comprise of three sections the tunnel sections between the hudson and east rivers the subsurface train station with ornate terminal building and adjacent yards and a looping railway that would cut through the suburbs of queens across to randall's island at the hell gate and then into the bronx before continuing north towards new haven and boston the latter extension north of new york came about when the new york new haven and hartford railroad better known as the new haven railroad applied for and received a franchise to operate trains from the north east of new york to penn station via a new cord that would be built over the east river that connected with the existing new york to boston mainline from grand central depot construction of the station began in late 1901 following the purchase of land on a site between 7th and 9th avenues and 31st and 33rd streets known as the tenderloin district this district comprised largely of high-density housing and thus the land value of the area was much lower but meant that thousands of residents mainly from poor african-american communities had to be evicted and a four-block area including approximately 250 structures was leveled following delays caused by indecision as to the construction of the post office excavation commenced in june 1904 and tunnels were dug beneath the hudson and east rivers while the gigantic terminus rose in midtown progressing simultaneously the tunnels beneath the hudson were completed in 1908 followed a year later by the east river tunnels the final structure required to connect with the new haven's main line towards boston was the magnificent hell gate bridge designed by austrian civil engineer gustaf lindenthal which was completed in 1916. penn station meanwhile was declared officially complete on august 29 1910 with the structure being opened in phases the first few platforms opened on september 8th serving the long island railroad followed by the rest of the terminal on november 27th with the 25 000 commuters on the first day of operation being vastly outnumbered by the one hundred thousand spectators who would come to visit the enormous train station pennsylvania station truly was a fantastic piece of architecture clad in regal sophistication a giant glass and steel train shed bathed the booking hall and waiting room with natural light while the entrances to 7th avenue and 32nd street featured milanese-style shopping arcades which hosted dozens of high-end stores and boutiques on either side of the structure two 63-foot wide carriageways from the streets which were inspired by the brandenburg gate in berlin served each of the two railroads that used the station the north carriageway for the long island railroad and the south carriageway for the pennsylvania with each carriageway entrance covered by a 230 foot wide colonnade the waiting room was by far the station's most impressive facet a huge atrium accessed by 40-foot wide stairs at the center of which stood a statue of pennsylvania president alexander johnson cassatt later complemented in 1930 by a statue of pennsylvania president samuel rayer directly across from it finally in january 1919 the station was presented with its own dedicated hotel as in common with many major terminals in the usa called the pennsylvania hotel located on the other side of 7th avenue designed also by mckim median white the hotel originally housed 2 200 rooms and today is one of new york's most famous hotels although demolition of this structure has been mooted on numerous occasions the latest being 2019 in terms of functionality penn station hosted 21 tracks and 11 platforms and was capable of handling 144 trains per hour while 1 000 trains were scheduled every weekday during its first year of operation of these 600 trains were operated by the long island railroad working east through the suburbs of brooklyn towards the affluent escapes of the hamptons at the eastern end of long island while the remaining 400 were intercity services provided by the new haven in pennsylvania working north towards new haven and boston and south to newark philadelphia baltimore and washington dc among these were venerable named trains such as the broadway limited that competed directly with the new york central's 20th century limited on the overnight run to chicago as well as long-distance services to the sun-kissed beachside resorts of florida and the gulf coast including the silver meteor to miami and the crescent to new orleans penn station gave the pennsylvania a notable advantage over the rival baltimore and ohio which competed with the company on the vital express link between new york and washington but was only able to operate to its own terminus at jersey city on the opposite side of the hudson from manhattan the bno however was allowed access to penn station during world war one as sanctioned by the us government but their trackage rights into the terminal were axed by the pennsylvania in 1926. another notable pioneering feature of penn station was the use of electric trains to serve the terminus as the station was subsurface there was a serious concern by the management as to the ventilation of exhaust fumes from steam locomotives inside the terminal building but this was resolved through the introduction of a low voltage direct current third rail system which was used solely through the north and east river tunnels while the third rail system was unsuitable for long distance travel it proved to be a useful and efficient alternative for the station itself and was implemented throughout the long island railroad on its commuter services east of new york as for the pennsylvania they took the concept a step further by introducing 11 kilovolt ac overhead wires along its main line between new york and washington completed in 1935. this overhead wiring replaced the third rail system inside the station and subsequently gave rise to the pennsylvania's iconic gg1 electric locomotives that would be the flagships of the northeast corridor for over 40 years one of the less known features of penn station was that it hosted the original greyhound bus terminal in manhattan opened in 1935. the bus terminal however was poorly maintained and fell quickly into decline a haven for low-level criminals and the homeless thus the penn station greyhound terminal was closed in 1950 and replaced by the port authority bus terminal located seven blocks north penn station's peak year was in 1945 following america's victory over japan italy and nazi germany as hundreds of thousands of people were returned home after the conflict the station was the primary transfer point for those coming back from the european theatre and saw 100 million passengers pass through in that year alone unlike many public buildings penn station also had the distinction of being superbly maintained with the pennsylvania taking great pains to ensure that this icon of their architectural might remain pristine a reflection on the railway service in general following the end of world war ii the railways were faced with a harrowing prospect after years of monopolizing both long and short distance travel across the united states new forms of transport were starting to emerge thanks in part to the technological advancements made during the war for long distance journeys the development of faster more reliable airliners such as turbo props and jets quickly ate away the profits of america's many overnight transcontinental train services on short distance operations the growing influence of the car as a form of personal transportation together with the construction of interstates and freeways as part of the 1956 federal aid highway act saw the decimation of regional and commuter trains with railroads losing on all fronts and passenger levels and profits tumbling year on year throughout the 1950s and 1960s the quality of the trains and services became unreliable and untidy rapidly smearing the railroad with a decrepit reputation luxury named trains such as the 20th century limited and the broadway limited were axed and the glamour of riding the rails had truly lost its shine the collapse of the american railroad network struck both the pennsylvania and the new haven hard while the pennsylvania scrambled for a merger the new haven fell sharply into chaos as its regional operations across connecticut rhode island and massachusetts were eaten away by the car eventually leading to its bankruptcy while the pennsylvania railroad could remain afloat thanks to the coal contracts in pennsylvania and ohio the company was weighed down by the very structures that had helped build its august status penn station being highlighted as the biggest culprit costs for maintaining the gigantic station building had started to spiral as early as the 1930s and the pennsylvania was forced to cut back on general cleaning duties to save money wherever possible as such by the mid 50s the ornate pink granite exterior had become coated with grime while the 7th avenue flank of the station was sold off for advertising space and was now smothered with billboards the once ornate boutiques of the shopping arcade were divided up to make room for additional low-end stores and restaurants and in the main waiting room a large portion of the floor space was taken up by a new ticket office designed by lester c tishi known as the clamshell essentially the station had become a relic of a bygone era and following the pennsylvania's first ever year of operational loss in 1947 from which it wouldn't recover the company optioned the air rights of penn station to real estate developer william zekendorf in 1954. originally second off considered demolishing the station building in order to create the world trade center a massive complex of financial skyscrapers while the complex was to provide direct connections between its new office spaces and the trains below the plan was cancelled in 1955 and the world trade center would eventually be sited in lower manhattan next to the hudson in 1962 the graham page automobile company purchased the air rights for penn station from the pennsylvania and the company president irving m feld proposed the development of the madison square garden sports and office complex in exchange for the air rights the pennsylvania railroad was allowed a brand new air-conditioned train station and a 25 stake in the madison square garden complex consisting of a 28-storey hotel a 34-story office block and a multi-use sports arena the announcement of penn station's redevelopment sent shock waves across the architectural world and dozens of modern architects demanded preservation orders be placed on the ornate station building while both the pennsylvania and the city government argued that the terminus was far too expensive to maintain efficiently its defenders stated that penn station was unique in regard to being both a fully functional public building and an architectural gem in spite of public opposition fueled largely by a campaign led by the new york times the department of city planning voted in january 1963 to start demolishing the station that summer and on october 28th the first bulldozers arrived to tear down the structure as sections of the station building were demolished a giant steel deck was placed above the tracks and platforms in order to allow rail services to continue with only minor disruptions and all that was required was to direct passengers around the demolition work through the use of plywood walls and barriers through incremental phases running from west to east the grand station building was torn down and the first girders of madison square garden were installed with only the lavish 7th avenue entrance remaining by summer 1966 the new complex finally opened on february 11 1968 bringing an end to the beauty that was once pennsylvania station another connection with old world new york now severed forever the demolition of pennsylvania station received international condemnation with both the destruction of the ornate station building and the complex that replaced it being declared an architectural outraged emphasized further when pictures appeared in the new york times of the station's former sculptures now rotting in new jersey landfills although some were later rescued by new jersey conservation and economic development commissioner robert a rowe in its death though came life for other magnificent structures none more so than its former rival grand central terminal in 1968 the pen central formed through the merger of the collapsing new york central pennsylvania and new haven railroads considered demolishing the iconic station building and replacing it with a 55-storey skyscraper at the end of park avenue in the face of penn station's demise preservation groups were determined to ensure that grand central did not share the same fate and demanded the enactment of a city landmarks preservation order while penn central challenged the motion the preservationists ultimately won out in 1978 saving one of new york's most visited and cherished historic buildings as for penn station itself while the original structure is mourned plans have been mooted for decades as to a possible grand replacement escaping demolition as it belonged to the u.s postal service the james a farley post office building still exists in the same ornate design as the long lost penn station since the 1990s considerations were made that the structure could be bought from the postal service and converted for use as a train station which ultimately came to a head in the form of the moynihan train hall project led by the late u.s senator daniel patrick moynihan the new amtrak facility within the historic farley post office will consist of new exits and a mezzanine with ground broken for the project on october 18 2010. this was followed by the second phase of the project in august 2017 which will see the creation of a new train hall and while this structure may not share the same grandeur as the original head house upon completion of the scheme in 2022 it will certainly give at least a glimpse as to what it was once like to arrive at the palatial pennsylvania station thanks again for watching this video if you enjoyed it why not leave a like and be sure to subscribe for more great content thank you very much take care and i'll see you next time

Channel: Ruairidh MacVeigh

Views: 144,300

Keywords: New York, New York City, NYC, Pennsylvania Station, Penn Station, PRR, Pennsylvania Railroad, Long Island Railroad, LIRR, Manhattan, New Jersey, Hudson River, North River, East River, New York Central, Amtrak, Northeast Corridor, express, multiple unit, rail, train, electric locomotive, passenger, trains, engine, mainline, railways, steam locomotive, locomotive, railway, track, USA, World Trade Center, WTC, Twin Towers, United States, America, North America, United States of America

Id: 8YdhGpBaq4o

Length: 22min 9sec (1329 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 01 2020