Moynihan Station East

[NJBostonFan]

We know that before March 2008, there were plans to relocate Madison Square Garden into the Farley Post Office in New York City and on MSG's old site, which was where old Pennsylvania Station was, build a new train station, designed by Foster and Partners. The station would either have two skyscrapers on top of it, or be the same height as the Farley Post Office, with skyscrapers being developed on adjacent blocks surrounding it. Unfortunately, the plan collapsed. Now, let's take an idea that I have, suppose MSG is moved somewhere else, probably to where the old Javits Center is if it's demolished. On the WiredNY Forums, here's an idea proposed back in '07:

And, monuments are more than likely made of stone. I'm going to say this again, why can't we rebuild the facade of Penn, and make the interior and airspace as modern as anyone would like? Think of it: a glass curtain wall, fronted with Corinthian columns and the original pediments. Has anyone been to the center court and library of the British Museum in London? They built a Classical building in the center of the museum (the museum's old garden court) with an ultra-modern tensile glass canopy above. I think the design is incredible, and the fusion of Classicism and Modernism is beautiful. It perfectly melds the original Beaux Arts museum with its modern counterpart. I think it is a great example when designing our new Penn! Here it is:

And another post elaborating on the idea a bit. The entire exterior facade of Penn will be recreated/rebuilt (Preferably with the old elements of the station, since they can be salvaged from where they are in NJ and restored:

I was thinking just the porch; the block-long staircase, landing, columns, the heavy attic story, and pediments. I'd like to see the statuaries that once flanked the main clock back. Instead of going through stone, once on the "porch landing," you go through a very clear (and modern) glass curtain wall to get into the station, which extends upward, above the "porch." A glass canopy can go above the concourses and platforms; somewhere towers can be added above that, which would be typically glass or maybe even stainless steel and glass. With this idea, you can view the facade head on and between the columns you could see all the way through the station, maybe to the other side.

No classical interiors; just wide, open space to maximize circulation and minimize crowding. The platforms can be open air, with balconies above them. The flooring can be the same type of marble as the facade, like GCT. I think it could be very interesting. This facade can go all the way around the building or just opposite Farley, to create a unified "image" on 8th ave. Of course if there is to be street level retail, then the classical facade all the way around might not work, unless the "porch landing" serves as a retail corridor, which would keep rain off of shoppers, and keep the shopping foot traffic off the actual sidewalk. Also, retail can face inward in the station, and provide a sort of enclosed shopping plaza with a lot of light above the platforms. I like the previous idea, the outdoor pedestrian shopping corridor on the facade porch. . . Or, even further, since the interior space is so massive, stand-alone structures can be built within the station (oversized kiosks, basically), that can serve retail; like a starbucks and other cafes. They do this in London, at Waterloo Station and also at London-Euston, and St. Pancras.

And a picture of Foster's Great Court at the British Museum, to illustrate what the poster on wiredny is thinking:

Please help me out. Let's do this together.

 

[Commuting Boston Student]

Please help me out. Let's do this together.

Let's not, actually.

The current plan, as far as I'm aware, is to build out Moynihan Station where the Farley Post Office is currently. Integrating Amtrak services into the existing structure should not be too terribly difficult, and doing so doesn't require Madison Square Garden to move. Such an arrangement would mean the Moynihan-Penn Station-Madison Square Garden complex would remain pretty nicely interconnected, with Amtrak utilizing Moynihan Station and NJT remaining in Penn Station along with (possibly) LIRR, if it doesn't pack up 100% of its operation and move it into GCT.

The Garden needs to stay right where it is, because the relationship between it and a major transit hub is mutually beneficial, especially considering the long-standing legacy of sports rivalries between Boston and New York: people are far more likely to catch a train to the game, and more importantly the train home, if they aren't dumped into the city when they arrive.

On a more practical level, the Moynihan Station mess is already big enough with just the current set of players involved: Penn Station, Amtrak, NJT, LIRR and the Farley Post Office. Further complicating matters by involving MSG and whoever is sitting on the Javits Center property in this mess of real estate swapping is going to help exactly nobody.

Not to mention, the key problems with Penn Station are problems that can very well be solved without the relocation of anybody. Pushing forward on Moynihan now without even trying to clean up the Penn Station we've got is, frankly, ridiculous even without factoring in LIRR's impending(?) move to GCT, the giant ? surrounding MNRR runs into Penn Station, and the political shitshow that is public relations between the MTA, the MTA and the MTA (nevermind Amtrak and NJT).

 

[Nexis4jersey]

The only stations in the Northeast i'm looking forward to seeing expanded are Newark Penn Station , Baltimore Penn Station , DC Union , New Haven Union , Hartford Union , Springfield Union , Providence Central , and South Station.... The other stations are so messy i'm not looking forward to the end result...

 

[NJBostonFan]

Not to mention, the key problems with Penn Station are problems that can very well be solved without the relocation of anybody. Pushing forward on Moynihan now without even trying to clean up the Penn Station we've got is, frankly, ridiculous even without factoring in LIRR's impending(?) move to GCT, the giant ? surrounding MNRR runs into Penn Station, and the political shitshow that is public relations between the MTA, the MTA and the MTA (nevermind Amtrak and NJT).

Well, you're right in some aspect, that if you remove the Theater at Madison Square Garden, you can bring in light downstairs to the concourse, and perhaps you can heavily renovate the concourses and the platforms, to make them more easier to navigate and pleasant. Perhaps they could take a cue from the LIRR Concourse being built at Grand Central as part of East Side Access, and have that design influence the concourse and platform redesigns. Also get Beyer Blinder Belle as the architect, and William Jackson Ewing/Jones Lang Lasalle to develop the master plan for retail, and things will be fixed up. But this is a dream plan, so let's hook up to our PASSIV and return that world now.