Penn Station: Then and Now

[datadyne007]

Incredibly Upsetting Pictures Of Penn Station Then & Now
WHY?!
posted on January 17, 2013 at 6:34pm EST
Matt Stopera
BuzzFeed Staff

The original Penn Station was completed in 1911. Considered to be one of the most impressive buildings in the world, it also housed the largest indoor space in New York City.

But, in 1950, Penn Station auctioned off their air rights and a plan for an office building and sports arena were put into place. In 1963, the building was demolished amid a flurry of protests and by 1968, Penn Station as you know it was finished.

Welcome to hell.

Then: Classical Greek Doric columns

Via: wirednewyork.com
Now: 1D World

Via: instagr.am

Then: The escalators

Via: wirednewyork.com
Now: The escalators

Via: instagr.am

Then: It was really nice

Via: wirednewyork.com
Now: It really sucks

Via: instagr.am

Then: The waiting room

Via: wirednewyork.com
Now: Some dude passed out on the ground next to a sub

Via: instagr.am

Then: Another view of the waiting room

Via: wirednewyork.com
Now: Another dude passed out but this time on a bench

Via: instagr.am

Then: A really nice hallway

Via: wirednewyork.com
Now: Some dude passed out in a hallway

Via: instagr.am

Then: A really pretty clock

Via: wirednewyork.com
Now: A bunch of shitty wreaths

Via: instagr.am

Then: This

Via: wirednewyork.com
Now: This

Via: gisele13

Then: The really pretty clock and the waiting room

Source: Getty
Now: Big blue poles and lights that circle around them

Via: flickr.com

Then: Crowds

Source: Getty
Now: Crowds

Via: instagr.am

Then: Light streaming in, reminiscent of heaven

Now: Basically hell

From: http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/incredibly-upsetting-pictures-of-penn-station-then

 

[Matthew]

Well, there's always Grand Central.

American city planners and architects collectively lost their minds during that time period (50s-60s-70s). Not sure why, but we're still paying for it.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

A martyr for historic preservation.

 

[datadyne007]

Well, there's always Grand Central.

American city planners and architects collectively lost their minds during that time period (50s-60s-70s). Not sure why, but we're still paying for it.

The thing is that I never really see GCS unless I either make an effort to visit it directly or am going somewhere near it on the subway. I, and pretty much all other people from the Northeast arrive and depart via NYP, a woefully inadequate and uncomfortable hub.

As a side note, I've heard that the reason that there isn't a single table or chair in the main station (not including the Amtrak lounge) is because of fights that would break out over them. Can anyone verify this?

 

[czsz]

There are tables and chairs in the restaurants and cafes off to the side. If any were to clog the corridors or waiting areas, it'd become even more claustrophobic in there. It's sometimes packed to the gills with people standing and walking as it is.

As for these photos: today's Penn Station is ugly enough on architectural terms; there wasn't really a need to show collapsed bums in contrast with the old landmark's soaring atria. (Also, believe it or not, classical architecture doesn't solve your city's wino problem, and I'm sure there were stressed commuters in the old Penn Station as well.)

 

[Arlington]

There are tables and chairs in the restaurants and cafes off to the side. If any were to clog the corridors or waiting areas, it'd become even more claustrophobic in there. It's sometimes packed to the gills with people standing and walking as it is.

As for these photos: today's Penn Station is ugly enough on architectural terms; there wasn't really a need to show collapsed bums in contrast with the old landmark's soaring atria. (Also, believe it or not, classical architecture doesn't solve your city's wino problem, and I'm sure there were stressed commuters in the old Penn Station as well.)

Agreed. That and who can afford a camera and whether you could afford to snap candids of bums. Pictures of 1913 skew toward what the PRR was willing to pay for.

 

[Nexis4jersey]

Its really depressing but at least we still have other PRR gems like Newark Penn Station , 30th Street , Baltimore Penn , The Hell Gate , The various arch bridges that line the NEC.... I'm sure will get a New Penn station...

 

[novitiate]

Its really depressing but at least we still have other PRR gems like Newark Penn Station , 30th Street , Baltimore Penn , The Hell Gate , The various arch bridges that line the NEC.... I'm sure will get a New Penn station...

I doubt we'll ever build anything quite like it, really... that kind of soaring Beaux-Arts structure just isn't what gets built anymore. Even when/if Madison Square Garden goes somewhere else again, no one's going to give up the valuable air rights just to make the station nicer...

That's why Penn was demolished to begin with, after all.

 

[datadyne007]

There are tables and chairs in the restaurants and cafes off to the side. If any were to clog the corridors or waiting areas, it'd become even more claustrophobic in there. It's sometimes packed to the gills with people standing and walking as it is.

As for these photos: today's Penn Station is ugly enough on architectural terms; there wasn't really a need to show collapsed bums in contrast with the old landmark's soaring atria. (Also, believe it or not, classical architecture doesn't solve your city's wino problem, and I'm sure there were stressed commuters in the old Penn Station as well.)

I agree, the photos of the passed out winos caught me by surprise as well. They are rather distasteful. He could have just used a picture of the dismal corridors and hallways.

 

[Matthew]

I typically buy a coffee and sit down in a shop if I need to sit in Penn Station. Or I just head straight down to the platforms via the lower level. The platforms are the same as they were back then anyway, just as ugly

Penn Station sucks but I'm wary of spending money to make it more beautiful or reuse the Post Office. There's so many more operational issues that need that money to make the service better so you don't have to spend much time at NY Penn Station. Another set of North River tunnels, bridge replacement along the New Haven line, catenary upgrades, etc.

And with East Side Access coming someday, a lot of daily commuters are going to be shifting to GC anyhow.

 

[czsz]

I doubt we'll ever build anything quite like it, really... that kind of soaring Beaux-Arts structure just isn't what gets built anymore.

It's not the same, but Calatrava's new PATH station by the WTC might have some of that "soaring" element to it.

 

[Commuting Boston Student]

The thing is that I never really see GCS unless I either make an effort to visit it directly or am going somewhere near it on the subway.

If I am ever traveling to New York, I will legitimately go out of my way to switch trains in New Haven just so that I can arrive in Grand Central.

This applies even if I'm somehow coming from the south.

 

[Nexis4jersey]

If I am ever traveling to New York, I will legitimately go out of my way to switch trains in New Haven just so that I can arrive in Grand Central.

This applies even if I'm somehow coming from the south.

If I have to use Amtrak then I go to Newark Penn rather then New York Penn...

 

[czsz]

^ And then take NJT back to NY Penn or PATH to some similarly undignified 60s basement enclosure?

 

[Commuting Boston Student]

^ And then take NJT back to NY Penn or PATH to some similarly undignified 60s basement enclosure?

Google suggests that the only way to avoid NYP coming out of Newark is to take PATH over to World Trade Center. Anything else just dumps you back at NYP.

I still think I'd rather go to New Haven and double back.

 

[Nexis4jersey]

^ And then take NJT back to NY Penn or PATH to some similarly undignified 60s basement enclosure?

Amtrak stops at Newark , no need to get out in New York. It takes me 50 mins from my house to Penn Station which unless I have to go to Long Island City or Midtown I avoid. For Lower Manhattan /Brookyln I take the train to Hoboken Terminal and then the PATH to World Trade Center & For Westchester/Connecticut/The Bronx I take the bus from the corner to PABT another NYC hell hole , but the ride is more comfy.

 

[Nexis4jersey]

I usually take the Early Morning train...

Westwood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdH0fIAbalY

Switch at Secaucus JCT for New York or Newark or Philadelphia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1zNrrthr6s

To Newark Penn which i use for access to Newark of course , Harrison and the Airport along with Amtrak.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTaoIG0_LVY

Or Lower Manhattan....instead of Secaucus JCT its Hoboken Terminal...


Hoboken Terminal Yard by Nexis4Jersey09, on Flickr

Then down into the Basement....for PATH to WTC...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKwNv2lQ790

Then to continue to Brookyln or Union SQ I have to grab the 4/5 at Fulton or Wall Street

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rnATPQmBg8

 

[czsz]

That's an insane number of trains. This is why I live in the city, shitty train station architecture and all.

 

[Matthew]

If I am ever traveling to New York, I will legitimately go out of my way to switch trains in New Haven just so that I can arrive in Grand Central.

New Haven? So far out, that's 2 hours ride on MetroNorth.

New Rochelle is much closer.

But doing it to avoid NYP is kind of silly. After all, you arrive at the same crusty platforms that were there a century ago. It's just the upper levels that have changed, and you exit them quickly. Go to GC if you want to get to the East Side fast.

 

[czsz]

If you're on Acela, switching at New Rochelle is not an option.

And it's still probably quicker to take the subway from Penn to the East Side than to switch to a Metro North train and endure the wait for the transfer and local stops. Hell, you could probably walk to the East Side from Penn faster.