Pennsylvania Station, often abbreviated to Penn Station, was a historic railroad station in New York City, named for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), its builder and original tenant.
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. 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 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 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.
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. 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.
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. 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.
Aerial view of the New Pennsylvania Station whose construction is nearly complete.
Interior view of Penn Station's famously opulent waiting room, with its high vaulted ceilings and turn-of-the-century stonework.
Interior view of Penn Station's concourses, drenched by the sun due to the greenhouse-inspired design of its glass ceiling.
A three quarter perspective shows the tracks, concourses and exits of a brightly illuminated Penn Station.
A photograph which illustrates the great style, symmetry and lighting of Penn Station's Main Concourse.
Pedestrians walk in front of the recently completed Penn Station - whose opulence and grand design would make it one of the city's most cherished landmarks.
Photograph of pedestrians commuting at the Pennsylvania Station, where the Long Island Railroad opened to the public on September the 8th, 1910.
Passengers in the waiting room at Pennsylvania Station, with statue of Alexander Johnston Cassatt, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
Soldiers and sailors line up inside the concourse of Pennsylvania Station.
Photograph taken from a Historic American Buildings Survey on April 24, 1962 of the Pennsylvania Station Concourse from the south.
Photograph of Pennsylvania Station's Entrance and Waiting Area.
Photograph of the steel support beams of Pennsylvania Station's famous Main Concourse.
Photograph of the elaborate stonework and pillars that once adorned the walls of Pennsylvania Station.
Photograph of Pennsylvania Station's southern facade along 31st Street.
Photograph of Pennsylvania Station's Entrance at 370 Seventh Avenue.
Photograph of passengers waiting for their train at Pennsylvania Station's Main Concourse.
Learn all about NYC’s distant past as "Mannahatta" or the "Island of Many Hills".
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Welcome to the History of New York City - A Unique Online Gallery of NYC's Origins, Curated and Digitally Restored by Fine Print New York.
We're opening our archives to present this Collection of Vintage Photos, Historical Images and Rare Lithographs. This Exclusive Series of High Quality Art Prints are only Available for Purchase Exclusively on this Site.
We cover a great portion of the city's history, ranging from its earliest days as New Amsterdam to the late 1980s. Artists are currently working on photos from the 90s to present day,
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Joseph Gornail, printer/photographer and founder of Fine Print New York. Joseph grew up in SoHo, Manhattan and is part of a long lineage of NYC printers, learning the family trade from his grandfather. While working for Dolo Records/Stretch Armstrong in 1996, Joseph founded All City Marketing & Printing, and in 1999 Co-Founded the legendary street wear company "Orchard Street " with lifelong friends Benjamin Holloway and Greig Bennett. Fine Print NYC was established in 2004 with a Nike project being the launchpad for a commercial printing company that has not only survived, but thrived in the digital age.
Steven Garcia, designer/illustrator and creative director of Fine Print New York. Born and raised in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Steven attended Fashion Industries High School and F.I.T. before building a successful career at Saatchi & Saatchi for as a professional retoucher and storyboard artist in 1995. Steven started ShinyDesign in 1998 and partnered with Fine Print in 2004 as the exclusive design firm for the company. Steven has independently worked on major advertising campaigns for many brands over the years, such as Snapple, The Waldorf Astoria and Sony to name a few.
Together, Joseph & Steven are responsible for the curation and direction of the History101.nyc project, which has been under development since 2006. They have a long history of collaborating together, going back as far as 2001 when Joseph was gallery manager and Steven was a curator at The New York City Urban Experience, an art gallery & museum that was located at 85 South Street and owned by Mike Saes of the Nike Bridge Runners and True Yorkers.
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This project is dedicated to exploring New York’s fascinating heritage through the restoration of vintage photographs and prints.