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History of Old Pennsylvania Station in Pictures (1904 - 1962)

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.

1904: Construction of New Pennsylvania Station

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.

1905: Main Waiting Room at Pennsylvania Station

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.

1905: Track Level and Concourses at Pennsylvania Station

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.

1905: Track Level, Concourses and Exits at Pennsylvania Station

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.

1905: Main Concourse at Pennsylvania 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.

1910: East Facade of Pennsylvania Station

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.

1910: Pennsylvania Station Interior

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.

1911: Waiting Room at Pennsylvania Station

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.

1942: Soldiers at Pennsylvania Station

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.

1962: Clock at 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.

1962: Pennsylvania Station, Interior Entrance

Photograph of Pennsylvania Station's Entrance and Waiting Area.

Photograph of the steel support beams of Pennsylvania Station's famous Main Concourse.

1962: Pennsylvania Station

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.

1962: Pennsylvania Station Interior Masonry

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.

1962: Pennsylvania Station Facade

Photograph of Pennsylvania Station's southern facade along 31st Street.

Photograph of Pennsylvania Station's Entrance at 370 Seventh Avenue.

1962: Pennsylvania Station and Seventh Avenue

Photograph of Pennsylvania Station's Entrance at 370 Seventh Avenue.

Photograph of passengers waiting for their train at  Pennsylvania Station's Main Concourse.

1962: Pennsylvania Station Concourse Interior

Photograph of passengers waiting for their train at Pennsylvania Station's Main Concourse.


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