Rail Stations & Historic Preservation
Today, a Tale of Two Stations and the emergence of the historic preservation movement. We'll visit Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station. Meet in the North lobby at 1:00 p.m.
America's historic preservation movement started in New York some 50 years ago. It came about because of the 1963 destruction of Penn Station, a Beaux-Arts architectural masterpiece. The famous architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White (yes, that White) finished the station in 1910.
Even as the sprawling building was being taken down, its destruction was acknowledged as a "monumental act of vandalism."
While the above-the-ground station is now more, Penn Station continues to exist underground in a cramped, crowded, dingy facility. The result, as architectural scholar Vincent Scully once famously said, "One entered the city like a god. One scuttles in now like a rat."
See more photos of Penn Station here. During our visit to Penn Station, look for two of the eagle statues that remain.
Why was such a beautiful and historic building taken down? In a word, money. Railroads were being challenged by car and air travel. The Pennsylvania Railroad could no longer afford the station. So, it sold its "air rights." That is, the company sold the land above its rail lines. Today, Madison Square Gardens is one of the buildings that sits atop Penn Station.
The selling of 'air rights" was not a new idea. Beginning in the 1830s, trains came into the original Grand Central Station mostly above ground along what was first known as Fourth Avenue and, later, as Park Avenue. After trains were electrified, they could travel completely underground, allowing the New York Central Railroad to sell air rights to wealthy developers along an eight block stretch of Park Avenue and fund the construction of a new Grand Central Terminal.
The current Grand Central Terminal was completed in 1913, yet even it was at risk of being destroyed in the 1969s. It was only because of the revulsion resulting from the destruction of Penn Station and the intervention of prominent New Yorkers such as Jaqueline Kennedy, that Vanderbilt's building was saved.
When we visit on Wednesday you'll find out that this beautiful building continues as one of the largest and busiest rail stations in the world, but it's also a whole lot more. For example, where the CBS Network began broadcasting television, you can now play tennis.
There are restaurants, an Apple Store, and if you planned far enough in advance, you could have your wedding reception here (and if you have to ask how much it costs you can't afford it).
