Planning Before 1910, there was no direct rail link from points west of the Hudson River into Manhattan. The
Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR)'s rail network terminated on the western side of the
Hudson River, once known locally as the
North River, at
Exchange Place in
Jersey City, New Jersey. Manhattan-bound passengers boarded
ferries to cross the Hudson River for the final stretch of their journey. In 1896 alone, there were 94 million passengers traveling to Manhattan from railroad terminals in Jersey City. Ferries were not a viable solution in the long term; a ferry trip across the Hudson River lasted 20 minutes in good weather. PRR president
Alexander Johnston Cassatt wanted to build a terminal that surpassed Grand Central Depot in scale. The PRR considered building a rail bridge across the Hudson, but the state of New York insisted that a cross-Hudson bridge had to be a joint project with other New Jersey railroads, which were not interested. The alternative was to tunnel under the river, but
steam locomotives could not use such a tunnel due to the accumulation of pollution in a closed space, and the
New York State Legislature prohibited steam locomotives in Manhattan after July 1, 1908. The idea of a Midtown Manhattan railroad hub was first formulated in 1901, when the Pennsylvania Railroad took interest in a new railroad approach recently completed in
Paris. In the Parisian railroad scheme,
electric locomotives were substituted for steam locomotives prior to the final approach into the city. Cassatt's vision for the terminal itself was inspired by the
Gare d'Orsay, a
Beaux-Arts style station in Paris. The original proposal for the station, which was published in June 1901, called for the construction of a bridge across the Hudson River between 45th and 50th Streets in Manhattan, as well as two closely spaced terminals for the LIRR and PRR. This would allow passengers to travel between Long Island and New Jersey without having to switch trains. In December 1901, the plans were modified so that the PRR would construct the North River Tunnels under the Hudson River, instead of a bridge over it. The PRR cited costs and land value as a reason for constructing a tunnel rather than a bridge, since the cost of a tunnel would be one-third that of a bridge. The New York Tunnel Extension was quickly opposed by the New York City Board of Rapid Transit Commissioners who objected that they would not have jurisdiction over the new tunnels, as well as from the
Interborough Rapid Transit Company, which saw the New York Tunnel Extension as a potential competitor to its as-yet-incomplete rapid transit service. The city had initially declined to give the PRR a franchise because city officials believed that the PRR needed to grant thirteen concessions to protect city interests; the PRR ultimately conceded to nine of the city's requests. The project was approved by the
New York City Board of Aldermen in December 1902 by a 41–36 vote. After McKim talked with Cassatt, the architect learned that he had received the commission for the new Pennsylvania Station. The new design also had to compete with that of the new Grand Central Terminal, designed by
Reed & Stem. McKim studied the role of public buildings in Ancient Rome, including the
Baths of Diocletian. Cassatt and McKim collaborated closely to define the structure of the station. The PRR would also build a train
storage yard in Queens east of Penn Station, to be used by both PRR trains from the west and LIRR trains from the east. The yard was to store passenger-train cars at the beginning or end of their trips, as well as to reverse the direction of the locomotives that pulled these train cars.
Construction Land acquisition Land purchases for the station started in late 1901 or early 1902. The PRR purchased a site bounded by Seventh and Ninth Avenues between 31st and 33rd Streets. This site was chosen over other sites farther east, such as
Herald Square, because these parts of Manhattan were already congested. Penn Station proper would be located along the eastern part of the site between Seventh and Eighth Avenue. The northwestern block, bounded by Eighth Avenue, Ninth Avenue, 32nd Street, and 33rd Street, was not part of the original plan. The condemnation of 17 city-owned buildings on the station's future site, an area of four blocks, began in June 1903. All 304 parcels within the four-block area, which were collectively owned by between 225 and 250 entities, had been purchased by November 1903. The PRR also purchased land along the north side of the future station between 33rd and 34th Streets, so the company could create a pedestrian walkway leading directly to 34th Street, a major crosstown thoroughfare. The properties between 33rd and 34th Street that the PRR had purchased were transferred to PRR ownership in 1908. Clearing the site entailed "displacing thousands of residents from the largely
African-American community in what was once known as the
Tenderloin district in Manhattan." Overall, some 500 buildings had to be demolished to make way for the station. Even as excavation proceeded, the federal government was still deciding whether to build a post office next to the PRR station. The PRR planned to turn over the
air rights to the blocks between Eighth and Ninth Avenues to the federal government once excavations were completed. However, the PRR would still own the land below the post office leading some Congress members to oppose the post office plan, as they believed that the government would only own "a chunk of space in the air" above the tracks. McKim, Mead & White was selected to design the post office in 1908. By this time, the excavations were near completion and the structural steel for the post office building was being laid.
Completion and opening The North River and East River Tunnels ran almost in a straight line between Queens and New Jersey, interrupted only by the proposed Pennsylvania Railroad station. The same tube, with an inscription indicating that it had been displayed at the Exposition, was later installed under water and remains in use. Construction was completed on the Hudson River tunnels on October 9, 1906, and on the East River tunnels on March 18, 1908. Construction also progressed on Penn Station during this time. Workers began laying the stonework for the station in June 1908; they had completed it thirteen months later. New York Penn Station was officially declared complete on August 29, 1910. A small portion of Penn Station was opened nearly two weeks later, on September 8, in conjunction with the opening of the East River Tunnels. As a result, LIRR riders gained direct railroad service to Manhattan. Prior to the opening of Penn Station, LIRR riders entered Manhattan via the
34th Street Ferry Terminal, where they could transfer to
an elevated shuttle station. The rest of the station opened on November 27, 1910. One hundred thousand people visited the station during its first day of full service, excluding the 25,000 commuters and intercity riders. With the station's full opening, the PRR became the only railroad to enter New York City from the south. All of the architectural details were completed by October 1911. At the station's completion, the total project cost to the Pennsylvania Railroad for the station and associated tunnels was $114 million (equivalent to $ billion in ), according to an
Interstate Commerce Commission report. The railroad paid tribute to Cassatt, who died in 1906, with a statue designed by
Adolph Alexander Weinman in the station's grand arcade, subsequently moved to the
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania after the station's demolition. An inscription below it read:
Operation Early years electric locomotive arrives at Penn Station, When Penn Station opened, it had a capacity of 144 trains per hour on its 21 tracks and 11 platforms. At the start of operations, there were 1,000 trains scheduled every weekday: of these, 600 were LIRR trains, while the other 400 were PRR trains. The commuting times of LIRR riders were cut by up to a half-hour. The station was so heavily used that the PRR soon added 51 trains to its daily schedule. Atypically for a public building, Penn Station was well maintained during its heyday. Such was the station's status that whenever the
President of the United States arrived in New York by rail, he would arrive and depart on tracks 11 and 12. Royalty and leaders of other countries also traveled via Penn Station. Over the next few decades, alterations were made to Penn Station to increase its capacity. The LIRR concourse, waiting room, amenities and platforms were expanded. Connections were provided to the
New York City Subway stations at
Seventh Avenue and
Eighth Avenue. The expansion of electrification also allowed the PRR to begin running electric-powered commuter trains from
Trenton via
Newark starting in 1933; previously, steam-powered commuter trains continued to originate and terminate at Exchange Place. By 1935, Penn Station had served over a billion passengers.
Decline The station was busiest during World War II: in 1945, more than 100 million passengers traveled through Penn Station. and intercity rail passenger volumes continued to decline dramatically over the next decade. A renovation in the late 1950s covered some of the grand columns with plastic and blocked off the spacious central hallway with the "Clamshell", a new ticket office designed by
Lester C. Tichy. Advertisements surrounded the station's Seventh Avenue concourse, while stores and restaurants were crammed around the Eighth Avenue side's mezzanine. A layer of dirt covered the interior and exterior of the structure, and the pink granite was stained with gray. Another architectural critic,
Ada Louise Huxtable, wrote in
The New York Times in 1963: "The tragedy is that our own times not only could not produce such a building, but cannot even maintain it."
Demolition The Pennsylvania Railroad optioned the air rights of New York Penn Station to real estate developer
William Zeckendorf in 1954. He had previously suggested that the two-block site of the
main building could be used for a "world trade center". The option allowed for the demolition of the main building and
train shed, which could be replaced by an office and sports complex. The station's underground platforms and tracks would not be modified, but the station's mezzanines would be reconfigured. but was not acted upon. Plans for the new
Madison Square Garden above Penn Station were announced in 1962 by
Irving Mitchell Felt, the president of
Graham-Paige, the company that purchased the air rights to Penn Station. In exchange for the air rights, the Pennsylvania Railroad would get a brand-new, air-conditioned, smaller station completely below street level at no cost, and a 25 percent stake in the new Madison Square Garden Complex. A 28-story hotel and 34-story office building, now part of
Penn Plaza, would be built on the eastern side of the block, facing Seventh Avenue. The arena proper would take up most of the block, facing Eighth Avenue to the west. At the time, one argument made in favor of the old Penn Station's demolition was that the cost of maintaining the structure had become prohibitive. Its grand scale made the PRR devote a "fortune" to its upkeep, The architectural community in general was surprised by the announcement of the head house's demolition. Modern architects rushed to save the ornate building, although it was contrary to
their own styles. They called the station a treasure and chanted "Don't Amputate – Renovate" at rallies. Despite the controversy generated over the demolition, Felt stated that he "believed that the gain from the new buildings and sports center would more than offset any aesthetic loss." He elaborated, "Fifty years from now, when it's time for [Madison Square Garden] to be torn down, there will be a new group of architects who will protest." Despite large public opposition to Penn Station's demolition, the
New York City Department of City Planning voted in January 1963 to start demolishing the station that summer. A giant steel deck was placed above the tracks and platforms, allowing rail service to continue with only minor disruptions. The first girders for Madison Square Garden were placed in late 1965, and, by mid-1966, much of the station had been demolished except for the Seventh Avenue entrance. By late 1966, much of the new station had been built. There were three new entrances: one from 31st Street and Eighth Avenue, another from 33rd Street and Eighth Avenue, and a third from a driveway running mid-block between Seventh and Eighth Avenues from 31st to 33rd Streets. Permanent electronic signs were being erected, shops were being renovated, new escalators were being installed, and platforms that were temporarily closed during renovations had been reopened. Demolition of the old station was completed the same year.
Impact Although the demolition of the head house was justified as progressive at a time of declining rail passenger service, it also created international outrage.
New York Times architecture critic
Michael Kimmelman compared the demolition of the head house unfavorably to that of
Lenox Library, destroyed to make way for the
Frick Collection, or the old
Waldorf–Astoria, razed for the construction of the
Empire State Building. He claimed that it broke a long tradition of New Yorkers accepting that "what replaced a beloved building would be as good or better." The controversy over the original head house's demolition is cited as a catalyst for the architectural preservation movement in the United States, particularly in New York City. In 1965, two years after Penn Station's demolition commenced, the city passed a landmarks preservation act, thereby creating the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). New York City's other major railroad station, Grand Central Terminal, was also proposed for demolition in 1968 by its owner, Penn Central. Grand Central Terminal was ultimately preserved by the LPC, despite
an unsuccessful challenge from Penn Central in 1978.
Present day The replacement Penn Station was built underneath Madison Square Garden at 33rd Street and Two Penn Plaza. The station spans three levels, with the concourses on the upper two levels and the train platforms on the lowest level. The two levels of concourses, while original to the 1910 station, were renovated extensively during the construction of Madison Square Garden and expanded in subsequent decades. The station is arranged into separate concourses for Amtrak,
NJ Transit (which operates the former PRR commuter lines from New Jersey), and the LIRR. General reception of the replacement station has been largely negative. Comparing the new and old stations, Yale architectural historian
Vincent Scully once wrote, "One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat." Despite having undergone improvements since the 1960s, Penn Station is criticized as a low-ceilinged "
catacomb" lacking charm, especially when compared to the larger and more ornate Grand Central Terminal.
Times transit reporter Michael M. Grynbaum wrote that Penn Station was "the ugly stepchild of the city's two great rail terminals." Along similar lines, Michael Kimmelman wrote in 2019 that while downsizing Penn Station and moving it underground may have made a modicum of sense at the time, in hindsight it was a sign that New York was "disdainful of its gloried architectural past." He also claimed that the remodeled station is not commensurate with its status as the main rail gateway to New York. In the early 1990s, U.S. Senator
Daniel Patrick Moynihan began promoting a plan to build a replica of the historic Penn Station, since he had shined shoes in the original station during the Great Depression. He proposed erecting it in the nearby Farley Post Office building. The project, later renamed "
Moynihan Train Hall", was split into two phases. The West End Concourse, opened in the eastern part of the former post office in June 2017. The second phase, an expansion of Penn Station's facilities into parts of the post office building, opened in January 2021. == Surviving elements ==