The Pennsylvania Railroad demolished its original Pennsylvania Station in New York City in 1963, only 53 years after the McKim, Mead and White-designed Beaux-Arts terminal had opened, replacing its grand travertine and granite concourses modeled on Roman bath architecture with the underground Madison Square Garden and office-tower complex that stands on the site today. The demolition of a building widely regarded as an architectural masterpiece, carried out with no legal mechanism in place to stop it, provoked a wave of public outrage that is credited as the direct catalyst for the creation of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1965 and for the broader modern American historic-preservation movement. The station's loss remains one of the most frequently cited cautionary examples in preservation advocacy worldwide.
Facts
Milestone Year Milestone Date LocationMidtown Manhattan, New York City, United States 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
The 1963 demolition of Pennsylvania Station is widely documented as the catalyzing loss behind the 1966 US National Historic Preservation Act.
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationWikipedia, Pennsylvania Station 1910-1963, lead section, demolition start yearQuote, Wikipedia, Pennsylvania Station 1910-1963, lead section, demolition start year
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.
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationWikipedia, Pennsylvania Station 1910-1963, lead section, locationQuote, Wikipedia, Pennsylvania Station 1910-1963, lead section, location
The station occupied an 8-acre (3.2 ha) plot bounded by Seventh and Eighth Avenues and 31st and 33rd Streets in Midtown Manhattan.
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationPennsylvania Station (1910-1963), Demolition section, start-date sentenceQuote, Pennsylvania Station (1910-1963), Demolition section, start-date sentence
Under the leadership of PRR president Stuart T. Saunders (who later headed Penn Central Transportation), demolition of the above-ground station house began on October 28, 1963.
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