A link to the article here.
Built in 1910, the original Penn Station was considered the architectural pride and joy of New York City, but as a result of the number of total daily passengers exceeding its capacity, the entire structure was demolished in 1963. Within a decade, Penn Plaza along with its main feature, Madison Square Garden, was constructed, and into its clumsily designed basement of random support beams and platforms, the new Penn Station was moved. As a result, Penn Station, with its frustratingly illogical layout, is the one place I hate most in this world. (I’m not even exaggerating.)
More before and after photos here, and I highly recommend checking them out because they get pretty funny.
In somewhat recent news, the New York City Council voted to limit the Garden’s operating permit to ten years, despite its owners seeking a permanent lease. This motion is likely to force the famous arena to vacate its current site, unless city officials fail to draft and finance a plan for a new train station. The City Council hopes a new station will better accommodate the growing number of commuters, as well as revitalize what is becoming a somewhat grim area of the city.
In order to promote the movement for a new Penn Station, The Municipal Art Society recently hosted an exhibit in which it invited four of New York City’s leading architecture firms, Diller Scofidio & Renfro, SHoP Architects, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture, to reimagine and redesign the train station. Each of the plans anticipated including high-speed rail and security improvements to meet the needs of today’s society.
My personal favorite design is by SHoP Architects, as it seems to resemble and make tribute to the old Penn Station. It also utilizes current city landmarks, such as the High Line, to connect the station to MSG and preserve the easy walk for arena-goers.
Some argue that a complete redesign of Penn Station is too costly, and that simple renovations and system overhauls will do. In fact, such a plan will likely cost several billion dollars and require multiple federal contracts. Similar issues caused former plans from the 1990s, such as “Moynihan Station,” to fail or become delayed on multiple occasions, making any such prospects seem rather unlikely. However, I believe the costs associated with the project will be worth it, assuming it succeeds in creating a new and beautiful landmark for such a great city.
Works Cited:
Bagli, Charles. “Madison Square Garden Is Told to Move.” The New York Times 24 July 2013: n. pag. Web. 9 Oct. 2013.
Previdi, Robert. “Fixing Penn Station Without Rebuilding It.” The New York Times 1 Oct. 2013: n. pag. Web. 9 Oct. 2013.
Progrebin, Robin. “Thinking Big: Four Visions of a New Penn Station.” The New York Times 28 May 2013: n. pag. Web. 9 Oct. 2013.
Photos from ArchDaily and BuzzFeed.
Although I think the idea to reconstruct Penn Station would be positive in the long run, it would be very, very negative in the short run. Many people use Penn Station to commute to work, school,etc. and back home. I can only imagine how much of a struggle it would be to maneuver through the construction and squeeze into trains. I don’t know if you have ever experienced subway delays, but I can see that happening on a bigger scale. The reconstruction would also take more than a year, maybe even a decade like the current Penn Station took, or maybe even longer. The train station is one of the major transportation that people use. Not only will people have a hard time commuting through trains, the connections into Manhattan will be even more heavily delayed then they are now. The same goes for the buses.
I also really like the design created by the SHoP architects. From the second picture, it’s very brightly lit up and looks extremely modern and fancy, which is a perfect fit for NYC. I’m not sure how I feel about a complete redesign of Penn Station, however. It probably is too expensive and we don’t have much money to begin with, but crowds in NYC are no joke. I suppose this means that I agree that some major renovations (more space) would suffice rather than a complete redesign.
I looked at the pictures that you linked from BuzzFeed, and I will admit, they are hilarious. In relation to art, I feel the old design of Penn Station resembled Grand Central. Grand Central has a more traditional, early 1900s feel to it in my opinion. I do like the designs and the layout of the shops in Grand Central, which I assume is what the old Penn Station resembled. However, if we think about in retrospect, people in Penn Station are probably in a rush to go to work, go home, whatever else they need to do. They don’t have the time to go up the grand stairs; They’d rather take the escalator. They don’t have time to admire the big clock; They can check their watches. They don’t have the time to admire the grand hallway; They’re probably tired and need to sleep. Grand Central, I feel, is different in the way that they’ve kept it for tourist reasons (as there are a lot of tourists in that area and very expensive shops geared towards tourists). Penn Station is for transportation purposes since nowadays, things are just more rushed than they used to be (looking at the comparison of crowds).
Janice Fong
I agree with your frustrations when it comes to Penn station, and while I think that it would be worthwhile to redesign, just trying to imagine the process seems horrifying. There are so many people that use Penn station on a daily basis, that shutting even parts of it down would create a chaotic response. If they do decide to redesign it, they’re going to have to plan it carefully so that they do not disrupt the lives of daily commuters.
I think it’s a really interesting idea to create a new Penn Station. It will definitely help in the long run, but I can surely see how rebuilding this behemoth of a train station will take a lot money. Overall though times are changings and demands are changing for people are constantly increasing the paces of their lives, so I can understand why a more functional station might be necessary. Surely people running home aren’t concerned so much with aesthetics as compared with functionality. Meanwhile, I think the link of pictures you attached is strange because in the old days it was a nice station, but I still think it’s a nice place now too.
I do agree with you that the new plans are really nice. They’re definitely very functional with all the escalators leading into one another. It’s surely very frustrating when one has to catch a train, but has a very long walk to transfer, thereby missing their train, so this will hopefully curb that problem. This is a really interesting project, but I’m curious how long it will take in the long run to follow through with all of this because it’s also a huge project!
Being from Florida, I have not yet had the opportunity to visit Penn Station. Although I have heard of it, I didn’t realize it was in such dire need of renovation, so I think I am going to have to keep my distance for now. I think one of the reoccurring themes of these “arts blogs” is the financials behind it. I personally have swayed my opinion back and forth several times depending on what the money is needed for. The more I read the blog posts the more I realize how impossible it is to separate business from art, especially if its on a city wide level. In this specific case I don’t think a complete overhaul is necessary and I think our money can be better used elsewhere.
Wow. The original Penn Station was a marvel. The spaciousness, natural sunlight, highly engraved columns and walls, and flying buttresses were wonders. Now it’s become gloomy and artificial, cramped with the low ceilings and advertisement plastered walls. Yes, it is efficiency over aesthetics, but hopefully the proposed designs can put a twist into the current building.
I just could not believe how fabulous and classic the old Penn Station was and how stuffy and crowded it is now. I wondered why the constructors didn’t think of the increasing number of passenger and the old Penn Station’s gradual pressure on its capacity. Why wouldn’t they keep the main building while construct new tunnels or passage to extend the station’s capacity.(Isn’t the Grand Central Park renovated through years while remaining the landmark of New York?). Now we move to 21st century, and consider re-constructing and re-designing a new Penn Station. While meeting the aesthetic needs for general people, how would the new station functions function well without being put in a dilemma that it would have to be constructed again? Plus, how about the financial issue behind the project?
I also hate Penn Station. It is busy, crowded, and not built well. I agree it is worth spending billions of dollars to redesign Penn Station. If the station was not as bad as it is I would not think it is worth it but given how difficult and hazardous the station is, I feel a renovation is necessary. They do not have to create a work of art but the station needs improvements to allow a greater capacity of commuters to be able to access the station at once. It would be nice if they completely redesign the station into a work of art, but the station must be renovated even if it costs billions of dollars.
Woah! I would have never thought that Penn Station used to be so beautiful. I completely agree with you. I think that Madison Square Garden as it stands is really an eyesore. Just the other day I had to commute to Long Island and the process was completely tedious. Now I can understand why the process was so confusing and why I felt as if I was trying to commute through a maze. The entire structure is a series of stairwells that seem to lead you to more stairwells. Compared to Grand Central, which in my opinion has a much more elegant layout, Penn Station can’t hold a candle. I think it is really advantageous for the city to make its major train stations well designed; in the end it will lead to more revenue for the city as a whole. If you could create a better MSG and Penn Station, you would leave a lot more room to make money. Grand Central is full of everything from clothing stores to fish markets. Every one of those require permits and rent that are wealth generators for the city.