Why is it called Penn Station?

Penn Station is named for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), its builder and original owner, and shares its name with several stations in other cities. The original Pennsylvania Station was an ornate station building designed by McKim, Mead, and White and considered a masterpiece of the Beaux-Arts style.



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Completed in 1910, the original Penn Station was intended to symbolize not only its powerful corporate owner but also New York's status as the most vital city in a nation that was becoming a political and economic superpower.

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Welcoming passengers taking more than 650,000 daily commuter, transit and intercity trips on Amtrak, NJ TRANSIT, Long Island Rail Road and the subway, the Moynihan Train Hall / New York Penn Station complex is the busiest rail hub in North America and a gateway to the nation's largest city.

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Generally, a Union station is in terms of history was one where several rail lines meet, allowing passengers to change to a different rail line. The same could be true of freight. Not all union stations use the term, I.e, Penn station is a union station as is 30th Station in Philadelphia.

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It was built as the station in New York City for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Trains can go in one side and out the other, which is what makes it a station, and not a terminal.

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The Penn Stations in New York City, Newark, New Jersey, and Baltimore are remnants of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company's network, says Travis Harry, director of museum operations at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, a Smithsonian Affiliate.

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Pennsylvania Railroad executives searched for alternate means of income, and in 1961 they decided to dismantle their magnificent terminal and rent its air space. The three-year demolition of Penn Station began on October 28, 1963.

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PLATFORMS: Grand Central has 44 platforms, making it the largest train station in the world. Penn Station has 11.

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The original Pennsylvania Station was an ornate station building designed by McKim, Mead, and White and considered a masterpiece of the Beaux-Arts style. Completed in 1910, it enabled direct rail access to New York City from the south for the first time.

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LOCAL TIP: New Yorkers typically call the subway “trains” (not underground or metro) or by their alpha name (the C or the Q).

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Demolition began in 1963, and was complete by 1966. Popular perceptions of the history of New York City attribute the birth of the preservation movement and the local landmarks law to the demolition of Pennsylvania Station.

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The three-year demolition of Penn Station began on October 28, 1963. At the same time, Madison Square Garden, a high-rise office and sports complex that still stands today, was built in its place.

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The Penn Stations in New York City, Newark, New Jersey, and Baltimore are remnants of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company's network, says Travis Harry, director of museum operations at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, a Smithsonian Affiliate.

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Grand Central Terminal is located at 89 E 42nd Street (corner of Park Avenue), about two miles from New York Penn Station.

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Grand Central Terminal is spread over 49 acres, has 44 platforms and 67 tracks on two levels. It is the world's largest train station by number of platforms and area occupied.

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The MTA's ownership of Grand Central Terminal will further give MTA Long Island Rail Road clear control of the East Side Access terminal being built beneath Grand Central Terminal.

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