Why is Penn Station so famous?

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.



People Also Ask

Penn Station is one of the busiest rail hubs in the world, located inside Pennsylvania Plaza between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in Chelsea on the...

MORE DETAILS

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.

MORE DETAILS

Pennsylvania Railroad executives searched for alternate means of income, and in 1961 they decided to dismantle their magnificent terminal and rent its air space.

MORE DETAILS

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.

MORE DETAILS

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.

MORE DETAILS

At the same time, Madison Square Garden, a high-rise office and sports complex that still stands today, was built in its place. Though the Penn Station terminal was demolished, the original 1900s tunnels, tracks, platforms and electric traction continue to be used today.

MORE DETAILS

The original Penn Station occupied two city blocks and featured, according to the New York Preservation Project, “an ornate exterior, arcade, waiting room, concourse and carriage-ways.” The writer Thomas Wolfe also noted that it had “Nine acres of travertine and granite, 84 Doric columns, a vaulted concourse of ...

MORE DETAILS

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.

MORE DETAILS

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.

MORE DETAILS

Situated atop Penn Station, Madison Square Garden is the home of the New York Knicks and New York Rangers, as well as an arena for world-touring concerts and boxing matches. Guided tours include VIP areas and locker rooms.

MORE DETAILS

Madison Square Garden's owners say they have no plans to move the legendary arena.

MORE DETAILS

The LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) provides direct service from Penn Station to JFK Airport. (Source: LIRR) The AirTrain JFK provides transportation between LIRR's Jamaica Station and JFK Airport.

MORE DETAILS

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.

MORE DETAILS