A Fallen Cathedral to Transportation Will Rise Again

I love taking the train to New York City, leaving Philadelphia from our grand train station at 30th Street, and I love being in New York City. But arriving via the rat warren beneath Madison Square Garden is underwhelming to say the least. That may finally change by the end of the decade.

All renderings by SOM, via Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Office
All renderings by SOM, via Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Office

Governor Cuomo has revived the plan to convert the post office next to Penn Station into a modern version of the once-grand building whose demise energized the preservation movement of Jane Jacobs. The schedule is aggressive and the budget is massive, $1.6 billion dollars. [ Governor Cuomo unveils plans for Penn Station’s massive revamp | curbed.com ]

Penn Station Classic

Penn Station did not make you feel comfortable; it made you feel important. -- HILARY BALLON, ART HISTORIAN
Penn Station did not make you feel comfortable; it made you feel important.
— HILARY BALLON, ART HISTORIAN

The original Penn Station perished before I was born and had a remarkably short lifespan for such a grand edifice (1910-1963). I have a sense of what it was like from visiting Grand Central Station and 30th Street Station, but the Internet remembers for me, for all of us. [ The destruction of Penn Station | mashable.com ]