Pennsylvania Station

by Steven Parissien

Published 2 January 1900
During its brief but illustrious history, New York's Pennsylvania Station was variously described as not only the greatest railway station in the world, but also as one of the greatest building projects of the early-20th century. Its architecture fused the bombast of Beaux-Arts classicism with the latest steel-frame technology and was radical in plan. Demolished in 1966 in order to make way for a new office block and the re-siting of the Madison Square Garden sports and entertainment complex, Pennsylvania Station's destruction was irreparable - symptomatic of the post-war haste to raze what remained of many of the world's greatest cities. This was in stark contrast to its erection which was symbolic of the assured self-confidence of the turn-of-the-century United States.