Penn Station

I caught these posted in a LI Places No More forum and thought they would be of interest here...

The photos are credited to the Library of Congress and dated 1910.

Demolition

I know it's a ridiculous thing to think about now, but what if they had just built MSG within the old Penn Station walls? Would people have been less upset if the eagles, columns, and outer walls surrounded a stadium/office building?

The bridge over the depressed roadway -- was that just for pedestrians?

Not so sure of the dates for all being 1910 -- the last two pictures look correct (note the dress on the women in #2 and the horse cart in #1), but the cars in the first photo are circa 1930s.

S

docsteve wrote:The bridge over the depressed roadway -- was that just for pedestrians?

Not so sure of the dates for all being 1910 -- the last two pictures look correct (note the dress on the women in #2 and the horse cart in #1), but the cars in the first photo are circa 1930s.

S

Yes, the bridge was for pedestrians to get from the sidewalk to the station.

mwichten wrote:Demolition

Sad, where is this photo from? Thanks.

If you mean location wise, it looks to be taken from 32nd Street facing west.

Looking at the dirty appearence of the station its no wonder they were anxious to demolish it. How sad it looked at the end of its time when compared to when it was new. The deferred maintenance took its toll, it looks like it wasnt cleaned in 30 years!

BobLI wrote:Looking at the dirty appearence of the station its no wonder they were anxious to demolish it. How sad it looked at the end of its time when compared to when it was new. The deferred maintenance took its toll, it looks like it wasnt cleaned in 30 years!

No reason to tear it down due to dirt. Of course, there were far greater forces at play!