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New York's Penn Station to remain hideous
I have seen my share of ugly architecture (I grew up surrounded by the best socialist realism had to offer, after all) but Penn Station in New York must still be in my Global Top 5 Architecture Nightmares. It is mind-baffling to think that they tore down the original beautiful Pennsylvania Station--which looked much like Grand Central--in the 1960s to build the monstrosity that serves as one of the nation's busiest rail stations.
The NY Times reports today that the $14 billion plans to rebuild Penn Station and the district around it is in danger because of the "softening economy, shortfalls in government financing, political inertia and daunting logistical problems." Meanwhile, the developers have already spent $50M in planning efforts.
Looks like Penn Station will remain Grand Central's ugly sibling for a while.
Filed under: Transportation
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John Feb 24th 2008 1:39PM
The old Penn Station was grander than Grand Central. It became a victim to a madness rampant in the 1960s when modernists ran amok with their hatred of stone and ornamentation and instead loved soulless glass and metal boxes. They destroyed what they couldn't build to replace it with a disposable tin drum.
The only good to come out of that was that the sacrifice of the station was not in vain. The greatest act of civil vandalism in the history of the country lead to the landmarks preservation law and it was that law that later on helped save Grand Central.