While not recorded in HD or 4K these old PBS documentaries are true masterpieces in story telling. The ambience of the music and the narrators poetic well spoken English. Everything just comes together magically. I wish the whole episode was available to watch. They truly don't make documentaries like these any more. I can only assume in this current visually stimulated world the art of story telling has been lost.
I remember walking through Pennsylvania Station, with my sister, when I was 4 years old. That station was incredible, beautiful. I remember saying, "Wow" to my older sister, who was 16 at the time. As we walked through the Station, to the 7th Ave. Exit, she told me that they were going to tear the station down soon. I remember looking up at the glass roof, then looking at my suster saying, "Why???". That's all I remember. The memory has lasted with me to this very day, because the old Penn Station was so impressive. For those still with us, who remember the old Penn Station, you have to agree, Grand Central, which was saved from demolition, can not compare to the old Pennsylvania station.
The sad irony of this very segment? The director of this fine documentary was Ric Burns, brother of Ken Burns. He recalled that just as he was finishing up the final editing process for this special, he remembered hearing the whine of a jet engine too close to the ground passing his Upper West Side neighborhood. The date? Tuesday, September 11th, 2001! To watch this segment about the loss of architectural elegance knowing this had to air just after what would become the worst destruction in NYC history.... my Lord. Due to that tragedy, Mr. Burns essentially dedicated a new, final chapter to his NEW YORK Documentary 2 years later. CENTER OF THE WORLD aired in the fall of 2003, closing a sad chapter in my city's history with a whole history of the building of the World Trade Center.
OK. I'm a westerner, California born and bred, but since I was a child have always loved art and architecture. I just found out about this, and I cannot believe they demoished this building. Any city in the world would be (or have been) extremely proud to have that building. I don't think it's an overstatement to say that Penn Station is perhaps the greatest piece of architecture (in the world) ever demolished/purposely destroyed.
If you leave out wartime destruction, I am inclined to agree with you. There have been many outstanding buildings purposely destroyed throughout the World but I can't think of any as important architecturally as the old Penn Station.
You're telling me this was built in 1910 only to knock it down 53 years later because 'maintenance costs'? Nope, not buying it. People still rolling round in horse and cart and we throw up buildings like this (which could not be replicated today). Yeah that's absolute BS, this building (and many others) were knocked down for a reason, because if it still stood today there would be serious reservations about its origins and meaning.
@@graciemaemarie11jones16 - They only care about Money, because Money can be used for Bribery (to Buy Political Power to acheive their God's Chosen Racists World Enslavement Campaign).
Today, in 2018, with train travel at an all time high in NYC, the current Penn Station is bursting and deteriorating. It is in need of a major overhaul. There is talk of demolishing MSG and moving it’s location. Now there is a campaign to rebuild Penn as it was. It’s so ironic that New York is in need of a well designed crown jewel of a station today because the current station is inadequate. The original station would be having a renaissance today if it was still there. Proves that the old architecture and design was timeless and an engendering marvel, and the new “modern” one after 50 years is an eyesore and inadequate. Pave paradise and put up a parking lot
I sincerely wish the campaign to get Penn rebuilt well, but tbh it's going to cost a phenomenal amount of money on a level that no one can envisage these days. They had marble shipped in from Italy - and more than one type of marble at that. The craftsmanship that was invested in Penn was extraordinary.....so high, and as good as anything in Europe. The sheer man hours that this station took to build must be unimaginable. It was built as a station to last forever. Unfortunately the planners in the 60s obviously didn't get this memo. I'm not sure people realise just how much money would be needed to rebuild the station and do justice to the original station design. It would cost about 10 times as much as the new World Trade centre tower. That is glass and steel. Penn was built from stone, marble, and wrought iron - all very heavy, and all very expensive materials. Good luck but unless someone like Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos steps in then I fear it may not see realisation.
@@robtyman4281 "...like Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos steps in..."?! Let's see, Bill Gates got rich, polluted Earth by selling the same software (but it didn't work with earlier versions) to IDIOTS! HERE'S A THOUGHT, we COULD JUST TAX THEM!
@@arcanondrum6543 I meant the money that would be needed to get the project 'off the ground' could only come from people who are multi billionaires (e.g people like Gates or Bezos). I made no reference to how they made their money! This isn't the thread for that. In all honesty it's highly unlikely that this project will ever happen. But then the political will has never been there anyway. Let's not forget America and many Americans remain deeply 'anti rail' - passenger rail that is, for some unknown reason. While other countries across the world build new railways (railroads), America stay stuck in the 20th century - wedded to 20th century thinking.........'cities are for cars'.....'lets build another freeway through the city..because they're er,...so cool'. Nearly all US cities have been ruined by massive freeways going right through the middle of them. Notice that European cities mostly didn't copy them, because they, unlike Americans value their built history and heritage. One day perhaps America will adopt this kind of thinking, but it won't be anytime soon....so I'm not holding my breath.
@@arcanondrum6543 Yea, he only went and made computers part of our everyday lvdes.....so nothing much. lol. He 'democratised' computers, and took them away from the preserve of geeks and computer nerds. Before Windows 95 most people didn't think computers were necessary to their everyday lives.
@@robtyman4281 I've been in the business, pretty much since "640k out to be enough for everyone " was engaging more in stock fraud and Marketing than true innovation. Proving once again that there's not much to learn from the "lol" crowd spewing forth what they've been told to digest.
In my opinion this was the greatest legal crime ever committed in NYC, and probably in the history of the whole US. I feel not only sad but robbed at the same time although i am not even from New York. Isn't that strange?
@@skynetsworld No, it's not strange, but human. To appreciate truly spectacular architecture which is more than simply a railroad station but a symbol of New York city itself. It's heartbreaking that this building no longer exists. You don't have to have a passion for railways/railroads, just a passion for beautiful buildings. Penn Station was unique and a true gem. It, not the Empire State Building, was the icing on New York's cake. Greetings from London, England.
One of the big culprits here was Robert Moses - a city builder - for creating an insane amount of highways - almost getting his way to constructing one that would cut through Manhattan, destroying hundreds of buildings and dismantling neighborhoods such as Soho, Chinatown and Little Italy. By building an insane number of highways, he originated a huge demand for cars, rendering Penn Station almost obsolete.
Moses was also notorious for his dislike of colored people. Not only did he construct countless freeways and vehicular bridges/tunnels, but he also DELIBERATELY made the overpasses/clearances so low that only cars (and not city buses) could use them. Many blacks came north in the 20th Century to escape segregation and Jim Crow laws. While most New Yorkers (eventually) welcomed them, others--such as Robert Moses--remained Hell-bent on keeping the city lily white. 😠
@@grantorino2325 Robert Moses did not like people - PERIOD. So many stories of Moses, and what he shockingly thought of people, are legendary. Oddly enough, New York's, "Great Architect" REALLY did not like people. His dvelopment construction projects were really about his vision, his power, and his legacy over people. It was all about his legacy. It was also all about Robert Mosess ALSO receiving bribes from the automobile companies; bribes from construction companies; and bribes from Developers.
There is a wonderful little museum in Grand Central Terminal that shows the history of Penn Station. I was very impressed and had a GREAT time in that little quaint museum.
I just went to New York for the first time a few days ago. I arrived in Penn, seeing the New Penn Station in person is really depressing, I can barely watch this now. Now that I've seen it's replacement in person.
Escape for Mankind is Keith Johnson that’s America for you. We don’t have the ancient architecture of Europe, so we have instead monuments to transportation and industry. Theses buildings were meant to be our monuments so people could look back hundreds of years and see our legacy. What kind of legacy does MSG leave? Can you imagine the Sistine Chapel or the Collesum being torn down because the land is valuable for urban development?
I hope to see MSG destroyed the same way old Penn was one day. I despise the current day Penn and have to go there every day to work. I really envy everyone who goes to Grand Central instead.
As Ada Louise Huxtable says in this clip “it went far beyond a station” that’s certainly true. The destruction of Penn station unquestionably saved Grand Central. It’s just sad it had to come to that-constructing something that was intended to be there for the ages only to take it down 53 years later.
it was Vandalism in New York against architecture..... our day Penn station is really ugly...... :( Where we entered like kings, we exit like rats.... :(
As a lifelong Mets fan, I have loathed the NY Yankees since childhood. As a New Yorker, I view the organization with contempt for having torn down Yankee Stadium, an iconic building in its own right. It was hardly a crime on the magnitude of the destruction of Penn Station, but a crime nonetheless.
Honestly, I'm far more angry at Robert Moses for throwing away the iconic Brooklyn Dodgers and Ebbets Field like they were garbage. They could've preserved that field as the landmark that it was, just like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park had been preserved, but no. Robert Moses just had to pull a Dean Spanos and kill a franchise because he couldn't get his big shiny millionaire ballpark. Now, that legendary ballpark that served as one of the first and boldest acts of racial integration has now been replaced with apartment buildings with only its outfield fence and a plaque of home plate surviving. May Robert Moses forever live in infamoumy.
My father would tell me stories about the old Penn Station. He would arrive with the LIRR and would gaze up at the domes. I was never able to see it with my own eyes. I was touched by this video, to see what we did to such an amazing structure.
Simple solution: demolish MSG and replace it with the original Charles Follen McKim design of Penn Station, and move and rebuild MSG four blocks to the west, not as the current MSG, but as Stanford White's MSG II (1891-1925). That will bring back some lost grandeur!
Bringing back MSG ll is not possible. It's floor was too big for basketball or ice hockey. It was mainly used for horse races and track cycling. Bringing back MSG lll would be far better. MSG lll was far more integrated into the city grid than the current one is. It's exterior is way prettier than the current one as well in my opinion.
This wasn't Penn Central, it was before the merger. The Pennsy and the New York Central merged in 1968. They took in the New Haven the following year. But the PC did try to sell the air rights to Grand Central, to be demolished and replaced by office space.
Europe has some monuments nearly 1000 years old eg Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris started construction in 1163 AD. Heritage vandalism in America's largest city ..sad .
It doesn't fit their lies, it was part of the old world that, as time went by and more people saw it, it would be obvious we didn't build it and we couldn't build anything like it now. These songs in stone have to be silenced.
dpm1982 Yes it is the late David Ogden Stiers. Apparently Ric Burns has an episode 9 in production currently so it will be interesting to see who he selects to fill those shoes.
@@bryson217 He had such a fantastic speaking voice, ideal for documentaries as distinguished as this. And I think it is terrible that people were so short sighted to close down and then destroy such a place as this Penn Station. MSG just is not that grande a facility and not fitting for this location.
That’s exactly what “they” wanted... to arrive in NY not like Gods but arrive like Rats. Plus “we” didn’t build it like many other magnificent structures.
There is no chance of that happening now of days. I wish they would tear down MSG, replace it with a true train station. Luckily, they will preserve Farley for a new Moynihan station.
I don't disagree that the demise of Penn Station was lamentable, but you'd think that they'd interview Marv Albert or Sam Rosen about Madison Square Garden. At least they might be able to say, "It isn't all bad."
Wow, those grand open spaces and God rays coming from above . . . I've only experienced such an architectural wonder in St. Peter's Bascilica at the Vatican! It's an indictment against America that this building was destroyed and another indictment that America no longer has the will, energy, and enthusiasm to create such a building anymore.
I think you should put old penn station in the title so people can find this video more easily -- it needs to have more exposure! those that do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it
@mugshotesp That is going to happen in 50 years when MSG comes down, the repairs will make it last for another 50 years. The day that happens i'm going down there and celebrating when the first piece of steel gets torn down.
@Dexman60 Yes NYC destroyed a great place, and repaced it with an arena with teams that can't even win a championship. As a New York Citizen, Railroad Fan and History person, it's a shame that the station was not saved. But Penn's destruction literally saved another, Grand Central Terminal. I'm greatful though that people stood up to try and save the station.
I just returned from a trip to NYC and had to travel in/out of Penn each day to see the city. And I agree - its an ugly place now and I did feel like a rat in the narrow tunnels and crappy lobbies. I didn't know it wasn't the original and kept thinking - "is this the famous Penn Station?" So sad the old one was torn down. Madison Sq Garden looks tacky (like all 60s architecture is). And the current Penn is yucky.
While I am in favor of preservation, especially an architectural gem like Penn, I also understand that railroads were bleeding money badly in the mid 20th century. Who would pay for Penn's preservation? It was corporate property then, not municipal. Had it not been torn down in the 60s it would likely have become even dirtier (it already was) and in disrepair, and begun falling apart in the 80s from deferred maintenance, like other neglected parts of the city infrastructure were at the time.
How many Tax Dollars helped the Construction, the Demolition and the Construction of a Pimple on that site? You can melt the metal and the glass for re-use but the Marble and other stone is lost forever - all for just 50 years 2:07
@da4an1qu1 It should have been preserved. Now the city is having major problems with the Penn Station of today because it can't handle the capacity of many people now in that Terminal, where as the old Penn Station could have definatly handled it. This is a disgrace on many New York people and replacing it with that garbage dump called Madison Square Garden. When the Garden gets torn down i'm going to celebrate.
Hindsight being 20/20, "they" should've taken the approach of architect Norman Foster's re-design of the Hearst Bldg in NYC; aesthetically, the 1967 Madison Sq. Garden could've been "the best of both worlds,” classical and Modern...
The building was rebuilt, and it still carries some if it's historic features, like the exterior containing the pillars. While still having a refreshed and modern look.
Today right now everyone that you can find a bear to be a member of a Penn Station from black and white photos can I graft stamps maps and other things because sometimes that you really wanted to remember that for the past it was good and to the Future need to keep moving forward. It's like a the witness of something important it doesn't matter that it is old it is very old or not is everyone needs to know that the future is like to remember something that is the truth
It is very sad that a of Cruelty that are over this was a Historic Landmark at it it was taller it was bigger it was magnificent with figures space that no one that never seen before like this the Penn Station because don't forget everyone Pennsylvania Breville that who is the owner of the Penn Station is from Pennsylvania and they say that they could do whatever they wanted to do destroyer and they did everything that stone by Stone Brick by Brick Mobile by mobile Glass eyeglass Steel by Steel and arts that are of a statues and inside just like destroy it is very sad to know because the pictures that are you only know that it is well you can tell all of your grandmother your grandfather that Debbie member of the old are Penn Station have it looks like it from well black and white or color or pictures and if they could be possible that are sometimes that's could be in the storage from the attic or the basement it sounds a that well it cannot be safe but not to worry everyone there is a second to Patient like their that next door neighbor the older mailbox right there it will be transformed into a Playstation number 2 so this is going to be something like well to deposit if in the future and keep of a brighter in the sky Light lyrics that is the truth or everyone because the light is going to be multiplied in future it is the more beautiful than ever that who built it location the person and how did the Magnificent of structure of stones Steel glass statues they could be like remember for the past into the future
While not recorded in HD or 4K these old PBS documentaries are true masterpieces in story telling. The ambience of the music and the narrators poetic well spoken English. Everything just comes together magically. I wish the whole episode was available to watch. They truly don't make documentaries like these any more. I can only assume in this current visually stimulated world the art of story telling has been lost.
I remember walking through Pennsylvania Station, with my sister, when I was 4 years old. That station was incredible, beautiful. I remember saying, "Wow" to my older sister, who was 16 at the time. As we walked through the Station, to the 7th Ave. Exit, she told me that they were going to tear the station down soon. I remember looking up at the glass roof, then looking at my suster saying, "Why???". That's all I remember.
The memory has lasted with me to this very day, because the old Penn Station was so impressive.
For those still with us, who remember the old Penn Station, you have to agree, Grand Central, which was saved from demolition, can not compare to the old Pennsylvania station.
The sad irony of this very segment? The director of this fine documentary was Ric Burns, brother of Ken Burns. He recalled that just as he was finishing up the final editing process for this special, he remembered hearing the whine of a jet engine too close to the ground passing his Upper West Side neighborhood. The date? Tuesday, September 11th, 2001! To watch this segment about the loss of architectural elegance knowing this had to air just after what would become the worst destruction in NYC history.... my Lord. Due to that tragedy, Mr. Burns essentially dedicated a new, final chapter to his NEW YORK Documentary 2 years later. CENTER OF THE WORLD aired in the fall of 2003, closing a sad chapter in my city's history with a whole history of the building of the World Trade Center.
screw ken burns. anti-white racist
I hope that someday in my lifetime I can take a virtual reality tour of the old Penn Station.
OK. I'm a westerner, California born and bred, but since I was a child have always loved art and architecture. I just found out about this, and I cannot believe they demoished this building. Any city in the world would be (or have been) extremely proud to have that building. I don't think it's an overstatement to say that Penn Station is perhaps the greatest piece of architecture (in the world) ever demolished/purposely destroyed.
If you leave out wartime destruction, I am inclined to agree with you. There have been many outstanding buildings purposely destroyed throughout the World but I can't think of any as important architecturally as the old Penn Station.
You're telling me this was built in 1910 only to knock it down 53 years later because 'maintenance costs'? Nope, not buying it. People still rolling round in horse and cart and we throw up buildings like this (which could not be replicated today). Yeah that's absolute BS, this building (and many others) were knocked down for a reason, because if it still stood today there would be serious reservations about its origins and meaning.
@@colonelsanders4006 it wasn't build for us and we didn't build it, that's why they destroyed it.
the 'chosen ones' only care about the bottom line....money.
@@graciemaemarie11jones16 - They only care about Money, because Money can be used for Bribery (to Buy Political Power to acheive their God's Chosen Racists World Enslavement Campaign).
Today, in 2018, with train travel at an all time high in NYC, the current Penn Station is bursting and deteriorating. It is in need of a major overhaul. There is talk of demolishing MSG and moving it’s location. Now there is a campaign to rebuild Penn as it was. It’s so ironic that New York is in need of a well designed crown jewel of a station today because the current station is inadequate. The original station would be having a renaissance today if it was still there. Proves that the old architecture and design was timeless and an engendering marvel, and the new “modern” one after 50 years is an eyesore and inadequate.
Pave paradise and put up a parking lot
I sincerely wish the campaign to get Penn rebuilt well, but tbh it's going to cost a phenomenal amount of money on a level that no one can envisage these days. They had marble shipped in from Italy - and more than one type of marble at that.
The craftsmanship that was invested in Penn was extraordinary.....so high, and as good as anything in Europe. The sheer man hours that this station took to build must be unimaginable. It was built as a station to last forever. Unfortunately the planners in the 60s obviously didn't get this memo.
I'm not sure people realise just how much money would be needed to rebuild the station and do justice to the original station design. It would cost about 10 times as much as the new World Trade centre tower. That is glass and steel. Penn was built from stone, marble, and wrought iron - all very heavy, and all very expensive materials. Good luck but unless someone like Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos steps in then I fear it may not see realisation.
@@robtyman4281 "...like Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos steps in..."?! Let's see, Bill Gates got rich, polluted Earth by selling the same software (but it didn't work with earlier versions) to IDIOTS! HERE'S A THOUGHT, we COULD JUST TAX THEM!
@@arcanondrum6543 I meant the money that would be needed to get the project 'off the ground' could only come from people who are multi billionaires (e.g people like Gates or Bezos).
I made no reference to how they made their money! This isn't the thread for that.
In all honesty it's highly unlikely that this project will ever happen. But then the political will has never been there anyway. Let's not forget America and many Americans remain deeply 'anti rail' - passenger rail that is, for some unknown reason.
While other countries across the world build new railways (railroads), America stay stuck in the 20th century - wedded to 20th century thinking.........'cities are for cars'.....'lets build another freeway through the city..because they're er,...so cool'.
Nearly all US cities have been ruined by massive freeways going right through the middle of them. Notice that European cities mostly didn't copy them, because they, unlike Americans value their built history and heritage.
One day perhaps America will adopt this kind of thinking, but it won't be anytime soon....so I'm not holding my breath.
@@arcanondrum6543 Yea, he only went and made computers part of our everyday lvdes.....so nothing much. lol.
He 'democratised' computers, and took them away from the preserve of geeks and computer nerds. Before Windows 95 most people didn't think computers were necessary to their everyday lives.
@@robtyman4281 I've been in the business, pretty much since "640k out to be enough for everyone " was engaging more in stock fraud and Marketing than true innovation. Proving once again that there's not much to learn from the "lol" crowd spewing forth what they've been told to digest.
This right here makes real men cry
Demolition of such a grandeur building was the ultimate fail of New York. People should be penalised for such an act of vandalism against art.
In my opinion this was the greatest legal crime ever committed in NYC, and probably in the history of the whole US. I feel not only sad but robbed at the same time although i am not even from New York. Isn't that strange?
@@skynetsworld No, it's not strange, but human. To appreciate truly spectacular architecture which is more than simply a railroad station but a symbol of New York city itself. It's heartbreaking that this building no longer exists.
You don't have to have a passion for railways/railroads, just a passion for beautiful buildings. Penn Station was unique and a true gem.
It, not the Empire State Building, was the icing on New York's cake. Greetings from London, England.
@@skynetsworldI’m from nyc and I didn’t know MSG replace this
You don't know what you've got till it's gone. Joni Mitchell
One of the big culprits here was Robert Moses - a city builder - for creating an insane amount of highways - almost getting his way to constructing one that would cut through Manhattan, destroying hundreds of buildings and dismantling neighborhoods such as Soho, Chinatown and Little Italy.
By building an insane number of highways, he originated a huge demand for cars, rendering Penn Station almost obsolete.
Moses was also notorious for his dislike of colored people. Not only did he construct countless freeways and vehicular bridges/tunnels, but he also DELIBERATELY made the overpasses/clearances so low that only cars (and not city buses) could use them.
Many blacks came north in the 20th Century to escape segregation and Jim Crow laws. While most New Yorkers (eventually) welcomed them, others--such as Robert Moses--remained Hell-bent on keeping the city lily white.
😠
@@grantorino2325 Robert Moses did not like people - PERIOD.
So many stories of Moses, and what he shockingly thought of people, are legendary. Oddly enough, New York's, "Great Architect" REALLY did not like people. His dvelopment construction projects were really about his vision, his power, and his legacy over people. It was all about his legacy.
It was also all about Robert Mosess ALSO receiving bribes from the automobile companies; bribes from construction companies; and bribes from Developers.
@@theequalizer9154 "He loves the public, but he hates people".
@@grantorino2325 oh stop with the victimhood B.S. ok? race baiter? if ny was 'lilly white',as you so rancidly spewed, then ny would be safe....
There is a wonderful little museum in Grand Central Terminal that shows the history of Penn Station. I was very impressed and had a GREAT time in that little quaint museum.
I just went to New York for the first time a few days ago. I arrived in Penn, seeing the New Penn Station in person is really depressing, I can barely watch this now. Now that I've seen it's replacement in person.
I am Utterly Speechless at the Destruction of Such Architectural Beauty.
Escape for Mankind is Keith Johnson that’s America for you. We don’t have the ancient architecture of Europe, so we have instead monuments to transportation and industry. Theses buildings were meant to be our monuments so people could look back hundreds of years and see our legacy. What kind of legacy does MSG leave? Can you imagine the Sistine Chapel or the Collesum being torn down because the land is valuable for urban development?
I hope to see MSG destroyed the same way old Penn was one day. I despise the current day Penn and have to go there every day to work. I really envy everyone who goes to Grand Central instead.
As Ada Louise Huxtable says in this clip “it went far beyond a station” that’s certainly true. The destruction of Penn station unquestionably saved Grand Central. It’s just sad it had to come to that-constructing something that was intended to be there for the ages only to take it down 53 years later.
The first time i went to New York, i arrived at Penn Station. I wish it had been the old one.
it was Vandalism in New York against architecture..... our day Penn station is really ugly...... :( Where we entered like kings, we exit like rats.... :(
As a lifelong Mets fan, I have loathed the NY Yankees since childhood. As a New Yorker, I view the organization with contempt for having torn down Yankee Stadium, an iconic building in its own right. It was hardly a crime on the magnitude of the destruction of Penn Station, but a crime nonetheless.
Honestly, I'm far more angry at Robert Moses for throwing away the iconic Brooklyn Dodgers and Ebbets Field like they were garbage. They could've preserved that field as the landmark that it was, just like Wrigley Field and Fenway Park had been preserved, but no. Robert Moses just had to pull a Dean Spanos and kill a franchise because he couldn't get his big shiny millionaire ballpark. Now, that legendary ballpark that served as one of the first and boldest acts of racial integration has now been replaced with apartment buildings with only its outfield fence and a plaque of home plate surviving. May Robert Moses forever live in infamoumy.
Absolutely stunning! What a beauty. ❤This should be rebuilt!
How sad. Such a beautiful structure only to be replaced with eye sore. Disgraceful.
I much agree. Hopefully someday they’ll rectify that current eyesore.
My father would tell me stories about the old Penn Station. He would arrive with the LIRR and would gaze up at the domes. I was never able to see it with my own eyes. I was touched by this video, to see what we did to such an amazing structure.
If Notre Dame Cathedral were built in the US, it probably would have been torn down to build a mall.
KnightOwl2006 ...
Whenever I need a good cry ...
Simple solution: demolish MSG and replace it with the original Charles Follen McKim design of Penn Station, and move and rebuild MSG four blocks to the west, not as the current MSG, but as Stanford White's MSG II (1891-1925). That will bring back some lost grandeur!
Bringing back MSG ll is not possible. It's floor was too big for basketball or ice hockey. It was mainly used for horse races and track cycling. Bringing back MSG lll would be far better. MSG lll was far more integrated into the city grid than the current one is. It's exterior is way prettier than the current one as well in my opinion.
What a shame!!! It should have been deemed a heritage site!
Wonderful! Thanks so much.
I have to admit, this was really touching - thank you :)
This wasn't Penn Central, it was before the merger. The Pennsy and the New York Central merged in 1968. They took in the New Haven the following year. But the PC did try to sell the air rights to Grand Central, to be demolished and replaced by office space.
Europe has some monuments nearly 1000 years old eg Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris started construction in 1163 AD.
Heritage vandalism in America's largest city ..sad .
all built by caucasians.the m.r.
NYC destroyed a palace and replaced it with a roach motel.
infested with 2 legged monsters
Everything is lost where criminal politicians and greedy developers are involved.
2:48 Top 10 Saddest Moments in Anime, #1.
How sad.....how very sad.
It doesn't fit their lies, it was part of the old world that, as time went by and more people saw it, it would be obvious we didn't build it and we couldn't build anything like it now.
These songs in stone have to be silenced.
Is David Ogden Stiers the narrator? He narrated many fine documentaries and it sure sounds like him.
dpm1982 Yes it is the late David Ogden Stiers. Apparently Ric Burns has an episode 9 in production currently so it will be interesting to see who he selects to fill those shoes.
@@bryson217
He had such a fantastic speaking voice, ideal for documentaries as distinguished as this. And I think it is terrible that people were so short sighted to close down and then destroy such a place as this Penn Station. MSG just is not that grande a facility and not fitting for this location.
It was the Grand Lady of- NYC. 🏯
That’s exactly what “they” wanted... to arrive in NY not like Gods but arrive like Rats. Plus “we” didn’t build it like many other magnificent structures.
I so wish I could find movie images of the inside of the old Penn Station. I wonder if anybody has home movies of Penn Station
There is no chance of that happening now of days. I wish they would tear down MSG, replace it with a true train station. Luckily, they will preserve Farley for a new Moynihan station.
I don't disagree that the demise of Penn Station was lamentable, but you'd think that they'd interview Marv Albert or Sam Rosen about Madison Square Garden. At least they might be able to say, "It isn't all bad."
Wow, those grand open spaces and God rays coming from above . . . I've only experienced such an architectural wonder in St. Peter's Bascilica at the Vatican! It's an indictment against America that this building was destroyed and another indictment that America no longer has the will, energy, and enthusiasm to create such a building anymore.
the city couldnt have bought it? or a group of weathly new yorkers ? such a crime ! this was truly like watching a person dying.
yes, indeed .. i don't understand how they could let this happen :(
I think you should put old penn station in the title so people can find this video more easily -- it needs to have more exposure! those that do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it
Done...years after the fact, but better late than never, right? :)
@mugshotesp That is going to happen in 50 years when MSG comes down, the repairs will make it last for another 50 years. The day that happens i'm going down there and celebrating when the first piece of steel gets torn down.
@Dexman60 Yes NYC destroyed a great place, and repaced it with an arena with teams that can't even win a championship. As a New York Citizen, Railroad Fan and History person, it's a shame that the station was not saved. But Penn's destruction literally saved another, Grand Central Terminal. I'm greatful though that people stood up to try and save the station.
msg is a dark, depressing craphole.
The Madison Sq. Garden is ugly glass crap no taste garbage next one is a Grand central.
I just returned from a trip to NYC and had to travel in/out of Penn each day to see the city. And I agree - its an ugly place now and I did feel like a rat in the narrow tunnels and crappy lobbies. I didn't know it wasn't the original and kept thinking - "is this the famous Penn Station?" So sad the old one was torn down. Madison Sq Garden looks tacky (like all 60s architecture is). And the current Penn is yucky.
2:47 NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The first 9/11 when they destroyed this!
That wouldn't happen today, or would it? Classic design like Penn Station is timeless. To demolish it for a throw.away building was a crime .
THE OLD PENN STATION WE WOULD BE A PART OF NEW YORK FOR DECADES TO COME BUT NOT FOR LONG JUST LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM WATCH THIS.
It's the fate of a society living just for money and economic growth.
4-20...he rules.s.h
It really says too much about what people were thinking or not thinking at that time and that was allowed
While I am in favor of preservation, especially an architectural gem like Penn, I also understand that railroads were bleeding money badly in the mid 20th century. Who would pay for Penn's preservation? It was corporate property then, not municipal. Had it not been torn down in the 60s it would likely have become even dirtier (it already was) and in disrepair, and begun falling apart in the 80s from deferred maintenance, like other neglected parts of the city infrastructure were at the time.
Grand Central was saved from the 50s and 60s wrecking ball, multiple times...you've just gotta find use for these spaces.
Its demolition is the ultimate failure of NY. Indeed one of the best Architectural beauty NY ever had
How many Tax Dollars helped the Construction, the Demolition and the Construction of a Pimple on that site? You can melt the metal and the glass for re-use but the Marble and other stone is lost forever - all for just 50 years 2:07
They should rebuild it, but even bigger, more decorated, it should be declared a national cultural heritage so that it can never be destroyed again.
@da4an1qu1 It should have been preserved. Now the city is having major problems with the Penn Station of today because it can't handle the capacity of many people now in that Terminal, where as the old Penn Station could have definatly handled it. This is a disgrace on many New York people and replacing it with that garbage dump called Madison Square Garden. When the Garden gets torn down i'm going to celebrate.
Hindsight being 20/20, "they" should've taken the approach of architect Norman Foster's re-design of the Hearst Bldg in NYC; aesthetically, the 1967 Madison Sq. Garden could've been "the best of both worlds,” classical and Modern...
Too bad Trump wasn't around then. He would have saved it and turned it into a great venue or magnificent hotel.
The building was rebuilt, and it still carries some if it's historic features, like the exterior containing the pillars. While still having a refreshed and modern look.
Such a shame
What a loss.
Today right now everyone that you can find a bear to be a member of a Penn Station from black and white photos can I graft stamps maps and other things because sometimes that you really wanted to remember that for the past it was good and to the Future need to keep moving forward. It's like a the witness of something important it doesn't matter that it is old it is very old or not is everyone needs to know that the future is like to remember something that is the truth
Kansas City union station is cool so I don’t care
The Pennsylvania was verging on bankruptcy - taxed to death and regulated into a straight jacket.
more than five centuries. ατλαντις. αρχιτεκτονική. Atlantic architecture. Hellas. Chao
It is very sad that a of Cruelty that are over this was a Historic Landmark at it it was taller it was bigger it was magnificent with figures space that no one that never seen before like this the Penn Station because don't forget everyone Pennsylvania Breville that who is the owner of the Penn Station is from Pennsylvania and they say that they could do whatever they wanted to do destroyer and they did everything that stone by Stone Brick by Brick Mobile by mobile Glass eyeglass Steel by Steel and arts that are of a statues and inside just like destroy it is very sad to know because the pictures that are you only know that it is well you can tell all of your grandmother your grandfather that Debbie member of the old are Penn Station have it looks like it from well black and white or color or pictures and if they could be possible that are sometimes that's could be in the storage from the attic or the basement it sounds a that well it cannot be safe but not to worry everyone there is a second to Patient like their that next door neighbor the older mailbox right there it will be transformed into a Playstation number 2 so this is going to be something like well to deposit if in the future and keep of a brighter in the sky Light lyrics that is the truth or everyone because the light is going to be multiplied in future it is the more beautiful than ever that who built it location the person and how did the Magnificent of structure of stones Steel glass statues they could be like remember for the past into the future
0:45
Horrible
😞☹️😑
They replaced it with shoe. Box because they thought it's cool
F#_@#