Quantcast

Heartbreaking photos of the demolition of the 1910 Penn Station, construction of Madison Square Garden

When the original Pennsylvania Station officially opened in Manhattan to the public on Nov. 27, 1910, it was hailed as a monumental work of architecture.

Designed in the Beaux Arts style, millions of travelers would ultimately pass through the cavernous station that spanned two city blocks. The station was seen as a symbol of the awe-inspiring engineering achievement of building rail tunnels under the Hudson and East rivers which had helped to link the entire Northeast.

The station, though, was cleared away despite protests and a fight to preserve it. On Oct. 28, 1963, workers set about taking the building down. In its place, Madison Square Garden and a high-rise office complex would rise.

Even today, the decision to demolish the old station has been called one of the greatest failures of architectural preservation in NYC history.

Here are 21 heartbreaking photos showing how the old station was taken down and replaced.