New York Pennsylvania (Penn) Station - History, Remnants, etc.

[peterde]

I must have went down the block of w 31st St 8-9 Ave thousands of times over many years, but it was not until I read Conquering Gotham that I realized this building is really the only part left of the old Penn Station.

[workextra]

Yes it is! That's was the old power plant or something to that effect. I believe they have steam pipes in there that provided steam heat for the station and the trains as well.
There is several other artifacts of the old temple still standing. Many are in plain sight many others are hidden behind walls and/or in off limits areas.
As for Above Ground not including her eagles, The power plant is all that's left. I'd like to know if that building was built of the same stone at the station? If so a good cleaning would give the image of what the station might have looked like had it survived to be restored.

[peterde]

I believe the facade is made of the same material. The side are definitively made of something else, a noticeably inferior material.

[timz]

On Shorpy a guy said

"The ironwork in the concourse [of NY Penn] did not actually support the glass ceiling as it appears to do. Rather an unseen exterior truss cantilevered from the outer walls, and the glass ceiling essentially hung from it."

A north-south truss 400+ feet long? Two of them? Never seen it in pics looking down on the station-- was it visible? But not visible in interior pics?

[25Hz]

Found some stunning photos of NYP before it was finished.

Note the men on the roof to give scale....
http://www.shorpy.com/node/299?size=_original" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Note LIRR train stopped in the back, and construction worker motion blurred, and check out that amazing tile on the ceiling to the left!
http://www.shorpy.com/node/299?size=_original" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If there are more i will attempt to locate them!

[charlie6017]

Those are some amazing shots.......thanks for sharing!

Charlie

[25Hz]

http://www.shorpy.com/node/6456?size=_original#caption" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.shorpy.com/node/10243?size=_original#caption" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.shorpy.com/node/8994?size=_original#caption" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Store inside the station:
http://www.shorpy.com/node/8995?size=_original#caption" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This view takes you there...
http://www.shorpy.com/node/9077?size=_original#caption" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Through the war...
http://www.shorpy.com/node/12899?size=_original#caption" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Early construction and excavation!
http://www.shorpy.com/node/12327?size=_original#caption" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[25Hz]

Those are some amazing shots.......thanks for sharing!

Charlie

I had to share, it was the first thought across my mind!

For me, a dyed in the wool historian and avid railfan, these photos are the jackpot.

[Lawrence Crossing]

Stunning photographs! Being in construction and photography and the grandson of a PRR engineer, I must say you hit me a home run. Thank you for the links.

[25Hz]

Stunning photographs! Being in construction and photography and the grandson of a PRR engineer, I must say you hit me a home run. Thank you for the links.

Yea, just thinking,i should probably save these photos just in case the host vanishes!!

[nyrmetros]

good stuff....

[philipmartin]

Like every body else, I consider these photos a treasure. I've been getting period railroad photos off Shorpy for years. This detail of the concession drug store photo I think shows Tiffany Glass in the archway; not surprising considering the opulence of the entire enterprise; (although the signs underneath it seem out of place.)

[philipmartin]

When you click on the link, you are on Shorpy, and see the high resolution photo. When you click on the photo, you see comments people have made.

[philipmartin]

A couple of factoids: the railroad was underneath the subways. I know because I worked JO tower and it was underneath the seventh avenue subway. Also, the interlocking machine at JO has (if it still exists,) a plate on it that says "Cabin D." I wonder if the towers originally were named clockwise: A, KN might have been B, C and JO, cabin D.
The original track plan was modified in later years to make it more efficient.

[philipmartin]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KOzG5LXUnI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;