those were the days

on

It wasn't long ago that you could
sit on the stairs of the post office
in front of Penn Station.
Well, you still can, but you'll freeze your rear off.
The view isn't worth it.
Penn Station with Madison Square Garden on top
is probably one of the worlds ugliest sights.
You're better off standing with your back
towards MSG looking at the post office.
It wasn' always like this.
Before, Penn station was as grand
and beautiful as Grand Central Station was and is.
The original Pennsylvania Station was torn
down as it was deemed unprofitable.
Somehow I think the whole area would have
been of higher value today if they had preserved the
original building.
It was something to look at.

Comments

george tannenbaum said…
i read, about a year ago, a book called Conquering Gotham. It was about building the tunnels under the Hudson and East Rivers. Before these were built, railroad riders had to switch to the ferry to Manhattan.

The Pennsylvania RR built the tunnels, bought out the residents of what was then called the Tenderloin district of Manhattan, and had Mead, McKim and White design the great Penn Station. It was torn down about 1965 for the incredibly ugly Madison Square Garden.
November 23, 2008 at 5:32 PM
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