AGBANY sought to politicize the battle by appealing to the City Council and political hopefuls for help. AGBANY organized the public protest rally that took place on Augand employed other methods ranging from issuing petitions and placards, to urging public-minded ownership for the threatened site and suggesting an adaptive reuse. The group spearheaded the campaign to stop the demolition of Pennsylvania Station. The Action Group for Better Architecture in New York (AGBANY) formed largely in response to the threat to Penn Station. And we will probably be judged not by the monuments we build but by those we have destroyed." 11 We want and deserve tin-can architecture in a tin-horn culture. Even when we had Penn Station, we couldn't afford to keep it clean. "Any city gets what it admires, will pay for, and, ultimately deserves. 10 In her 1963 editorial, "Farewell to Penn Station," she wrote: The second headline read, "Penn Station to be Razed to Street Level in Project." Preservation-minded journalists, such as The New York Times's Ada Louise Huxtable, proved to be one of preservation's greatest allies during the fight to save Penn Station. 9 Subsequently, a second story on the subject was published in the Times, and this time, the press publicized the Madison Square Garden Corporation's plan. On July 25, 1961, the front page of The New York Times featured the headline "New Madison Square Garden to Rise Atop Penn Station." The story never even mentioned the impending demolition of the station. In 1960, The Madison Square Garden Corporation formed with Irving Mitchell Felt as its president, and began plans for a construction over Pennsylvania Station. 7 In January 1956, Zeckendorf abandoned his original plan for Pennsylvania Station, in the hopes of implementing one on an even larger scale. 6 In June 1955, Pennsylvania Railroad Co.’s president, James Symes, and William Zeckendorf signed an agreement to sell the air rights and build a new station below street level. The "Palace of Progress," was to be operated and merchandised by Palace of Progress Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary, with Billy Rose as president and general manager. The proposed building would be two blocks wide, rooted and roofed over the present site of Pennsylvania Station. 5 In 1955, the officers of the Pennsylvania Railroad Corporation developed a plan with William Zeckendorf to raze the station, and replace it with a “Palace of Progress,” a 50-story building that would house the permanent World’s Fair and international merchandise mart. In December 1954, the real estate firm of Webb and Knapp (with William Zeckendorf as its president) purchased the option for development of air rights between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, where Penn Station itself stood. The truth, however, is that preservation forces had been operating in New York before any threat was posed to Pennsylvania Station. The "Myth of Pennsylvania Station" is that the loss of this iconic building first spurred New Yorkers to act in an attempt to gain legislative protection for its landmarks. Popular perceptions of the history of New York City attribute the birth of the preservation movement and the local landmarks law to the demolition of Pennsylvania Station. Nevertheless, as an icon of New York City, the loss of Pennsylvania Station played an important role in shaping New York’s preservation history. By the time the structure was set to be demolished, it was dilapidated due to poor maintenance and alterations, and the architectural richness of the building likely went unnoticed by the vast number of commuters who walked through it daily. It possessed “Nine acres of travertine and granite, 84 Doric columns, a vaulted concourse of extravagant, weighty grandeur, classical splendor modeled after royal Roman baths, rich detail in solid stone, and an architectural quality in precious materials that set the stamp of excellence on a city.” 2 The demolition of the original Pennsylvania Station was announced on July 25, 1961. The building can be described as physically massive. ![]() “The voice of time remained aloof and unperturbed, a drowsy and eternal murmur below the immense and distant roof.” Thomas Wolfe, one of the great writers of the 20 th century, remembered Pennsylvania Station as a place where: ![]() 1 The building boasted an ornate exterior, arcade, waiting room, concourse and carriage-ways. The original structure was designed by architects McKim, Mead & White, in the Beaux-Arts style, and was erected in 1910. Over 500 buildings were initially cleared for its construction. The boundaries surrounding the structure were 31 st and 34 th Streets, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues. The original Pennsylvania Station in New York City was a vast structure that occupied two whole city blocks.
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