From Book News, Inc.
Three articles separately explore the construction of Penn Station, it's destruction amidst the simultaneous rise of Madison Square Garden, and its planned resurrection in the James A. Farley Post Office Building. A wealth of photographs and architectural illustrations accompany the text. The essay on its construction focuses on the reactions of architectural critics and the general public, the uses of the station over the years, and its connections to other historical landmarks such as the Farley Post Office Building and the Hotel Pennsylvania. The treatment of the destruction is primarily a photographic paean to the loss of a historical landmark.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR


Book Description
A journey through the extraordinary history of New York's Pennsylvania Station. The creation of Pennsylvania Station (1902-1910) represented one of the great engineering feats of its time, and embodied a powerful vision of grandeur for future public architecture. This richly illustrated book tells the story of the original building, its tragic demolition in the 1960s, and the greatly anticipated opening of the new station in 2003. 100 color and 75 black-and-white photographs and illustrations.


About the Author
Hilary Ballon is professor of art history at Columbia University. She lives in New Jersey.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Pennsylvania Station was one of America's greatest engineering feats and finest works of architecture, but it was more than that. It set a standard of urban civility by transforming a transportation hub into an uplifting public monument and embodied an enduring vision for future civic architecture in New York. This book recounts the heroic story of a public landmark: the masterpiece by McKim, Mead & White that opened in 1910, its tragic demolition in the 1960s, and the dazzling new station by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, due to open in 2005." "Historic photographs trace the construction of the station and reveal new perspectives on its breathtaking design. The never-before-published photographs of Norman McGrath provide a unique record in color of the demolition and the overlapping construction of Madison Square Garden. Stunning computer renderings illuminate the Skidmore, Owings & Merrill design for the new station in the landmark Farley Post Office, while SOM chair Marilyn Jordan Taylor describes the planning of the new station and its impact on the future development of the metropolitan region." This is the first look at the past, present, and future of an essential part of New York's transportation infrastructure. The story of Pennsylvania Station uncovers how the creation of an urban monument and remarkable development in transportation planning made a century ago and today affect the way millions of people experience New York City.

FROM THE CRITICS

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