The Late, Great Pennsylvania Station (Paperback)

~ (Author), Ada Louise Huxtable (Foreword) "In the early evening sunset during that summer of 1964, they looked like the remains of an ancient Roman temple toppled by an earthquake..." (more)
Key Phrases: main waiting room, great station, monumental gateway, New York, Pennsylvania Station, Pennsylvania Railroad (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This book offers a moving and tragic account of the history, creation, and the ultimate demise of the original Pennsylvania Station in New York City. An elegant symbol of turn-of-the-century classicism, the station was designed by the preeminent architects of the period, McKim, Mead & White, and completed in 1910. Accompanied by 80 vintage photographs, Lorraine Diehl lovingly documents the labor involved in the creation of this great building and traces the mid-20th-century development interests and capitalist forces that destroyed it in 1963. While there was no public outcry to save the building, once New Yorkers realized the extent of their loss, it helped pave the way for a nationwide preservation movement. This book convincingly reasserts the profound importance of our public urban architecture--culturally, socially, and aesthetically--to our collective memory and history.

From Library Journal

Although demolished more than 20 years ago, New York's monumental Pennsylvania Station continues to hold a strong fascination for social and architectural historians alike. The demolition of the station became the turning point for the historic preservation movement in this country. The gateway to New York City for over 50 years was the masterpiece of McKim Mead and White, America's preeminent firm in the first decades of the 20th century. Diehl has crafted an engrossing, superbly researched account that recaptures the drama and grandeur of the station from its planning and construction, through its golden years in the 1920s, to its decline and senseless destruction in 1964. Handsomely illustrated with numerous photographs and drawings, this book is highly recommended for most libraries. H. Ward Jandl, National Park Svce., Washington,
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (November 14, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568580606
• ISBN-13: 978-1568580609
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #653,533 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moves you to tears, August 27, 2001

By	Mark Kolakowski (Fair Haven, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

...that such a magnificent work of art was not deemed worthy of preservation in 1963. In the opinion of a number of architectural historians, Pennsylvania Station was the grandest building ever erected in the United States. The photos in this marvelous book certainly make that case very convincingly. And they give me an overwhelming sense of melancholy. I'm just a tad too young to have any recollection of the lost station, but I regularly pass through its depressing successor. One architectural critic opined that whereas the old station made you feel like royalty in entering the City of New York, the current station makes you feel like a scurrying rat. Lorraine B. Diehl is passionate about her subject. She grew up in the neighborhood, and the great station fascinated her from childhood, when it was a vast, wondrous world for her and other kids. As she matured, she came to appreciate not only the architectural details, but the station as a backdrop to American history, witnessing the comings and goings of countless people in peace and in war. In one of her favorite quotations, Thomas Wolfe (in "You Can't Go Home Again") said that the great station was "vast enough to hold the sound of time." Whether you're interested in railroads, architecture, engineering (the story of how the railroad tunnelled under the Hudson River and built the station is fascinating in itself) or history, this book is a must read. If you're ever in New York, make a point of taking one of the author's free tours of the station, 12:30 PM on the 4th Monday of each month from the information desk. She's as an engaging a guide as she is an author, and you'll see some hidden remnants of the old station that other visitors can't.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Looking back at New York's lost treasure, June 27, 2004

By	Rocco Dormarunno (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I was barely seven years old when old Penn Station was torn down, but I remember the sadness and outrage of my neighbors in Brooklyn. I had only been to the station once or twice but I was too young to remember. I didn't really understand the big fuss about its destruction. And after it was gone, I don't remember there being too much grieving.

Now looking back, through films and books, I understand what it was all about. "The Late, Great Pennsylvania Station" by Lorraine B. Diehl is the best book on the subject that I've come across. Her analysis of the rise and fall of McKim's great station is both awe-inspiring and heart-breaking. The smattering of beautiful photographs is a plus, as well. Penn Station's demise, of course, could be regarded solely as a loss for the city but, as Ms. Diehl explains, the real legacy of the destruction was the enormous preservation/conservation movement that followed. In the aftermath, so many other buildings were spared a similar fate.

There are those who say that the people behind Penn Station's demolition were justified (Ms. Diehl rightly avoids villifying anyone). The apologists for the destruction claim that Penn Station was too big, in the wrong place, and was in the red. The Empire State Building was erected ten blocks south of the midtown business area and three miles north of the Wall Street district. It was a very big building and rarely had over 50% occupancy until the 1950s, when it finally began earning money. Should it have been knocked down too?

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful book, September 1, 2000

By A Customer

If you've heard of Penn Station and its destruction, but don't know the history or details, this is EXACTLY the book you are looking for if you want to know about it. It includes an entertaining and informative history of the station, amazing pictures, and remarkable insight into the forces that led to the station's destruction.

It is simultaneously a fond tribute to an architectural masterpiece, and a saddening description of civic apathy.

Hopefully Ms. Diehl will put out another edition with updates and description of plans for a new Penn Station.