Pennsylvania Station

From 1910 to 1963 the Pennsylvania Railroad's New York City hub was Pennsylvania Station, a landmark Beaux Art edifice designed by McKim, Meade and White. Prior to 1910 Pennsylvania Railroad passengers to and from New York had to take a ferry across the Hudson to and from Exchange Place in Jersey City. The station also was the terminus of the Long Island Railroad, owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Prior to the construction of Pennsylvania Station, Long Island Railroad passengers took a ferry from Long Island City.

The station facade was pink granite and had an imposing colonnade in front. Twin carriage ways, modeled after the Brandenburg Gate, led to the two railroads. Inside, the train shed was a monumental structure of glass and steel. The waiting room, modeled after the Baths of Caracalla, was the largest indoor space in the city. The demolition of the building to make way for the new Madison Square Garden provoked an international outcry.

The Pennsylvania Railroad reached its peak passenger traffic during World War II. In the postwar era, intercity traffic dropped steadily and precipitously as the automobile took over as the prime mode of travel between neighboring cities and the airplane took a growing bite out of the long distance routes. The Long Island railroad, however, boomed as the suburban population exploded.