The Late Great Pennsylvania Station

“Superb. [A] first-rate narrative” (The Wall Street Journal) about the controversial construction of New York’s beloved original Penn Station and its tunnels, from the author of Eiffel's Tower and Urban Forests As bestselling books like Ron Chernow's Titan and David McCullough's The Great Bridge affirm, readers are fascinated with the grand personalities and schemes that populated New York at the close of the nineteenth century. Conquering Gotham re- creates the riveting struggle waged by the great Pennsylvania Railroad to build Penn Station and the monumental system of tunnels that would connect water-bound Manhattan to the rest of the continent by rail. Historian Jill Jonnes tells a ravishing tale of snarling plutocrats, engineering feats, and backroom politicking packed with the most colorful figures of Gilded Age New York. Conquering Gotham will be featured in an upcoming episdoe of PBS's American Experience.

The story of the spectacular and much-lamented train terminal whose destruction inspired a new passion for historic preservation. Includes photos. In early twentieth-century New York, few could have imagined a train terminal as grand as Pennsylvania Station. Yet, executives at the Pennsylvania Railroad secretly bought up land in Manhattan's infamous Tenderloin District to build one of the world's most spectacular monuments. Sandhogs would battle the fiercest of nature to build tunnels linking Manhattan to New Jersey and Long Island. For decades, Penn Station was a center of elegance and pride. But the ensuing rise of the airplane and automobile began to diminish train travel. Consequently, in the mid-1960s, the station was tragically destroyed. The loss inspired the birth of preservation laws in the city and the nation that would save other landmarks—such as New York’s Grand Central, just blocks away. Here, Paul Kaplan recounts the trials and triumphs of New York's Penn Station, with extensive photos and illustrations.

A beautiful tribute to the glory of the original Pennsylvania Railroad Station During the first half of the 20th century, the original Pennsylvania Station was one of New York City's grandest landmarks, a palace in the middle of Manhattan. William Low's glorious illustrations pay close attention to detail while still encompassing the large-scale grandeur of Penn Station. Old Penn Station follows a very specific piece of New York City history, but it's not just a New York book. The author's research carefully addresses the whole history of the building, from construction to destruction, ending with an acknowledgment of its lasting legacy in terms of historical preservation. Spaces can be powerful, and Old Penn Station honors one particular powerful space which is sure to engender discussion about other historical buildings and monuments all across the nation. This is a classic, beautiful book for history lovers, train lovers, and art lovers alike. Old Penn Station is a 2007 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year and a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

"The construction of Pennsylvania Station (1904-1910) was a monumental undertaking ... for the voluminous earth displaced, incredible innovation, and brilliant French-influenced classical architecture, but it also was a quintessential archetype of the Gilded Age. The station reshaped the economic and social fabric of New York by dislodging scores of families and local businesses. It had been built for prestige and grandeur rather than sustainability and prolonged the rivalry with the New York Central and Hudson River Railroads, leading to the creation of Grand Central Terminal. Although the station was successful for increasing passenger journeys, the rise of independent travel after World War II and mounting financial losses culminated with its unfortunate demise and eventual destruction. Nevertheless, through the misfortune of demolition emerged the first historic preservation laws, which have saved countless historic buildings, including its Park Avenue rival"--Back cover.

Opened in 1913, Grand Central Terminal is a world-famous landmark building with a magnificent 48-foot-high, 1,500-ton statuary group on top of the main facade. Designed by sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan, a 13-foot-wide Tiffany clock serves as the centerpiece. The figure above the clock is Mercury, with Hercules to the left and Minerva to the right. In the late 1990s, a historic restoration was performed on the terminal after which two cast-iron eagle statues were placed over entrances at Lexington Avenue and Forty-Second Street/Vanderbilt Avenue. These eagles were from the 1898 Grand Central Station building that was demolished in 1910 to make room for the construction of the new Grand Central Terminal structure. Penn Station, which opened in 1910, covered two full city blocks and had statuary groups, designed by sculptor Adolph Weinman, on all four sides of the building. After Penn Station was demolished in the mid-1960s, the statuary was dispersed throughout various locations, mainly in the Northeast.

This book looks at the many transatlantic bonds which have linked and still link Germany and the United States. German immigrants to the Americas brought with them a good deal of cultural baggage. They cultivated their German heritage in their schools, churches, and clubs. They expressed pride in this heritage by erecting monuments to Goethe or Schiller, Beethoven or Wagner, Alexander von Humboldt or «Turnvater» Jahn. They claimed Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, Carl Schurz, Gustave Koerner, and John A. Roebling as their own. But German-born or German-trained sculptors did not limit themselves to German subjects. They also paid tribute to America by creating sculptures of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and others who occupy a place of honor in American history. While a few German monuments can be found in Canada and in Latin America, the number of German monuments in the United States is surprisingly large. These monuments illustrate the contribution - often overlooked or ignored - of the German-American community to American society and American cultural life.

Traces the epic story of the struggle to build Penn Station, describing how the nation's most powerful railroad tackled Tammany Hall corruption and the forces of nature to create a tunnel system linking Manhattan, New Jersey, and Long Island.