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Pennsylvania Station: 1910
New York circa 1910. "Track level, main and exits, concourses, Pennsylvania Station." 8x10 dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. ... but there used to be someone who posted when a picture of Pennsylvania station came up, saying how the photo didn't reflect how horrible ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 5:42pm -

New York circa 1910. "Track level, main and exits, concourses, Pennsylvania Station." 8x10 dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
Caldarium, tepidarium, frigidariumSaid to be modeled after the Baths of Caracalla, but with a lavish use of glass and structural steel unimaginable in the Roman era, and one would have to bathe elsewhere.
Too bad it was destroyed almost 50 years ago.
GloriousA superb photo. The details are wonderful, so pristine it almost looks like a model, except for that ghost on the platform lower left.
Gilbert's finestAnyone else look at this and think, "Erector set"?
Not ADA CompliantHow did disabled persons take the train back th-? Oh. 
Scary Scaffolding!Who wants to climb up that scaffolding in the upper right corner?
Stairways to heaven It makes me queasy to even think about climbing up and around on that makeshift scaffolding. No handrails. No looking down. No way. 
Stairs RemainSome of those stairs to the platform still remain, but at the track level, the light and airy station has been reduced to a dark, dingy basement.
A Structural FantasyThe marvelous steel arches and glass vaults of Penn Station's concourse are just as decorative and "artificial" as the Guastavino tile vaults and colossal Corinthian columns in in the Main Waiting Room (the part of the station that was modeled on the Baths of Caracalla) next door. As Hilary Ballon showed in her book "New York's Pennsylvania Stations," the actual structure of the concourse is formed by three hidden sets of steel trusses forming X-patterns in plan above this space. All the apparent structure you see here is actually hung from these supports. The result may be an attempt to answer the question: What would the Romans have have done with steel and glass? It is all a splendid illusion, but in the immortal words of Jerry Seinfeld, "not that there's anything wrong with it."
Herringbone Is the arched ceiling surface made from masonry units or tile?
Imagine the hours involved on just that part of the job.
Magnificent structureThanks for posting this wonderful shot.
Artful and skillfulBack then it seems that there wasn't much of today's division between the haughty artist (architect) coming up with gaga designs and the lowly craftsman (civil engineer) who has to put them into being. 
They were much in love with their (then relatively new) materials and used them to great effect. And somewhow architects and engineers seem to have been on the same planet, not to mention the same wavelength. Maybe both were artisans, rather than artist and craftsman, respectively. 
Today's architecture rarely is up to that. From purely utilitarian, through trite and tacky to ugly to downright stupid *, most of the time. My 5 Cents, anyway.
* Stupid would be, for instance, when function follows form, like using huge glass fronts in rather sunny places, or flat roofs with 60 inches of annual rain.
HorribleI don't know if he's still around but there used to be someone who posted when a picture of Pennsylvania station came up, saying how the photo didn't reflect how horrible the place really was and how it was a good thing that the tore it down. Just so you know that not everyone shares our enthusiasm for the structure.
Not ADA Compliant?How did disabled persons take the train back then?  Pretty much like they would now -- a redcap would have taken them down in an elevator.
The ADA is a wonderful law that has done a great deal of good, but it can't change reality.  I remember once the Amtrak ADA-compliance officer inspected my station and said we would need to install "tactile bumps" along the 6 concrete platforms bordering the tracks.  I asked why, and she said to facilitate access by blind persons using a cane.  I responded that I would never allow a blind person to go out into the yard unaccompanied, that it was incredibly dangerous even for those with perfect vision, since there were constantly trains moving through.  She said, yes, but they have that right under the law.
LongevityLooks like a train of Long Island Rail Road MP54 cars over on Track 14 at the bottom left.  Some of these cars outlasted the station, not being withdrawn from service until the early 1970s.
Like a ratPerpsters comment reminds me of the saying from architecture historian Vincent Scully: "Through it one entered the city like a god, one scuttles in now like a rat."
The current Penn Station is New York's greatest embarrassment.
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)

Penn Station: 1910
Circa 1910. "Pennsylvania station, main concourse, New York." Silver gelatin glass transparency, Detroit Publishing Company. View ... provocative here, as someone who experienced the original Pennsylvania Station (albeit briefly), I think this building is probably the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/26/2012 - 12:36pm -

Circa 1910. "Pennsylvania station, main concourse, New York." Silver gelatin glass transparency, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Present Penn StationInteresting comment on the old Penn Station from Anonymous.  I never experienced the old one, but I'll agree that Grand Central is wonderful.
The thing about the present Penn Station is that they left the platforms of the old station, but replaced the terminal with a hideous, overcrowded, squalid, nasty ugly dump of a facility.  A true commuter's Hell.  It would be so nice to have that Farley Post Office converted to train station use, as has been promised for going on 20 years now.
OverratedIf I may be a bit provocative here, as someone who experienced the original Pennsylvania Station (albeit briefly), I think this building is probably the most overrated building of the last 100 years — and perhaps even one of the most overrated buildings of all time.
Don’t get me wrong, I do think it is a tragedy that we lost Pennsylvania Station. But the building actually had plenty of things wrong with it (e.g., spaces that were grandiose but not really very beautiful or comfortable; a homely, two-block long Eighth Avenue facade, etc.) and very, very little going right. So from this perspective, it's not hard to understand the general public's ambivalence.
If New York had to lose one of its great railroad portals, it definitely lost the right one. Grand Central Terminal, even during its worst years, was many, many times better — as architecture, as public space, as a functional railroad terminal, as urbanism, etc. — than Pennsylvania Station was, even in its prime.
— Benjamin Hemric, N.Y. Times, 2007
ImagineAll the ghosts of this station...
Bazillions of footsteps through the years.  So nany memories must be linked to this place.
All Those Rivets!All my life I've read about the glories of Penn Station, and now at last I see what I missed. The traceries of steel and glass contrast nicely with the "classical temple" motif, but look at all the hand-assembled pieces, as seen on the closest steel supports and arches. Can you imagine the racket of installing all those rivets?
The ExteriorClick to enlarge.

Another ViewClick to enlarge.

Rail PalaceReminds me of the statement made by Vincent Scully - (paraphrase): In the old Penn Station, one entered the city like a god, in the new, one scuttles in like a rat.
This picture is so boringI wish there were some smiling, vacationing kids in it; even if they were out of focus they would give me something to identify with.  But because there isn't a single face in it, and because it was taken by a professional photographer, this picture must be Historic.  Therefore, I am going to sit back in my chair and be reverent, because that is what one does when one gazes upon something Historic and Artistic.  Right?  Isn't that what the arbiters of good taste would have me do?  
There Is a Ghost --just look down the "Exit" stairs, bottom right.  Looks like a woman in Victorian-length dress with a parasol.  My imagination?  Maybe, maybe not.
Best Erector Set stationThe old Penn Station surely could have won the Best Erector Set award, judging from the eerie photograph, if there was such a thing. Today's only wins the Worst Possible Space for Human Concourse award. There should be such a thing. Alas, no one wants to photograph the new monstrosity.
Penn Station and PreservationDespite critics who disliked Penn Station's imperial grandeur, inspired by the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, the loss of Penn Station in 1963 directly aided the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.
This 1963 NY Times editorial summed up the bitterness of its loss: "Any city gets what it admires, will pay for, and, ultimately, deserves. Even when we had Penn Station, we couldn’t afford to keep it clean. We want and deserve tin-can architecture in a tinhorn culture. And we will probably be judged not by the monuments we build but by those we have destroyed." If the photo above doesn't explain the widespread passion for this building, perhaps this one will help. The photo (and the quote) comes from a large gallery that can be found at www.nyc-architecture.com/GON/GON004.htm

Historic IndeedI'd ask Jennifridge to cut a little slack.  The photograph is obviously from a moment not long before the station was to open - you can still see some scaffolding work on one of the arches.  This building, designed by the well-known firm of McKim, Mead, and White, is perhaps the most visible component of the Pennsylvania Railroad's entrance to Manhattan but even more significant are the Hudson River Tunnels which remain in use to this day.
"Conquering Gotham by Jill Jonnes is an excellent read on this fascinating subject.
Show me the moneyWhatever your perspective on the historical value of Pennsylvania station, the truth behind its demise had everything to do with money -- in particular the Pennsy's lack of it in the years preceding its ill-fated merger with the New York Central. Pennsy's management came to the realization that air rights above the existing Manhattan station were worth a great deal. The decision to raze the structure came easily to a company caught in the squeeze between a government that subsidized air travel and restrictive regulations that added cost to shipping freight.
Perhaps if the Pennsy had received as much largess as the airlines, we'd still have that historic building to gaze at.
Landmark Opinion"What grew out of the rubble of Pennsylvania Station was the powerful myth that New York's Landmarks Law owed its very existence to the loss of that station. As wonderful a morality tale as that has become, it has just one problem: It just isn’t true."
-- Anthony Wood, author of "Preserving New York." More here.
Re: Historic IndeedErr... I think Jennifridge expressed a splendidly ironic barb playing off recent comments regarding "dreckful" family photos of summer vacation.
MeadowlandsI remember an article in Preservation magazine (maybe early 90's?) that chronicled the loss of Penn Station, and how some folks had actually done some research in Jersey at the site of the Meadowlands stadium, where a considerable amount of demolition debris wound up as landfill. They used ground penetrating radar and were able to identify columns and statues that had been trucked over and dumped.
MythWhile the loss of this structure might not have been the reason for the Landmarks Law, the loss reinforced why such a law was needed to avoid aesthetic blunders in the future.  
RivetsDr Q, those structural members were most likely fabricated before they were erected to form the building, possibly in a workshop off-site. Typical practice of the period would be to use a horseshoe or yoke rivetter during fabrication, rather than knocking the rivets down by hand. Only the field or construction joints would be formed that way on-site.
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)

Neither Snow Nor Rain: 1900
Circa 1912. "Post Office, New York City." Although it looks about a million years old, the Eighth Avenue post ... Moynihan Station in honor of the late Senator from New York. The main entrances will be located on the side streets midway down the ... their bags up that impressive flight of steps. From Pennsylvania Station The view is looking northwest across Eighth Avenue from ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 5:46pm -

Circa 1912. "Post Office, New York City." Although it looks about a million years old, the Eighth Avenue post office is still under construction in this view. Enlarged in 1934, it's now called the James Farley Building and has the zip code 10001. The famous motto "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" is inscribed on the entablature. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
+99Not quite the same angle, but the Farley Building is still going strong.
Soon to be the New Penn StationThe Post Office was designed by McKim, Mead and White to complement the old Penn Station, located just across the street (Eighth Avenue). MM&W also designed the very elegant lampposts that stood around both buildings. In a singular twist of fate, the Post Office is slated to be transformed into the newest version of Penn Station, to be called Moynihan Station in honor of the late Senator from New York. The main entrances will be located on the side streets midway down the block at street level, not on the front facade, so the passengers of the future will not be forced to lug their bags up that impressive flight of steps.
From Pennsylvania StationThe view is looking northwest across Eighth Avenue from Penn Station, where trains from New Jersey entered via tunnels under the Post Office. You can still see the Post Office "yard" where the mail cars were accessed under the Post Office Building, in the ancient daze of old.  
The inside is just as impressive.
Those Were the DaysIt was good to be the P.O. back then but no longer. Can you say "email"?
Sign Of The TimesIf the US Postal Service stays the course, there'll soon be condominium space available in this building.
LettersI read that this is the longest inscription on any building in the world.
Light polesWhat beautiful light poles and fixtures now replaced with the incredibly ugly 34th Street Partnership poles.
Almost the samePretty much the same angle though not quite the elevation. She hasn't changed much in the decades.
In the ShotI assume in the lower left corner is the roof edge of the neighboring building serving as the photographer's vantage point. I don't recall seeing this kind of context often in these types of photos. At first glance I thought I was looking at 31st Street dug up for pipe laying!
Private Dick"That guy on the corner's been shadowing me all day!"
What kind of tracks?There aren't any catenary lines overhead to power electric street cars so the tracks are somewhat interesting. Upon close inspection, it looks as if there is a middle slot between the tracks which would indicate that cable cars (much like the ones still in San Francisco) once passed in front of this building. 
New Your, surprisingly, did have cable cars back in "the day," but I wasn't aware that they extended this far north into Midtown.
[These are electric streetcar tracks with access to the power supply via the central slot. - Dave]
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC)

The Big Pennsylvania Hole: 1908
New York circa 1908. "The big Pennsylvania hole." Excavations for Pennsylvania Station. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. ... and Broadway. Is this really where you leave the Pennsylvania station about a quarter to four, read a magazine and you're in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/21/2012 - 7:00pm -

New York circa 1908. "The big Pennsylvania hole." Excavations for Pennsylvania Station. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
All Gone to HeavenThe church on the left was the last survivor of all the buildings shown on the north side of 33rd Street (between 8th and 9th Aves). It finally went under the wrecking ball just within the last few years. On the latest Google Maps image it is a vacant lot with a "Build to Suit" sign in front. I don't recall the name of the church.
If Gimbel's doesn't have itA most excellent, awesome and amazing image. The view is to the east/northeast. Macy's is on 34th Street, between 7th Avenue and Broadway.
Is this really whereyou leave the Pennsylvania station about a quarter to four, read a magazine and you're in Baltimore?
Eighth AvenueThe large concrete structure in the center of the hole is the 8th Avenue Viaduct, still quite visible from the track area in Penn. The area being excavated is currently under the old Moynihan Postal station. Which is out to bid to turn it into a new version of Penn Station, appropriately called Moynihan Station. The first phase was bid several weeks ago and will probably be awarded in about 2 months with construction starting 4th quarter 2012.
Hole other viewPennsylvania Excavation by George Wesley Bellows at the Smith College Museum of Art:
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)

Penn Station: 1910
New York ca. 1910. "Pennsylvania Station. Track level, main and exit concourses, ... arena and entertainment complex. Sound familiar? Pennsylvania Station, the monumental 1910 Beaux-Arts masterpiece of architects ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/02/2012 - 5:22pm -

New York ca. 1910. "Pennsylvania Station. Track level, main and exit concourses, stair entrance." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
Erector SetMy brother made something similar in the basement in the early 60s.
Stairway to HempsteadOne of those original staircases still exists:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatafarce/437171241/
Practice RunThough the station appears to have not yet opened for use there is a DD1 transfer locomotive a few platforms in the background. These locomotives used outside third rail and had a small pantograph to collect power from an overhead catenary.
*sniffle*Every photo I see of the original Penn Station is like a little knife in my heart.  As someone who didn't move to NYC until after its destruction, I feel like I've been deprived of something magical.
What a coincidence!I was just watching "Metropolis" last night.  Where is the Metal Man?
Sensible ThinkingEven with their minds on all that beautiful iron, stone and glass and McKim, Mead & White still had the foresight to build large ports beside the tracks to quickly and easily sweep the trash that riders might toss.
Railroad ObserverThis photograph shows the station when final construction and clean up was almost complete.  The electrified third rails can be seen adjacent to the tracks.  These powered some pioneering electric locomotives that would handle the trains between the west portal near North Bergan, NJ (known as Manhattan Transfer) and the station.
An excellent read on the construction of this station and the far bigger challenge of tunneling under the Hudson River is, "Conquering Gotham: A Gilded Age Epic: The Construction of Penn Station and Its Tunnels" by Jill Jonnes.
We don't need no stinkin' rampsThe architects must have considered themselves generous to people in wheelchairs by putting those intermittent landings every 12 or 13 stairs.  
Not a soul in sightGood thing too with these nails sticking up.
Beautiful ironworkI love all the lattice work, the lattice arches, and the rivet details.  Everything looks all crisp and new in this photo.
Booooard!Would be said soon, but not quite yet. The debris and construction detritus here and there, the temporary shack thing on the left, and more tellingly, the lack of track number signage on the arches over each stairway tell me this photo was taken before September 8, 1910, when Penn Station came online, no pun intended. Penn Station to my pre-teen small town mind was mind-blowing. When you entered from the street and started down its super scale main stairs, it was like entering another world, one that promised travel to distant and exotic destinations. My dad worked for the PRR so we went to NYC often, free. But our home destination was Altoona, Pa., not a hotbed of exotica.  
From NYC Architecture:
In 1963, one of New York City's finest buildings was demolished to make way for a new $116M sports arena and entertainment complex. Sound familiar? 
Pennsylvania Station, the monumental 1910 Beaux-Arts masterpiece of architects McKim, Mead and White, was leveled, and replaced with the fourth incarnation of Madison Square Garden.
In the 1950s the rise of the automobile and the frenzy of highway building had severely threatened the viability of passenger railways. The owner of Penn Station, the Pennsylvania Railroad, was near financial ruin. In the late 1950s the four blocks of land the station covered in Manhattan had become too valuable not to sell.
So BrightIt's amazing how much effort was put into letting natural light into this space.  From the windows and skylights to the glass block floors they did everything they could to maximize it.  Unfortunately, with dirt and grime accumulating over time, it no doubt got more and more dark and foreboding.  It's not something most would notice as it happened gradually, but that along with the inevitable dust and other detritus gathering on all that open steelwork I can only imagine how disgusting the place must have been in its twilight years. The lack of proper maintenance and utter disdain for classical architecture that prevailed in the mid 20th century certainly didn't help.  
Many historic treasures have been restored to an amazing condition that few knew existed.  Images like this show just how breathtaking some of these great old spaces that we see today as grungy and dark can be if they're properly restored.  
A beautiful 20th century cathedral.I looked into Wiki to see when it was built and, as I thought, it was brand new in 1910 when the picture was taken.
Based on the exterior photos I have seen, the current Pennsylvania Station doesn't hold a candle to this one.
Penn's legacyAs many probably know, Penn Station was owned by the spiraling-towards-bankruptcy Pennsylvania Railroad. The Pennsy couldn't afford to keep this giant station operating when the air rights over the tracks were so lucrative (the space over the tracks now Madison Square Garden). 
Its destruction lead to the modern preservation movement. Many historic structures have been saved due to this building loss, and subsequent awareness of the value of significant buildings.
"It was a crime to tear it down!"This is a moldy bit of received wisdom that's become tedious by constant repetition. Penn Station may have been pleasant to look at in 1910, but by 1960 it was a decrepit eyesore that was a complete bust as a functioning train station. If even half of the Monday-morning preservationists who bemoan its fate had been willing to put some money where their mouths were, it might still be around.
Underlying fundamentalsPenn Station's success as a functioning train station is confirmed by the fact that nearly all the below grade facilities - tracks, platforms, and even some stairways - are still in use today. The universal regret over the loss of the superb public spaces above grade is reflected in the most recent proposal for the site, Moynihan Station, which aims to recreate these spaces right across the street inside the the shell of the old Post Office Building, another design from the office of McKim, Mead and White. 
Up and DownRamps were not needed since anyone in need could use elevators from the concourse towards the left that would take them down to track level.
Though 99% of the architecture is lost, those same staircases and elevators are still in use today.
Joe from LI, NY
The 11:31 to BabylonI see this same view every night when I catch the 11:31 to Babylon.  Except now there is a ceiling roughly 15 feet overhead, complete with various pipes and other assorted infrastructure that make the experience of travel so rewarding.
Maybe not in its primeBut when I first saw it in 1958 it blew my 12-year-old mind.  A fitting entry portal for the "Standard Railroad of the World."
Form vs. FunctionA note to all the "Monday Morning Preservationists" -- would you prefer to drive to West New Jersey to see the Knicks? Rangers? Concerts? The dog show?  A decrepit museum was replaced by a useful, functioning building. If you want to see what Penn Station would look like today, go across the Hudson to Hoboken and take a look at the Hoboken Ferry station.  Without money to maintain its turn of the century glory, the ferry station has turned into a depressing mausoleum of days gone by.  
All the whining in the worldAll the whining in the world about how unsightly, grimy, or whatever Penn Station was in its declining years (all of which could have been dealt with by apportioning for its upkeep a fraction of the money that went into real-estate thugs' pockets in the transactions that led to its demise) can't obscure the fact that a soaring, beautiful monument to the aspirations of man was replaced with a squalid, stunted, cheap and uncomfortable monument to greed and hubris. 
The Sistine Chapel is reputed to be just awfully expensive to keep clean; why not spray acousti-tile over it and be done with the burden?
When you stepped out of your train onto that platform, the astonishing and unexpected vastness of the space around you was a perfect metaphor for the possibilities of your future in America's greatest city. As I suppose the current incarnation is as well, in its own way, in this Age of the Bankster. 
I consider myself lucky to have there, grime, panhandlers, dirt, and all. 
No title needed.Imagine anymore the vision for having a building whose primary purpose would be to create a life experience for those passing through, and incidentally to also serve as a train station!  We live cheaper lives now in many ways.
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)

The Mailpipe: New York
... Postal Museum history of pneumatic mail. New York Pneumatic Mail System A brief history of the pneumatic system in New ... Grand Central Terminal and the main post office near Pennsylvania Station. At the City Hall station, the mail went over the Brooklyn ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/19/2012 - 1:47pm -

"N.Y. Post Office Pneumatic Tube" c. 1912. View full size. G.G. Bain Collection.
So does that mean......that mail was delivered by a ‘series of tubes’?
The tubes......carry metal cylinders that are pumped through the system. The gentleman in the center is leaning against one with his left hand on it. The mail was placed in the tubes as part of the sorting process.
PneumaticA "series of tubes." That's hilarious. Nicely played, Andy.
Postal MuseumPostal Museum history of pneumatic mail.
New York Pneumatic Mail SystemA brief history of the pneumatic system in New York.
(Robin Pogrebin, NY Times, May 7, 2001)
In the bowels of New York City a century ago, not only was there the whoosh of water through pipes and the whiz of subways through tunnels, there was the zip of mail moving through pneumatic tubes at about 30 miles per hour.
The tubes -- others snaked under Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and St. Louis -- were put into use by the United States Post Office in 1897. In Manhattan, they extended about 27 miles, from the old Custom House in Battery Park to Harlem and back through Times Square, Grand Central Terminal and the main post office near Pennsylvania Station. At the City Hall station, the mail went over the Brooklyn Bridge to the general post office in Brooklyn. 
In describing the system's effectiveness during a snowstorm, a 1914 congressional report of the Pneumatic Tube Postal Commission said: "New York Streets were almost impassable -- New York business houses nevertheless received their important mail on time! The pneumatic tubes carried the mails."
For the time, the system was thoroughly modern, even high-tech, a subterranean network for priority and first-class mail powered by pressurized air. Only a few decades later it was mostly a dinosaur, made obsolete by the motor wagon and then the automobile.
The pneumatic tubes were introduced by the post office to deliver mail in large urban areas. The system used pressurized air to move a mail canister through an underground eight-inch cast-iron pipe. 
" 'Mail shot from guns' may be an apt description," said Post Haste, an internal newsletter of the post office in 1950, adding that the metal carriers resembled heavy artillery shells. 
"Unaware that this network exists," the newsletter said, "the ordinary citizen of New York nevertheless benefits from the rapid transmission of his more important mail through these subterranean channels."
The newsletter also explained that the tubes were lubricated to facilitate the passage of the containers by sending perforated steel cylinders filled with oil through the channels. 
"I still remember those canisters popping out of the tube," said Nathan Halpern, a veteran postal worker, in an internal newsletter. "They were spaced one every minute or so, and when they came out, they were a little warm with a slight slick of oil."
At its greatest expansion, there were more than 56 miles of mail tubes on the East Coast delivering as many as 200,000 letters per tube every hour. (Legend has it that a live cat was sent through as a test in 1896.) Western Union also used pneumatic tubes, linking its main telegraph office to some of the exchanges.
When the system was first installed, pneumatic transport was considerably faster than horse-drawn wagon, then the most common vehicle for mail delivery. In New York City, two pipes were used along each route, one for sending, the other for receiving. The pipes were buried 4 to 12 feet underground, though in some places the tubes were placed within subway tunnels, parallel to the 4, 5 and 6 lines. 
Each two-foot-long mail canister had felt and leather packing on each end to create an airtight seal, as well as four small wheels, which helped prevent the canister from becoming lodged at a junction in the pipes. (Records from the early 1930's indicate that there had been at least three incidents of malfunction.) 
Each container was labeled to indicate the destination of its contents. Special delivery letters were delivered within one hour; regular letters within three.
About $4 million was spent on the construction in New York City. The original contractor was the Tubular Dispatch Company, which built the original pneumatic prototype for Philadelphia in 1893. 
Construction of the tubes began in the late 1890's and they were in operation by 1898. Before the end of the original 10-year contract, the pneumatic service was taken over by the American Pneumatic Service Company, which later became the New York Mail & Newspaper Transportation Company. 
Charles Emory Smith, the former postmaster general, predicted in The Brooklyn Eagle in 1900 that one day every household would be linked to every other by means of pneumatic tubes. Around the turn of the century, there were even several proposals to build a system between North America and Europe. 
The service continued in most cities until 1918, when the high costs of maintenance -- $17,000 per mile per year -- were thought to be impractical for the small volume of mail transported. When a post office moved, for example, the streets had to be dug up to reroute the tubes. And the pneumatic service began to pale next to the new technology of the motor-wagon, which could deliver mail two to three times faster than a horse-drawn cart with equal or greater volume and more than 10 times the volume of a pneumatic tube, while only slightly slower.
Subsequent improvements in the speed of the motor-wagon and its successor, the automobile, signaled the end of the pneumatic tube. In New York City, because of the high population density and a great amount of lobbying from contractors, the tube system remained in operation until Dec. 1, 1953, when it was suspended pending a review. Later that month, the post office ended the contract. The New York Mail Company, the owner of the pipes, made several attempts to sell the defunct system -- offering it to Con Edison and the United Parcel Service -- with no success.
Slight correctionActually, $17,000 per year per mile was the RENT on the system in NYC, not the maintenance costs.  As stated above, the system was not owned by the govmt. 
First ClassOf all the cool things I've learned on Shorpy (and they have been numerous), this is definitely one of the most interesting.  I had no idea such a thing existed.  Thanks Dave and knowledgable commentators!
(The Gallery, G.G. Bain, NYC)

Penn Station: 1910
Pennsylvania Station in New York as seen from Gimbel's department store circa 1910. George Grantham Bain ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/07/2011 - 6:18pm -

Pennsylvania Station in New York as seen from Gimbel's department store circa 1910. George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size | See the interior.
Such a beautiful building.Such a beautiful building.
People on Roof?Yes! You have a good eye. What the heck are they doing up there?

Roof?Are those people sitting on the roof?
People on roofI'd hazard a guess that they were a crew working on the roof and were taking a lunch break or something at the time the pciture was taken.
Buildings below street levelNotice the horsecart in center of photo, there are buildings what looks like below street level. Why did they do that? I'd hate to live in one of those buildings below street level.
[They're across the street in front of an excavation pit, not below it. - Dave]
Too bad it got ripped downIn what spurred on the early historic preservation movement, the original Penn Station (as shown in the photo) was torn down in the 1960s for a really ugly Madison Square Garden.
If you walk underneath whereIf you walk underneath where the trains are, there are some remnants of the original Penn Station, a large grandfather clock, some old signs stating where the original trains used to dock and something else, I am forgetting at the moment.
RemnantsThe passenger areas are still largely the same layout, you just have to imagine what used to be over your head.
The EaglesThe 16 eagle sculptures from the main entrance pediments were saved and scattered around the country. There is one here at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. All the rest of the sculptures ended up in dumps in New Jersey. There are many poignant photos of them there.
(The Gallery, G.G. Bain, NYC, Railroads)

Penn Station: 1910
New York circa 1910. "Pennsylvania Station, track level, showing stairway and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 5:42pm -

New York circa 1910. "Pennsylvania Station, track level, showing stairway and elevators." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Penn's Passive LightingPenn Station was notable for its extensive use of cast glass prism lights in the floors and walkways. These "vault lights" transmitted natural daylight from the glass roof down through the many levels of the building, an effective energy-saving method that is rarely used today. The thick glass prisms were mounted and grouted into waterproof cast iron or steel frames like those used to light basement storerooms under urban sidewalks.
Looking east at NY PennYou can see the track numbers increasing right to left, so no question the view is eastward. The famous concourse wasn't the only part of Penn where the tracks were open to the glass roof-- take a look at the building plans. Pics of those other areas are rare, tho.
I've never seen the definitive date when the tracks were roofed over-- presumably when the catenary was added circa 1932, but could have been earlier for all I know.
Gone foreverAs one critic famously said: “One used to enter the city as a King, now one scurries in like a rat.”
Glass prismsAbout a decade ago you used to be able to see the old glass blocks in spots where the awful faux marble floor had worn away to nothing. I'm pretty sure it's still there too, just waiting for the current floor to wear away under the feet of millions of commuters. 
As for the stairs, I'd love to know if the architects of Grand Central had always planned the upper-level ramps, or if they changed their plans once they saw what was going in at Penn Station. The lower levels of GCT, however, do have narrow stairs that make reaching a platform nearly impossible if they are detraining another train on the same platform.
Narrow StaircasesOne of the criticisms of the original Penn Station was that the staircases were too narrow and long.  This picture shows that more clearly than any other I've seen.  
There is something odd about this photograph.  The open cut at the end of the platforms looks like the view to the West.  I do not think that there was ever an open cut like that on the East side of 7th Avenue.  I would place the photographer more or less where the western-most staircases now lead up from the LIRR platforms to the north-south corridor along 8th Avenue (the one that exits to 33rd Street).  
But, the staircase reads "Exit B'way" and the the platform numbers are increasing towards the left.  When built the platform numbers increased as you walked north along the concourse (as they still do today, except we use track #s instead of platform #s).  If this faced West, the platform numbers should be going down. (Platform map from 1914)
So, the image reads as looking West, but the signs read as looking East.  Who can read this mystery?
[The sign says EXIT THIS WAY OUT, not EXIT B'WAY. - Dave]
Still StandingThere isn't much left of the old Penn Station, but the stairs are still around. I go down them all of the time! Of course, they aren't quite as grand as they once were.
My first memories of PennMy first memories of Penn Station are from the mid 60's, returning from the Worlds Fair in Flushing Meadow. I remember making my way through the massive waiting area below Madison Square Garden, finding my track, then making my way down into the dark, dank, smelly space below, where I would board the PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson) trains for the trip across the the river to New Jersey.  
How I would have liked to have seen the station in its early days, with all that glass admitting sunlight all the way down to the track level. It must have been glorious. I can imagine those brass handrails gleaming, having just been polished by hand, the smell of Brasso still lingering in the air.
Facing EastIf this is facing east and there appears to be an open cut toward Seventh Avenue, which there should not be, I think I know the answer. The level above this one included baggage courtyards which were enclosed by skylights. The tracks were open to this upper level, hence the bright light at the end of the tunnel.
The light at the end of the tunnelJust glance at the upper level-- the masonry of the entrance to the Main Waiting Room is clearly visible in the center glass arch. The western wall of the concourse had no such masonry in the corresponding location, just glass.
Therefore the light in the tunnel must be the light filtering down through the baggage courtyards' skylights.
[If we look at what's actually there (below), the tracks continue into the lighted space and curve left. - Dave]
Previews1910 was the grand opening of Penn Station and it looks like this photograph was taken while construction was still in progress.
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)

Penn Station 1.0
"Thirty-Second Street entrance, Pennsylvania Station, New York." The original Penn Station in the final stages of construction, circa ... sculpted by Adolph A. Weinman. They were salvaged when Pennsylvania Station was demolished in the 1960s, and at least a few survive in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/26/2016 - 11:50am -

"Thirty-Second Street entrance, Pennsylvania Station, New York." The original Penn Station in the final stages of construction, circa 1910. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Darn itWe just missed the train to Chattanooga by a whisker!
Topless LadyToday she graces the Eagle Scout Memorial Fountain in Kansas City
Birds of a FeatherThose handsome eagles atop the portico were sculpted by Adolph A. Weinman. They were salvaged when Pennsylvania Station was demolished in the 1960s, and at least a few survive in various locations. The same eagle is seen in profile on the half dollars of 1916-47. Incidentally, the U.S. Mint is issuing a gold edition of the half dollar this year to mark its centennial.
Her Name is NightSculpted by Adolph Weinman, there were several of these. The topless one is named Night, and she holds a poppy. There is also one in the sculpture garden at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.
Dust to DustReminds me of a c1964 New Yorker cartoon showing a loaded dump truck pulling into a New Jersey landfill with its driver asking, "Where do you want Penn Station?"  
Cover you eyes, VelmaOne of those ladies leaning on the clock is topless. Kinda jumps right out at you.
Stations and Coinsare two of my favorite things. The railroads, which were the prime source of long distance travel before the airplane, built huge edifices to honor themselves and called them stations.  They were adorned with beautiful elements, like statues and full reliefs.
Adolph A. Weinman (who also was the designer of the "Mercury" dime and Walking Liberty half dollar) also designed the relief above the Penn Station entrance....hence the connection between the two.
Weinman used a model named Elsie Kachel Stevens for the dime and half dollar.  The two coins are considered some of the most beautiful coins of the 20th Century.
His work lives on.  In many forms. 
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)

Candy Soda Drugs Kodaks: 1910
New York circa 1910-1915. "N.Y. Drug Store, Pennsylvania Station." 8x10 inch dry ... establishment" -- it's a drugstore in Penn Station in New York City, which means that it was probably one of the most elite drugstores in ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/29/2012 - 10:11am -

New York circa 1910-1915. "N.Y. Drug Store, Pennsylvania Station." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Quite a selection available!Four major brands of chocolates -- Apollo, Whitman's, Guillard's & Liggett's.
Louie's Sweet Shopwould be more fitting, luckily in the rear there is a shelf or two with sugar hangover remedies.
A big fan of this store!I wonder if the dual fans atop the columns behind the soda counter rotated around like a garden sprinkler?
Beautifully artistic candy displays!
Penn Station ChromeI found the color postcard based on this image -- 
http://nygeschichte.blogspot.com.
One fine fountainThat is one first rate soda fountain there. Between the glass and fountain fixtures I can't begin to imagine how they kept it so clean. Elbow grease I guess.
AbundanceEven allowing for the daily traffic through Penn Station, there is so much gift wrapped candy in that shop that it must be Valentine's Day or Eastertime or Christmas.
And you folks wonder whythere are usually a half dozen dentists in any street scene from this era.
YumWhat a beautiful store. Lovely stained glass and fancy light fixtures. Fully stocked with delightful treats!
ConfusedLiggett's Chocolates may have been an important brand in its day. However I still haven't been able to figure out if it was a brand of Liggett & Myers, of Chesterfield Cigarettes fame (or infamy), or of Liggett Rexall Drugs, once the world's largest drug store chain. 
If you like Chanel No. 7You will LOVE our Perfume No. 22. I wonder how long before one of those NYC counterfeit perfume kiosks came along?
Lots of candyAnd not much in the way of drugs.  And likely many, if not most, of the nonprescription drugs didn't work properly anyway.  I'd bet a druggist or doctor from that time would faint if they could see what a 2010 pharmacy carries.
Something missingSo, where do I find the Rubber Goods department?
How different?"Apollo: the chocolates that are different"
What an odd tag line.
I found this.
"Airport Presents"The vast supply of nicely packaged candy probably sold well to travelers returning to their sweethearts after long absences. A train-station drug store knows its market.
I dimly remember this spaceMany years after this photo was taken, and back in the very early 1950s, I believe this space was still being used as a drug store. It was on the left just beyond the Seventh Avenue entrance to the Station. Across the foyer and to the right was a Savarin coffee shop if memory serves me well.
A Bit LowThe chairs on the soda fountain seem a bit low to really enjoy your fountain Coke, or ice cream soda. Most soda fountain use stools instead of chairs, and are much higher than these.
[They're the right height. Maybe the chair backs make them look low. - Dave]
Gyrofans!To the poster who asked if the fans rotate, the answer is Yes! They are Jandus/Adams Bagnel Gyrofans, which were either ceiling or pole mounted. When turned on, they would rotate around their center throwing the breeze in all directions. It's hard to make out for sure, but the one(s) on the back pole look to be the very rare version which used early GE 'pancake' motors.
Fan collectors would love to find either set.
This is how it's done!Now THAT, my friends, is a drug store!  The woodwork and the soda fountain alone are stunning.  You scarcely see that kind of detail in anywhere these days, let alone in an everyman retail esablishment.  A hundred years later, we get nasty fluorescent lights, warehouse shelving and stacks of bar-coded cardboard festooned with weasel words from a corporate lawyer.
What gorgeous woodworkand the the light fixtures are breathtaking. I bet it was easy to get lost in this gorgeous store for hours.
(Why do I bet no one in 100 years will ever say that about our Wal-Mart?)
Creme de la CokeDefinitely not "an everyman retail establishment" -- it's a drugstore in Penn Station in New York City, which means that it was probably one of the most elite drugstores in the world.
Gift CandyAll the candy may not have been due to a holiday. Up until the 1960s or so, when you visited someone or were invited to dinner, you didn't take wine or flowers, you took candy. So I'm thinking that since this was a glam place in Penn Station, where people would pass through on their way to someone's home, they might have stocked a lot of gift candy. 
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Stores & Markets)

Grand Central Terminal: 1913
New York's Grand Central Station nearing completion sometime around 1913. 8x10 ... use of the term Grand Central Station was common in New York for a long time, it really became common usage because of the radio ... of the rail line; hence the name Grand Central Terminal. Pennsylvania Station is named as such since it provides for through rail ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/30/2020 - 12:55am -

New York's Grand Central Station nearing completion sometime around 1913. 8x10 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size.
Grand centralthe sky is so clear...
Strange perspectiveThe building looks like it will tumble to the right and at the same time to the front. Very strange!
The corner entranceI walked through that exact entrance countless times when I was in my 20s (in the 80s). It's wild to see it as it was in 1913 and to contemplate the untold millions who preceded me and those who have come after me.
City GrowthJeeze, it is incredible to see it as it was!
So many new buildings now clutter and overshadow that scene.
I wish we could get a current pic at that same angle, and compare our "progress".
Grand CentralHere's how that entrance looks today.
Shorpy is a wonderful site--I read it every day.  Keep up the great work!
Grand Central StationActually there is also a Grand Central Station that has nothing to do with the Post Office - it's a former IRT transfer point that also serves the Terminal building. 
I suspect that while the use of the term Grand Central Station was common in New York for a long time, it really became common usage because of the radio program of the 1930s or '40s by that name.
Grand Central TERMINALGrand Central Station is a POST OFFICE!  This is Grand Central TERMINAL!  It sez so on the building itself right below the clock, IIRC.
[cc: G.G.B. - Dave]
Third (and fourth) railsThere appear to be two buried "third rails" on the streetcar track (contacted by a plow), and on one of the two tracks, the third rails cross and trade places. Maybe some New York trolley fan could explain this strange arrangement.
Third and Fourth RailsTwo different streetcar companies shared the track on 42nd Street between Madison and Park Avenues (where this photo was taken), they each had their own conduit rail to power only their own cars.
Source: "Manhattan's Lost Streetcars"; Images of Rail (2005); page 31
GCTThe facility is the end of the rail line; hence the name Grand Central Terminal. Pennsylvania Station is named as such since it provides for through rail traffic.  
(The Gallery, G.G. Bain, NYC, Railroads, Streetcars)

Transitorium: 1910
New York circa 1910. "Pennsylvania Station. Concourse showing gates, indicators." ... This photo evokes a tropical feel, so out of place in New York. The architecture says palm trees and sunny skies. I never noticed that ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 5:42pm -

New York circa 1910. "Pennsylvania Station. Concourse showing gates, indicators." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
Sidewalk SkylightsThat really is a sea of skylight as tterrace points out!  You can see a portion of it in this previous Shorpy post here.  What a great building we can't see!
Glimpses of glass brickVisible until very recently, until the worn sections of floor that had exposed them were re-covered:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatafarce/437171945/
also, "Overlooking a wine rack inside Penn Wine & Spirits is a segment of vintage glass bricks, once a floor and now a ceiling."
-- Penn Station's Buried Glory (NYDN)
What? No scissor lifts or JLG boom lifts?Amazing how they constructed and finished off these massive and ornate structures with technology basically from the Middle Ages. Wood scaffold, block and tackle, rope, hammer and nails. Unseen are a mess of power cords, hammer drills, 24V Dewalts, hydraulic scissor lifts, etc.
Mean ShorpyMaking old New Yorkers cry (sigh).
ThanksTo Dave and Shorpy, this spendid work of Architecture and so many others will never be forgotten.  Many thanks!
Train to the tropicsThis photo evokes a tropical feel, so out of place in New York. The architecture says palm trees and sunny skies. I never noticed that before, what a great photo!
The Glass CeilingInteresting to note that the various iron arches and pillars seen here were mostly a decorative element bridging the visual gap between modern industry and antiquity (through the doors to the right a loftier, grander hall existed also made of hidden iron, veiled with travertine).
The ironwork in the concourse did not actually support the glass ceiling as it appears to do. Rather an unseen exterior truss cantilevered from the outer walls, and the glass ceiling essentially hung from it.
The trusses can be seen in this image from the book "New York's Pennsylvania Stations." The station is under demolition in the mid-1960s. The photo is copyright by Norman McGrath.
SkylightsThe floor sure looks like it's made up of sections of the sidewalk skylights we've seen in a number of urban streetscapes. If so, this must be something like the largest known expanse of them in recorded history.
The Lee-Key Roofing Co.The giant glass roofs of this era, in railroad stations, exhibition halls, etc. always amaze me.  How, with the primitive sealing materials (tar, caulk, putty) of the era, did they ever keep the water out?  Or maybe they didn't - even modern skylights tend to leak.
CamelotIf the NYC Real Estate Developers would have had their way, Grand Central Terminal would have gone the way of the old Penn Station. Thanks to new Landmarks Designation Laws, The Municipal Art Society,  people like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and others it was spared the Wrecker's Ball. It is now one of the most visited attractions in the city. The Musee d'Orsay in Paris (built in the old D'Orsay Railroad Station) could have been rivaled by a saved Penn Station.
ScaffoldingThe scaffolding design and construct is nearly as remarkable as the station itself. It's amazing what workers could do back then.
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)

Penn Station: 1912
New York, 1912. "Pennsylvania Station, east facade." 8x10 inch dry plate glass ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/30/2018 - 9:34am -

New York, 1912. "Pennsylvania Station, east facade." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Shown at Shorpy a dozen timesLook here, even in 1908 before it had been erected.
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)

Rail-Rover Crossing: 1905
... This is the same firm which constructed the magnificent Pennsylvania Station in New York city, also demolished! On that occasion, the NY Times editorialized ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/03/2017 - 12:01pm -

Philadelphia circa 1905. "Broad Street Station of the Pennsylvania R.R." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Of Course, it HAD to be DemolishedSuch an magnificent piece of architecture. Look at the sculpted stone details! Nearly every surface is embellished. 
This was constructed when Pennsylvania  Railroad (PRR) stock was an absolute "blue chip" that brokers could recommend to widows and orphans. (That's an old expression for a "low-risk" stock.)
This is the same firm which constructed the magnificent Pennsylvania Station in New York city, also demolished!
On that occasion, the NY Times editorialized that "Our civilization will not be known for the monuments it has constructed, but for those it has destroyed." 
More Marvelous ArchitectureThe building on the extreme right edge isn't all that shabby, either. Anyone know what is is/was?
The balconyI was wondering if the deck area above the sidewalk was used as one. While looking for an access point I found two men walking back through different window-doors. So yes it was.
Any ideas of what they might be selling from the cart across the street?
Location, Location, LocationBuilding on the right is Philadelphia's City Hall.  View is looking north and west from the mid-block (top of a building?) west of Broad Street and north of Chestnut.  
Trains would enter and leave the station from the left (west) and travel to the main line tracks on the other side of the Schuylkill river, roughly where 30th Street Station is today, and the continue north, south or west.
The problem with the station was that it was essentially a terminal on stub line and trains had to turn to leave the station or be turned in West Philadelphia, which made through service inconvenient.  
PRR replaced the commuter service with the nearby Suburban Station and inter-city service was moved to 30th Street, and the station became unnecessary and was demolished.  The site became a number of large office buildings and open plazas where, e.g., the LOVE sculpture now is.
RE: More Marvelous ArchitectureThe building on the right is Philadelphia City Hall, and you are correct to praise it!
When did it burn?The station was demolished (not burned) in 1953 but the train shed (visible at the left of the photograph) had a disastrous fire in 1923.  This website has some photographs including an image after the carnage was cleared away and the platforms covered in wood and restored to service as soon as possible.
Two Different Architecture Firms, Actually ...The original portion of the Broad Street Station, at the far right hand corner in this image, was designed in the Victorian Gothic style by the Wilson Brothers of Philadelphia and completed in 1881. The newer portion, which is front and center, was designed by the great maverick architect of Philadelphia, Frank Furness, and built 1892-1893. By the way, neither firm designed the late, great Pennsylvania Station in New York; that monumental piece of Beaux-Arts Classicism was designed by McKim, Mead and White of New York City, with Charles F. McKim in charge of the design.
Street LightsSure got a lot of globes on those street lights. I wonder if any were saved.
(The Gallery, Dogs, DPC, Philadelphia, Railroads, Streetcars)

Flyboy: 1917
... IS DELAYED Accidents Mar Second Day's Service With New York. LIEUT. BONSAL HITS A FENCE Swerves to Avoid Horses in Landing ... mail brought by Lieutenant Bonsal, which arrived at the Pennsylvania Station Post Office at 3.15 P.M., was distributed within an hour ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/27/2012 - 1:50pm -

Washington, D.C., circa 1917. "Allied aircraft demonstration at polo grounds. Avro training plane designed by A.V. Roe of England. Lieut. Stephen Bonsal Jr., one of the young Army flyers who have entered the newest profession, that of airplane mail carrying, is the son of the former war correspondent and veteran newspaperman who is now a major attached to the general staff of the Army." Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.
Lieut. Bonsal Hits a FenceWashington Post, May 17, 1918.


AERO MAIL IS DELAYED
Accidents Mar Second Day's Service With New York.
LIEUT. BONSAL HITS A FENCE
Swerves to Avoid Horses in Landing
At Fair Grounds in New Jersey.
After undergoing various delays, the aeroplane mail from New York arrived in Washington last night at 8:42 o'clock, six hours and twelve minutes behind schedule, marking the second day of America's aerial mail service by another accident.  On the first leg of the journey from New York to Philadelphia the pilot, Lieut. Steven Bonsal Jr., lost his way in a fog over Delaware Bay and was forced to descend at Bridgeport, N.J., 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia, smashing his machine as he landed.
Lieut. Bonsal said that he was driving a new machine and that he had ascended to an altitude of 8,000 feet so as to be high enough to manipulate his plane in the event of an accident.  When he realized that he was off his course he picked out the old Bridgeton racetrack for a landing place.
It is now used as a horse bazaar and was filled with horses.  In landing, Lieut. Bonsal made a nose dive to drive away the horses, but they would not scare, he said, and in order to avoid killing some of the animals he swerved into a fence, breaking the propeller and one plane.  Lieut. Bonsal was uninjured.
Mail by a Relief Plane.
A relief plane was immediately sent to Bridgeton and the mail taken to Philadelphia. At the latter city the mail was transferred into a plane piloted by Lieut. Walter Miller, and he started on the second leg of the journey to Washington at 5:50 o'clock.  After going about 30 miles, Lieut. Miller noticed that the spark plugs in his plane were too close together, and that the engine was missing, so he returned to Philadelphia.
There were no relief planes in Philadelphia so Lieut. James C. Edgerton, who carried Washington's first aeroplane mail to that city this morning, volunteered to make the trip and left Bustleton, Pa., at 6:33 p.m. for this city. Just as the twilight was fading Lieut. Edgerton landed his plane on the aviation field in Potomac Park. Although it was virtually dark he made a perfect landing.
The consignment of mail for Washington amounted to 218 letters and was delivered by special messengers at 9 o'clock.
Lieut. Edgerton's Success.
The plane piloted out of Washington by Lieut. Edgerton yesterday morning at 11:30 o'clock carried 7,360 letters to New York and 570 for Philadelphia. Of these 3,630 were  for New York City delivery, and 3,730 for distribution in New York State and New England.
Twelve Killed in Two Weeks.
Twenty-nine flying fields are being operated by the army air service in the United States. Four other fields will soon be opened for flying instruction, increasing the total to 33.
During the two weeks ended May 8 aviation accidents at the American fields took a toll of 12 lives, the War Department announced.  Out of this total two were killed at Hazelhurst field, Mineola, N.Y., and two at McCook field, Dayton, Ohio.
Early Air MailN.Y. Times, May 19, 1918.


AERIAL MAIL SERVICE
RUNS WITHOUT HITCH
Letters Delivered on Time in All
Three Cities Involved -- May
Use Larger Airplanes.
The airplane mail service between Washington and New York via Philadelphia worked without a hitch yesterday, the mail being delivered on time in all three cities now included in the daily aerial service.  Lieutenant Stephen Bonsal, who piloted the machine which brought the Washington and Philadelphia mail to New York, arrived at Belmont Park at 2.52 P.M. yesterday, having covered the distance between Philadelphia and New York in one hour and seven minutes — that is, at a speed of approximately 90 miles an hour.
Lieutenant Bonsal left Belmont Park with the New York mail boxes for Philadelphia and Washington at 11.23 A.M. yesterday, and landed on the aerial mail field in Philadelphia at 12.38 P.M. Lieutenant Paul Culver brought the Washington mail to Philadelphia, where he transferred it to Lieutenant Bonsal, who piloted it to New York.  It was said at the Post Office that the mail brought by Lieutenant Bonsal, which arrived at the Pennsylvania Station Post Office at 3.15 P.M., was distributed within an hour after its arrival.
Lieutenant Culver piloted the machine which took the mail to Washington from New York and Philadelphia.  The total round trip flying time between Washington and New York yesterday was unofficially reported last night to have been a little more than five hours.
A plan to use larger airplanes in the service to Philadelphia and Washington because of the unexpected increased use of the mail is under discussion by the postal authorities, it was reported yesterday at Belmont Park.
It was said that all persons except army men and Post Office employes directly concerned in the mail service would hereafter be barred from the field, as a measure of precaution against accidents. There will be no flight today.

Coolest job in the worldat that time. 
Cigarettes, Airmen and AirmailCigarettes and airmen seemed inseparable - military planes had ashtrays well past WW2. Smoking did in my father, a Marine aviator, at a somewhat early age. Meanwhile, after nine years of Army air operations, with many deaths in the early years, the government began awarding mail routes to commercial carriers, encouraging the flying of regular routes, and making it possible to take passengers on a subsidized basis, since the planes were flying anyway. This program, although marred by favoritism and a public scandal in 1934, developed the infrastructure for all-weather scheduled flights and improved airplanes, that put US aviation into a leadership position. By 1933, millions of pounds of airmail were delivered annually across the nation - a lot of progress in 15 years.  
Handsome RogueI vote for the HR tag on this daring young man in his flying machine. 23-skiddoo!
HR!Second vote for HR tag here.  I'm surprised there aren't more of us making a fuss over this one!  Love the sweet, slightly shy look in his eyes.
(The Gallery, Aviation, Handsome Rakes, Harris + Ewing, WWI)

Diaper Depot: 1942
August 1942. "New York, New York. Waiting for trains at Pennsylvania Station." Photo by Marjory Collins for the Office of War ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/28/2017 - 10:59am -

August 1942. "New York, New York. Waiting for trains at Pennsylvania Station." Photo by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size.
Old Penn StationAs someone who has to regularly commute through the "new" Penn Station, photos like these of the old, now-destroyed station make me sad.  I love the juxtaposition in this photo; the bored commuter, the new mom, the nattily-dressed porter and the escalator riders behind them. Where the floor has worn away in the station, the glass-embedded tiles shown here still show through.
[The "glass-embedded tiles" are skylights of the kind seen on sidewalks above building basements, usually with the glass turned purple from long exposure to sunlight. -tterrace]
Mini-railWhat is the little semi-circular railing on the right for?
What we do for loveYoung parents of today may not realize how hard it was on the backs of parents when they had to change their baby's diaper away from home.  The changing tables in many of today's public bathrooms are a great help and relief to parents with back or joint problems and probably are more sanitary for the baby too (as well as random onlookers).  I don't think anyone had disposable diapers then either, you had to carry it around with you.  This is not one of the things we would like to go back to.
Stairway to HeavenTo ColoZ: The U-shaped cutout in the railing may have been for a ticket-checker to stand in without getting bowled over by the crowds. 
ColoZ and Marysd: several of the current staircases down to the platform level have the original banisters and iron work partially visible in this image.
(The Gallery, Kids, Marjory Collins, NYC, Railroads)

Sic Transit: 1910
New York circa 1910. "Bird's eye view of new Pennsylvania Station." Demolished in ... Mrs. Kennedy Onassis, who regretted the destruction of Pennsylvania Station and may have contributed to preservation efforts, was a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/08/2019 - 10:44am -

New York circa 1910. "Bird's eye view of new Pennsylvania Station." Demolished in 1963.  8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
A little later and farther uptown ...Mrs. Kennedy Onassis, who regretted the destruction of Pennsylvania Station and may have contributed to preservation efforts, was a citizen of New York by the
 time destruction of Grand Central Terminal was imminent. One proposal for the new station was "Grand Central Lanes," a bowling alley to be built above track level!
Jackie wrote a beautiful, persuasive letter to Mayor Beame urging the preservation of GCT. There were other big and biggish names advocating preservation. Betty Furness is one name that comes to mind.
The tragedy of Pennsylvania Station's destruction became more apparent in retrospect and this awareness helped energize opposition to Grand Central's destruction.
A great lossI remember reading that among the notables who campaigned to stop the destruction of the architectural gem was Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.  The loss of the station was instrumental in kickstarting the preservation movement in New York City.
What is she doingon the rooftop at the Rikers Drugs building??
Pardon Me BoyBack in the day you could apparently leave here 'bout a quarter to four, read a magazine and then you're in Baltimore.
Another Rooftop RiddleDid you notice what looks like someone sleeping on top the building, near bottom left? 
How did it get there?Think about this:
Most of what you see in this building was delivered either by train, or horse and wagon.  That goes for the interior too.
No snakesBut plenty of ladders.
The PitDoes anybody know what was constructed in the excavation pit? I have searched for images of that side of the station and have only found evidence of a green-grass park that existed; however, I believe the park must have been excavated to build something else.
Many thanks!
Another McKim, Mead & WhiteYou can see the glass roof covering the train platforms at far right.  That would make Seventh Avenue the street in the foreground, at left.  Across the avenue the site being excavated is now occupied by the Hotel Pennsylvania, opened in 1919 and designed by the same architectural firm as the (sadly, now gone) station.
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads, Streetcars)

V: 1942
August 1942. "Crowds at Pennsylvania Station, New York." Medium format negative by Marjory Collins for the Office of War ... Choo", which includes the lyrics: "You'll leave the Pennsylvania station 'bout a quarter to four, read a magazine and then you're ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/05/2012 - 7:10pm -

August 1942. "Crowds at Pennsylvania Station, New York." Medium format negative by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information. View full size.
Sentimental JourneyAlthough it is apparent that all the men in uniform have an appointed destination and mission to accomplish, one has to wonder where all the other people are headed with  children and cardboard suitcases.  There seems to be no business men getting on these trains as one would see at Grand Central Station.  I was in a similar line with my mother at the same place just one year later when my grandmother died in Pennsylvania and we took the night train to get there, my first experience as a youngster with a family death.  Quite unforgettable.   
V for Victory, and moreThe “V for Victory” banner dominating the background includes, as you see, the Morse code for the letter: three dots and a dash. Early in WW II the letter began to be used as a rallying signal, expressed by holding up one’s first two fingers with the intent of showing defiance to the Nazis.  The BBC took this idea and created its V for Victory campaign, which continued through the war and essentially was used by all Allied nations and their armed forces.  Mass communication then, obviously, was by radio, and the BBC gave a sound to the campaign for its broadcasts into occupied Europe by using the opening notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. I have no idea if this choice was some wry British humor or what, but Beethoven, of course, was a German.
[It was used because the opening notes of Beethoven's Fifth are three short notes and a long (da-da-da-daaaa), which corresponds to the Morse code for the letter V. -tterrace] [Ahem. That's what I thought I was saying in my first sentence, but I forgot to include the part about the notes.]
As a very young child during the war I traveled through Penn Station quite often and remember two details: the hundreds of model airplanes hanging from the ceiling (black Bakelight plastic aircraft recognition models, identical to a few I had at home) and the crowds of troops arriving and departing, as this photo illustrates. To this day I wonder about the fate of that uniformed generation of Americans that I saw; for some it had to be their last few steps on home soil. 
Next weekend my wife and I will be in Penn Station en route to a place without question much nicer than the destination of many of the military men and women who visited there, all those years ago.
glass tileThat glass tile floor provided light to the tracks below. You can still see some portions of it looking up at the ceiling of the NJ Transit tracks.
Vault LightsNote the glass prism vault lights imbedded in the floor, which were used to illuminate the room underneath. As a kid I remember seeing these in San Francisco, but I think most large cities had them. There's an interesting web site that tell the full story at: 
http://glassian.org/Prism/Vault/index.html
You could make millions!Every person in this photo could have become a millionaire if only he or she had the sudden thought:  "Hey!  Why not build wheels into these suitcases?"
Dinner in the DinerBack in the 1980s, I belonged to a singing group that performed for many "snow birds" in the Phoenix area.  One of the favorite songs of our audiences was "Chattanooga Choo Choo", which includes the lyrics: 
"You'll leave the Pennsylvania station 'bout a quarter to four, read a magazine and then you're in Baltimore, dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer, than to have your ham and eggs in Carolina"  
As one of the oldest in the group, I had to explain what it meant, and keep reminding the other ladies that it wasn't "dinner AT the diner"!  I was the only one who could remember dining cars on trains. In the early to mid 1960s, at 9 and 10 years old, I really didn't think much COULD be finer than dinner in the diner, during a cross-country train trip!  
On a more serious note, I would love to be able to hear what experiences each person in this photo was having, that day, and in the next few years.  Certainly, everyone in it was affected by the global war in some manner.
He's not ordering two more Pimm's CupsHere's Winston Churchill in one of his iconic images, flashing the V for Victory sign.
LIRRThe Long Island Railroad also uses Penn Station as its NYC terminus. At he time this picture was taken it was the best route to that Shorpy favorite, The Rockaways, on the Queens County Shoreline. After a 1950 fire on the tracks running across Jamaica Bay, in Broad Channel, the LIRR felt that the line was too costly to operate and they sold it to NYC  and in 1956 it became the IND Subway System's Rockaway line.  That opened up those great beaches to the rest of the city.
(The Gallery, Marjory Collins, NYC, Railroads, WW2)

Singer Building: 1913
New York circa 1913. "The Singer Building." Rising in the distance, the Woolworth ... The Singer Building was the first big test for New York's Landmarks Preservation Commission, which was formed after the outcry over demolition of Pennsylvania Station. The Commission failed miserably, allowing the destruction ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 5:43pm -

New York circa 1913. "The Singer Building." Rising in the distance, the Woolworth Building under construction. Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Pie in the sky, my eyeToday the building would be converted to condos or apartments (or a hotel, like the PSFS in Philadelphia) and would be a huge success. Nobody thought of that in 1967, because ... because they didn't want to think of anything except demolition.
Here's the piece of sky-pastry that the Singer Building was swapped for:
Old and NewFor a kid who grew up in Manhattan and Jersey City, the Singer was interesting in a grotesque kind of way, like a giant rotten tooth. Aesthetically and functionally the U.S. Steel building (which will probably long outlive the Singer) was a big improvement. Still, something was lost -- it would be nice if the Singer was still there. But that's the way it goes.
Quo Vadis SingerThat is just a gorgeous building. Looks like something out of "The Fountainhead." Why on earth did they let that one disappear?
Yikes.I guess this would be the classic example of "it looked good on paper."
The more things changedThe Singer Building was the first big test for New York's Landmarks Preservation Commission, which was formed after the outcry over demolition of Pennsylvania Station. The Commission failed miserably, allowing the destruction of the Singer Building in 1967 on the grounds that there was nothing else to do with it. It is the largest structure ever demolished for "peaceful" (i.e. money) reasons.
A real shameDoing a little research, you can see that the newly formed NYC Landmarks Commission really failed its mission in letting this building be torn down. There is nothing else like it in NY. If you do a little net research, you can find some detailed exterior and interior pix. I wish I could have seen what those spaces are like up in the crown. It must have been spectacular.
Impressively somethingTop kind of scary!
Pie in the Sky NotionsI wonder what some of the commenters here are thinking -- if you are the owner or shareholder in a piece of property, the government can tell you what to do with it (including taking a loss on it) just because people think it looks cool?
There's a limit to what tenants are willing to pay per square foot in any given building -- if there's a more attractive deal elsewhere, they'll take it. And what they were willing to pay in the Singer Building was, by the mid-1960s, less than what it cost to keep the place going. So they began to bail out, starting with the Singer Company itself.
The Landmarks Preservation Law is on shaky ground when it comes to giant office buildings -- something the preservation commission recognized when it declined to give the building Landmark status. It's private property, and the owners need to make a profit -- they'll abandon their investment or sue if the government makes a move toward de facto expropriation. 
Alan Burnham, executive director of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, in 1967: "If the building were made a landmark, we would have to find a buyer for it or the city would have to acquire it. The city is not that wealthy and the commission doesn't have a big enough staff to be a real-estate broker for a skyscraper."
Talk is cheapThe reason the owners "thought of demolition" was they wanted to put up a big new office building that tenants would actually want to rent, and make a lot of money. Which they have every right to do. They ended up a with a building that paid a lot more in property taxes than the Singer ever did.
It's one thing to say the building should have been preserved, but, as pointed out below, the city (meaning you, the taxpayer) would have had to compensate the owners for their lost income. The money wasn't there, for understandable reasons.
One of the all-time greatsIt's a darn shame the Singer Building was demolished.  It once held the title, very briefly though, as the tallest building in the world.  GlenJay's right, had any decent creative thought been given to renovating the building for lucrative use, it would still be there today instead of the eye sore called 1 Liberty Plaza.
12 Fifth AvenueI always figured that the design of the Singer Building had much in common with that of the old apartment building at 12 Fifth Avenue, on a much larger scale, of course. 12 Fifth still stands between 8th and 8th Streets on the west side of 5th. Wish I had a photo of it. I lived there for two years between 1964 and 1966. Those were the Good Old Days.
Shame to lose it, but --It's a terrible aesthetic loss but the sad fact is that a building this old generally has severe handicaps for use today. Simply rewiring it for modern power (not to mention adding modern phone and computer lines) is a tremendous expense- everything is buried under plaster and masonry. These old buildings were firetraps- vast improvements over their predecessors but still dependent on someone finding a hose or fire extinguisher not all of these buildings had sprinklers. Most of these buildings depended on an open window for cooling in the summer- to refit a structure like this for modern use you've often got to strip the interior to the skeleton. Even if you could do everything needed you're up against the reality of life in NYC- the occupancy of the building might be too small to bring in enougfh money to cover costs and taxes. It's a sad thing.
Flag RaiserI'd hate to be the guy that had to go up there to raise the Singer flag.
You can't afford it.Even by 1967 standards, which are much much looser than today's standards, the building is not a viable commercial property.  Look at how SMALL the floors of the tower are - now subtract space for ( 4 ) modern elevators, ( 2 ) fireproof stairways as far apart as possible, restrooms, an exit access corridor, plus space for structural columns, ventilation, air conditioning and heating equipment, and what you have left is somewhat less than half of the floor space for rental.  This means you would have to charge exorbitant per-square-foot rent just to recover the renovation costs.  Maybe today you could get away with it, just for the cachet of an exclusive address, but not in 1967.
Pie in the eyeUsing some of the rational expressed and considering today's economic situation, the Statue of Liberty isn't carrying her weight and could be headed for the scrap yard.
[Maybe, if the Statue of Liberty were a privately owned office building. - Dave]
Precursor of the 1916 Zoning OrdinanceThe architect of the Singer Tower, Ernest Flagg, believed that skyscrapers that shot straight up from the sidewalk and occupied their entire sites were a menace to the health of the city. He advocated building slender towers that occupied only 25 percent of the lot area while limiting the height of the "base buildings" below them, in order to get sunlight down to the crowded city streets. This is precisely what he did at the Singer Tower; in 1916 New York City adopted his formula for the nation's first zoning ordinance, which regulated the height and bulk of New York skyscrapers until 1961.
Washington LifeYou can see a section of the roof of the Washington Life building in the lower left of this beautiful photograph. It was built in the German Renaissance Revival style, and was stunning. What is there now? A little strip park, across Liberty Street from the monstrous monolith 1 Liberty Plaza. Those blocks south of Cortlandt heading into the Wall Street area were so beautiful. I wish they had been preserved. The economic arguments are weak, in comparison to the importance to preserve: just as we mourn Penn Station, we should mourn the destruction of those blocks.
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC)

IN Side Out: 1906
... would build their own station in a big city. Thus in New York, you have "Pennsylvania station", built by the Pennsylvania Railroad, and also "Grand ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/29/2020 - 6:00pm -

1906. "Savannah, Georgia -- Union Station." (Did anyone think of calling it Confederate Station?) 5x7 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size.
Not that UnionI'm sure you know this, but others might not.  Many cities in the US have "Union Stations".  Originally, each railroad company would build their own station in a big city.  Thus in New York, you have "Pennsylvania station", built by the Pennsylvania Railroad, and also "Grand Central Terminal", built by the New York Central Railroad. Union stations are those that serve more than one railroad company.  They usually came later to consolidate service to passengers.  
Lost to ProgressThis beauty was torn down in 1963 in order to construct a flyover for Interstate 16.
What's in a Name?I reckon "Union Station" sounded a little more welcoming than "The Station of Northern Aggression"!  At any rate, the details and ornamentation on it are quite a sight to behold--what I would call "architectural eye candy"!  
Clash of GenerationsI wonder what those gentlemen in that horse-drawn carriage are saying about that new-fangled automobile that they're all giving the hairy-eyeball to. Probably something like what the devil is that thing?
(The Gallery, DPC, Railroads, Savannah)

Pennsy Parthenon: 1909
Manhattan circa 1909. "New Pennsylvania Station, New York, N.Y." The Beaux-Arts behemoth whose demolition in 1963 lit a fire under ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/31/2017 - 4:54pm -

Manhattan circa 1909. "New Pennsylvania Station, New York, N.Y." The Beaux-Arts behemoth whose demolition in 1963 lit a fire under the nation's armchair architects. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative. View full size.
Hold your HorsesWhile I was working in the Hotel Pennsylvania (where that hole is in the foreground) a few years ago, I realized that the bulk of the construction material for the Station, and the hotel, were brought there by horse and wagon.
Now look at the size of the building materials.
Did you know?That it took about nine years to build the station. It was completed about a year after this picture was taken. The building itself covers about 8 acres and is about 1150 ft. tall. When the station was demolished in 1963, only the above ground portion was torn down. The train tracks and lower platforms still exist. This is now the site of Madison Square Garden and the Penn Hotel.
[Over a thousand feet tall? I definitely did not know that. - Dave]
The size of itThe size and scale of the building becomes really apparent when compared to the men working on the roof.
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)

All Aboard: 1910
New York circa 1910. "Track level, main and exit concourses, Pennsylvania Station." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/03/2012 - 10:48am -

New York circa 1910. "Track level, main and exit concourses, Pennsylvania Station." 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
<sigh>We're looking at a crime scene.
Gone, but not forgotten.
It's amazing that they allowed some of the staircases to remain; every time I'm there, the gleaming/greening bronze and brass reminds me of what was.
"Circa" 1910Has to be very close! Station is pristine clean, and there are duckboards across the tracks. Since the old Penn Station was completed in 1910, this photo looks like very soon before opening.
StaircasesI wasn't aware they 'allowed' any staircases to remain; where are the originals- in the station?
[This photo of one and its location can be found on this page. - tterrace]
RivetsI love how they took the technology of the times and made it into an art form. 
InterestingLooks like the same photo but with the duckboards edited out
DamnThats a beautifully restored picture of the concourse.. 
The picture taken of the stairs existing today is track 5 and 6.  I just was there.  It felt so good to touch it.  And it's very heavy in person and thick too
Shorpy site... Please restore the picture of the main waiting room.  You don't have that one up yet.  It is the most beautiful waiting hall ever.  
(The Gallery, DPC, NYC, Railroads)

Corner Store: 1937
May 1, 1937, New York. Grocery at 1028 Third Avenue and 61st Street with Salvatore Campanelli ... to the waiting room floors in the original ca. 1910 Pennsylvania Station, where light passed through to the floor below. ... Third Avenue through the years in the pages of the New York Times. 1899: Tode & Co. 1943: Service Food Market ... 
 
Posted by z396z28 - 09/15/2012 - 1:31pm -

May 1, 1937, New York. Grocery at 1028 Third Avenue and 61st Street with Salvatore Campanelli far right. John J. Campanelli Collection. View full size.
Glass block cement floorMain entryway appears to have glass block inserts in the concrete.  Similar to the waiting room floors in the original ca. 1910 Pennsylvania Station, where light passed through to the floor below.
UpstairsUp over the "dairy" sign, the window seems to be advertising some kind of dancing.  Pretty good bargain prices in this store.  I'll take a case of everything.
As Times Goes By1028 Third Avenue through the years in the pages of the New York Times.
1899: Tode & Co.
1943: Service Food Market
1955-present: Isle of Capri Ristorante
Food is still sold thereBut it's now the Isle of Capri, an Italian restaurant.
SugarIt would seem sugar went from 27 cents for 5 lbs. to 24 cents.
The ElThe Third Avenue elevated train ran in front of Mr. Campanelli's store until 1955. Noise levels dropped and property values soared, perhaps explaining the Isle of Capri in its place. 
Where is the collection?Went looking for the John J. Campanelli Collection without success. Google search just brings me back here. Is the collection accessible to hoi polloi?
There's a First Time for Everything!I have NEVER seen caviar listed as an "everyday" item in ANY store before. I assume it was a big seller since there is a permanent sign for it.
DancingOTY: It looks like the top line of that dancing sign says "Marques Studio."
Hand-painted sale price signs......possibly on butcher paper, hanging in the display windows. Haven't seen these since c.1972. Love the font. 
(ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Stores & Markets)
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