via Library of Congress American Memory Collection
This photo was taken in 1910 right after the station opened its doors to the public. The granite on the outside was a clean white much like the New York Public is today after the refurbishing of it's facade. Over the course of 50 years, the granite exterior would turn almost completely black because of soot and vehicular exhaust.
photo via nycgo.com
I attended a panel last night hosted by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation called "Preservation Before Penn Station." Although its focus was on attempts at preservation in Lower Manhattan before the 1965 Landmark's legislation, Penn Station's demolition was still a heavy presence in the room. The panel's moderator Jon Ritter, promised at the opening that he would only show one picture of Penn Station and keep the topic germane to late 19th and early 20th century preservation campaigns. When someone asked about the failure of Penn Station's grassroots campaign to save the structure, panelist, Anthony Wood, quickly said that we lost Penn Station to get the Landmark's legislation.
The picture above is another look at the Adolph Weinman sculptures that adorned the facade of the station. This is half of a clock with Night depicted as a shrouded woman (notice the eagle behind her from yesterday's post). The other half is Day, also a woman, but uncovered with flowers at her feet. The clocks were removed and the sculpted frames where cut in half and placed into trucks. The sculptures were initially dumped in the Meadowlands then eventually rescued by private collectors and preservationists. There is a Night on display at the Brooklyn Museum.
I took this picture last spring. He is one of two Adolph Weinman eagles that were left to stand guard in front of Penn Plaza facing 8th Avenue. Other eagles were scattered all over the country and have been placed in museums, parks and other train stations.