Madison Square Garden might have held the wedding of the century over the holiday weekend (perhaps you heard about it?), but the Midtown Manhattan behemoth made waves long before that. Completed in 1968, the massive complex comprises a 19,500-seat arena set directly atop Penn Station, the nation’s busiest rail hub. Featuring a fortress-like circular facade and labyrinthine transit hall underneath, the building’s imposing appearance caused controversy before it even reached completion. This was due, in no small part, to the Beaux Arts edifice that was demolished to make room for the stadium.
The project generated so much public debate that it ended up saving an untold number of historic buildings across New York City. But how? See below for a breakdown of the original station’s legacy and its enduring impact on the cityscape.
The Original Penn Station
At the dawn of the 20th century, electric locomotives were quickly making steam-powered train travel obsolete. With the industry on the cusp of generational transformation, railroad executives and New York City officials came together to usher in a new age of expansion, commissioning two massive passenger hubs on either side of Manhattan: Grand Central Terminal and Pennsylvania Station.
Designed by leading architecture firms Reed & Stem and Warren & Wetmore in the fashionable Beaux-Arts style, Grand Central debuted in 1913 in Midtown East. Its most captivating feature was its vaulted Main Concourse, the world’s largest enclosed space at the time, which features a turquoise ceiling mural embellished with gilded constellations that mimicked the night sky…