{"id":13390,"date":"2026-06-09T16:32:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T16:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13390"},"modified":"2026-06-09T16:32:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T16:32:14","slug":"proposed-8b-transformation-of-nycs-penn-station-features-roman-style-columns-ornamental-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=13390","title":{"rendered":"Proposed $8B transformation of NYC\u2019s Penn Station features Roman-style columns, ornamental design"},"content":{"rendered":"

By PHILIP MARCELO<\/strong><\/p>\n

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 When Manhattan\u2019s original Pennsylvania Station was demolished in 1963, it marked the undignified end to one of America\u2019s great public works, a monolithic Beaux Arts train terminal with Roman-style columns and a spacious central waiting area that at the time was the largest indoor space in the city.<\/p>

Read more Democratic group launches ad campaign to help flip control of Congress in midterm elections<\/a><\/p>\n

In its place rose Madison Square Garden \u2014 home of NBA\u2019s New York Knicks and NHL\u2019s New York Rangers \u2014 while train commuters were forced underground into gloomy, claustrophobic, low-ceilinged corridors by the decidedly more utilitarian redesign completed in 1968.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough Pennsylvania Station one entered the city like a god,\u201d the architectural historian Vincent Scully famously lamented. \u201cOne scuttles in now like a rat.\u201d<\/p>\n

But a dramatic new vision for the busiest transit hub in the Western Hemisphere calls for a return to the old grandeur of the station, which was originally opened in 1910 and currently serves Amtrak, the national rail carrier that owns the terminal, as well as commuter rail lines to the surrounding suburbs and connections to the city\u2019s vast subway system.<\/p>\n

Renderings released Monday by Amtrak and Penn Transformation Partners, the design and development consortium picked for the project, feature a rectangular, stone facade lined with imposing columns along a grand entry way.<\/p>\n

Inside, commuters are to be greeted by a sunlight-drenched grand concourse with soaring ceilings more than 50 feet high in places. It includes such touches as bronze finishings and other ornamental details, like a bas relief of the city\u2019s famous skyline and a large, classic station clock, also made of bronze.<\/p>\n

An interior wall near a entryway bears the seal of President Donald Trump, who had Amtrak assume control of the project last year after decades of bureaucratic red tape and political infighting among transit agencies and the competing interests of other powerful players, including James Dolan, the billionaire owner of MSG, the Knicks and the Rangers, who has staunchly opposed moving the arena.<\/p>

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Trump has mentioned renaming his hometown station in his honor as he\u2019s sought to burnish his legacy through public works projects, from a massive new ballroom at the White House to a triumphal arch leading into the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

For now, though, the name etched in capital letters across the proposed grand facade would still read, \u201cPennsylvania Station,\u201d renderings released Monday show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not focused on names at all,\u201d said Andy Byford, who Amtrak named as a special adviser to oversee the redevelopment, when asked about a potential name change.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis building has a name, and the name is there,\u201d added Peter Cipriano, one of the lead developers.<\/p>

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