They inaugurated the impressive new face of Penn Station, New York’s “cinderella” terminal

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They inaugurated the impressive new face of Penn Station, the terminal

Modern entrance to 7th Av

Photo: Andrés Correa Guatarasma / Courtesy

Penn NYC, the busiest train station in the Western Hemisphere, has been the victim of years of deterioration and abandonment. But at the close of the troubled 2020, it was finally able to show a renewed face in some of its areas.

The interior of the new Penn Station train room, integrated into the historic Farley Post Office building at 8 Av, opposite Madison Square Garden, was unveiled during an opening ceremony on Wednesday and opened at the public yesterday 1 January.

“Moynihan Train Hall” has a 255,000-square-foot, 92-foot-tall skylight waiting area. after a $ 1.6 million investment will serve as a center for Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), next to 700,000 square feet of commercial and dining space, authorities have detailed.

Inside, travelers have access to the huge open room, with escalator connections to the train platforms and the classic 7dt Avenue area, which is still under remodeling.

the new great atmosphere with “sky roof” it offers a marked contrast to the low-light cavernous underground tunnels that Governor Andrew Cuomo once compared to Dante’s “Hell.”

“We construct this as a statement of who we are and who we believe we are and who we aspire to be,” Cuomo said at the opening of the room on Wednesday. “It’s bold, yes, because that’s the spirit of New York and that’s the statement we want to make to our visitors, to our children and future generations. “

In addition to its skylight, the Moynihan Room features installations by artists Kehinde Wiley, Stan Douglas and Elmgreen & Dragset. “Wiley’s piece is a trio of stained glass images showing breakdance against a blue sky background, while the artistic duo Elmgreen & Dragset contributed a model of an upside-down skyscraper hanging from the ceiling “, he described New York Post.

Penn Station was built in the 1960s after the infamous destruction of its predecessor Beaux-Arts building. The new space is named after the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who in the 1990s came up with the idea of ​​reusing the post office building for public transportation.

Prior to the pandemic, Penn Station handled an average of 600,000 passengers on weekdays. seconds The New York Times.

“There has been talk of transforming Penn Station for decades, but no one managed to do anything, so last year we announced a plan to address obsolete, inefficient and potentially dangerous conditions at the station “, said Governor Cuomo in 2019.

Penn Station
An entire room “open” to the sky / Photo: Andrés Correa Guatarasma

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