Object Details
- Creator
- Pennsylvania Railroad.
- Architect
- McKim, Mead & White
- Collector
- National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology
- National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering
- National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry
- Names
- Pennsylvania Station
- Photographer
- Dreyer, Louis H.
- Topic
- Railroads
- Railroads -- 20th century
- Railroad stations
- Tunnels -- New York
- Provenance
- The photographs and stereograph cards were purchased from Charles Lloyd, III, a dealer, in 1980.
- Creator
- Pennsylvania Railroad.
- See more items in
- Penn Station, New York, Photographs
- Summary
- Collection documents the construction of Penn Station and the Pennsylvania Railroad's work in New York City, including the station foundations and the East and Hudson River tunnels.
- Historical
- Pennsylvania Station, also known as Penn Station, is a railroad station located in New York City between Seventh and Eighth Avenues and 31st and 33rd Streets. It was named for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), and the project was initiated and lead by Alexander Johnston Cassatt (1839-1906), the seventh president of the PRR. Cassatt's vision was to construct tunnels under the Hudson River, bringing the PRR's line into New York City which enabled Pennsylvania Railroad trains to enter from New Jersey for the first time. "Beginning with a double-track line across New Jersey's marshy Hackensack Meadows, they would dig two tunnels through Bergen Cliffs, continue down under the mile-wide Hudson, emerging deep underneath a great terminal. From there two tunnels, each with two tracks, would continue under and through Manhattan, becoming four separate tunnels under the East River. Two would be for the LIRR (Long Island Railroad), and would thus create a through ride all the way from the mainland to Long Island. The two other tunnels would serve the PRR, whose empty trains would terminate in Sunnyside, Queens." (Jonnes, page 84) Construction of the tunnels began in 1904 and opened for service in 1910. The architects of the station building were McKim, Mead & White. The station's building was demolished (1963-1966) and Madison Square Gardens was built above the station, opening in 1968. Sources "Completion of the Pennsylvania Railroad Tunnels and Terminal Station," Scientific American, Vol. 102, No. 20 (May 14, 1910), pp. 398-401. Historic American Buildings Survey, Engineering Record, Landscapes Survey, (HABS) No. NY-5471, "Pennsylvania Station," 1968. Jonnes, Jill. Conquering Gotham: A Gilded Age Epic: The Construction of Penn Station and Its Tunnels. New York: Viking Penguin Group, 2007.
- Extent
- 10.5 Cubic feet (23 boxes)
- Date
- 1904-1910
- Custodial History
- Transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Civil and Mechanical Engineering (now Division of Work and Industry) in 2007.
- Archival Repository
- Archives Center, National Museum of American History
- Identifier
- NMAH.AC.1048
- Type
- Collection descriptions
- Archival materials
- Glass plate negatives
- Photographs
- Stereographs
- Citation
- Penn Station, New York, Photographs, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
- Arrangement
- The collection is arannged into three series. Series 1: Photographs, 1904-1909 Series 2: Steregraph Cards, 1904-1909 Series 3: Glass Plate Negatives, 1908-1910 Series 4: Contract Material Vouchers, 1907-1908
- Processing Information
- Collection processed by Alison Oswald, archivist, 2023.
- Rights
- Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
- Genre/Form
- Glass plate negatives
- Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- 20th century
- Photographs -- 20th century
- Stereographs -- 1900-1910
- Scope and Contents
- Photographs, stereographs, and glass plate negatives documenting the construction progress of the Pennsylvania Terminal, including the Pennsylvania Station Site, from pre-existing structures through the foundation construction; construction of Sunnyside Yard; Construction of Sunnyside Yard Power House; and all aspects of the construction of the East River tunnels. The photographs depict machinery, equipment, techniques, and the men working on the site. The collection is also strong in depicting streets, buildings and the clothes worn by people at that time.
- Restrictions
- Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
- Record ID
- ebl-1503512079505-1503512079507-0
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