Old Penn Station

Book Description

A beautiful tribute to the glory of the original Pennsylvania Railroad Station

During the first half of the 20th century, the original Pennsylvania Station was one of New York City’s grandest landmarks, a palace in the middle of Manhattan. William Low’s glorious illustrations pay close attention to detail while still encompassing the large-scale grandeur of Penn Station.

Old Penn Station follows a very specific piece of New York City history, but it’s not just a New York book. The author’s research carefully addresses the whole history of the building, from construction to destruction, ending with an acknowledgment of its lasting legacy in terms of historical preservation. Spaces can be powerful, and Old Penn Station honors one particular powerful space which is sure to engender discussion about other historical buildings and monuments all across the nation.

This is a classic, beautiful book for history lovers, train lovers, and art lovers alike.

Customer Reviews:

What a mistake.......2007-08-26

This is a mere child's book. Never thought that was what I was ordering. Looked at description on line. Never got impression that this was a kid's book.

Wonderful!.......2007-07-30

Finally a book that dosn't dumb it down for kids. We received it 2 weeks ago and we still love exploring it again again. It seems there is always something new we find in the illistrations.

Beautifully Illustrated History!.......2007-07-01

Penn Station lives on through this wonderfully illustrated story by Mr. Low. How sad this building was destroyed in the name of progress. Mr. Low brings it alive again. It would be a great addition to any classroom library.

Low's Book Hits High Note.......2007-06-30

Beautifully illustrated and delightfully written. Underscoring the importance of landmark preservation, Old Penn Station brings NYC history to life in a most enjoyable way. Great read for both parents and children.

Stunning book!.......2007-06-30

I can only assume that "Aaradman" never actually took a look at this book, because what a stunning book! The drawings are rich and full, luminous and even sumptuous. My budding artist daughter poured over them to explore the detail. It makes you long for them to tear down the monstrosity that is the Madison Square Garden/Penn Station of today and rebuild Penn Station in all its grandeur of yesteryear. Hats off to William Low for another great book!

Average customer rating:

The Human Side of the Temple of Transportation
What was the most beautiful station in America
Masterpiece
North Dakota?
Looking back at New York's lost treasure

The Late, Great Pennsylvania Station
Lorraine B. Diehl
Manufacturer: Four Walls Eight Windows
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1568580606

Amazon.com

This book offers a moving and tragic account of the history, creation, and the ultimate demise of the original Pennsylvania Station in New York City. An elegant symbol of turn-of-the-century classicism, the station was designed by the preeminent architects of the period, McKim, Mead & White, and completed in 1910. Accompanied by 80 vintage photographs, Lorraine Diehl lovingly documents the labor involved in the creation of this great building and traces the mid-20th-century development interests and capitalist forces that destroyed it in 1963. While there was no public outcry to save the building, once New Yorkers realized the extent of their loss, it helped pave the way for a nationwide preservation movement. This book convincingly reasserts the profound importance of our public urban architecture--culturally, socially, and aesthetically--to our collective memory and history.

Book Description

This work traces the history of the creation, operation, and demolition of New York's Pennsylvania Station.

Customer Reviews:

The Human Side of the Temple of Transportation.......2007-01-07

Much has been written about the late, great, Pennsylvania Station, and yet it can never be too much. This landmark should be standing today, with it's pink granite shinning in the sun, and being a becon in cloudy weather. In the 1960's, in many other cities their grand "Union Stations" were being sectioned off and abandonded, some are still standing as ruins today, this is part of the irony of Penn Station's demise, even in the 1960's there were hundreds of passenger trains using the facility daily, and this number has been climbing since.

The author gives us all the facts and figures about this station, from it's planning, short life, and needless destruction. However she also paints the human picture of this building, and in doing so lets us understand how the public allowed this building to slip away.

The opening of Penn Station was celebrated during the final years of the Gilded Age, acted as shelter to thousands during the Great Depression, and it served as a virtual military base during the WW II years.
To the multitudes of returning vets, and their famalies, the railroads and Penn Station represented the past, and times that they all would rather forget. Remember back then there was not the mental health counselling available to the returning soldiers, and one way they coped was to simply forget the past, and all that it contained.

In this book we see that the stations fate was sealed with VJ Day, and the social changes that started to take shape with WW II's end.
By the 1950's, Airplanes and Interstate Highways were in, Railroads were out. Yet at least in the NYC area, commuter trains still played an important role that never went away. The beautiful building was allowed to decay, and was altered by a private company without any accontability required to the public.

By the early 1960's some of the public finally woke up, and NYC's Landmark Preservation Committee was formed, by it was too late for the "Temple of Transportation".

This book also contains an excellent compliment of photos, including a number from the 4 year, yes, four year period it took to destroy the station.

Ken

What was the most beautiful station in America.......2005-10-17

Very good book which takes into account the historical background of why Penn Station was built in the first place right through to its destruction. A tragic loss not only for New Yorkers but for America and this book describes it well.

Masterpiece.......2005-09-07

This book is facinating and so well written, I really could not put it down, the author has a real sence for the history and importance of the building, I agree it could have used more visuals, but that is a minor quibble and really does not take away from the merit of the book. I must take some exception to the review of Mr. Jendrysic, in all due respect he misses the point totally of perservation when he says the building was a white elephant that was in the wrong place and in the red, that may have all been true, but in those cases you find other uses for the building, like Paris did with the Orsay train station and the colossel Louvre as well as Versailles, I mean would you call for the pulling down of Versailles??? and the Orsey Museum is spectacular. This was not just any building, this was a masterpiece a true treasure, that could have been coverted to other uses, buildings of this quality should be persevered, period, not torn down like some 50's tract house. I highly recommend this book in everyway, if you have any interest in great buildings or just wonderful books quite frankly, then you will not be disappointed in this book, you are right about one think Mr. Jendrysic this book is first rate.

North Dakota?.......2005-04-10

Mr. Mark S. Jendrysik is from North Dakota. What in the world would he know or care about New York City? Judging by his past reviews, he is a big business apologist in a square state in the middle of nowhere.

A native New Yorker myself, I could not imagine my city without Grand Central, for instance, or SoHo, Central Park or the historic area of Chelsea and the West Village. Some things are worth preserving.

Looking back at New York's lost treasure.......2004-06-27

I was barely seven years old when old Penn Station was torn down, but I remember the sadness and outrage of my neighbors in Brooklyn. I had only been to the station once or twice but I was too young to remember. I didn't really understand the big fuss about its destruction. And after it was gone, I don't remember there being too much grieving.

Now looking back, through films and books, I understand what it was all about. "The Late, Great Pennsylvania Station" by Lorraine B. Diehl is the best book on the subject that I've come across. Her analysis of the rise and fall of McKim's great station is both awe-inspiring and heart-breaking. The smattering of beautiful photographs is a plus, as well. Penn Station's demise, of course, could be regarded solely as a loss for the city but, as Ms. Diehl explains, the real legacy of the destruction was the enormous preservation/conservation movement that followed. In the aftermath, so many other buildings were spared a similar fate.

Book Description

A journey through the extraordinary history of New York's Pennsylvania Station. The creation of Pennsylvania Station (1902-1910) represented one of the great engineering feats of its time, and embodied a powerful vision of grandeur for future public architecture. This richly illustrated book tells the story of the original building, its tragic demolition in the 1960s, and the greatly anticipated opening of the new station in 2003. 100 color and 75 black-and-white photographs and illustrations.

Manhattan Gateway: New York's Pennsylvania Station (Golden Years of Railroading Series)

Average customer rating:

If you like great Achitecture and outstanding engineering..

Manhattan Gateway: New York's Pennsylvania Station (Golden Years of Railroading Series)
William D. Middleton
Manufacturer: Kalmbach Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

If you like great Achitecture and outstanding engineering.........2001-04-24

Middleton has spoiled us with quality books, and "Manhattan Gateway" is no exception.

This book contains a well-balanced selection of how and why this beautiful structure came to life, as well as the incredible engineering that made Penn Station possible.

I am not a New Yorker or an American at all.. I live in Rome, Italy and the similarities with the baths of Diocletian and Caracalla is daunting.

Middleton focuses on technical as well as architectural details and I strongly recommend this book to whoever is interested in either subject.

Also noteworthy are the captions of how the Hell's Gate Bridge was constructed and how the "new" Pennsylvania Station will look like, returning this New York terminal to some of the architectural magnificence intended by the great architects Mc Kim, Meade and White (designers of the original station).

If you like New York, especially for what was lost menially in this great city.. you will love this book.

Average customer rating:
The Port of New York. A History of the Rail and Terminal System from the Beginnings to Pennsylvania Station
Carl W Condit
Manufacturer: University of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Railroads | Transportation | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0226114600

Average customer rating:
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Stations and Towers Along the Niagara Division
William Fries
Manufacturer: William Fries
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B0006R1Z9C

Average customer rating:
Century post card booklet: The Pennsylvania Station, New York city
William Herman Rau
Manufacturer: F.B. Warner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0008BDT3Q

Average customer rating:
Clear-sky probabilities for New Jersey and adjacent portions of New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware at 1500 G.m.t. (10 a.m., e.s.t.) (Bulletin / New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station)
Joel Rosenbaum
Manufacturer: New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00071K6Q0

Average customer rating:
The New York tunnel extension of the Pennsylvania railroad: Certain engineering structures of the New York terminal area
George Blinn Francis
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0008C4PKQ

Average customer rating:
The Pennsylvania Railroad, A Pictorial Review: Tunnels and Terminals in New York City. Pennsylvania Station Postcard Views.
Ruth. Gardner
Manufacturer: Ruth Gardner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000LQMYX4

Average customer rating:

Surprise

The Enjoyment and Use of Color
Walter Sargent
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Using Color | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Watercolor | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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Customer Reviews:

Surprise.......2004-05-11

Reading this book you will find some surprise. Even if it seems somewhat of another epoch, I find it worthwhile to read and read again some passages. I do not know the work of this painter but no doubt he knew color. It also contains some exercices to help you understand what is gong on. For it low price it is a valuable acquisition.

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Enjoyment and Use of Color

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Binding: Paperback
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The Enjoyment and Use of Color 1923 Edition Hardcover

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The Enjoyment and Use of Color 1923 Edition Hardcover
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Manufacturer: Scribners
ProductGroup: Book
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General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000NIEEYC

Average customer rating:

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Manufacturer: Charles Scribner's Sons
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A luminous movie.......2001-02-28

This work is like encountering a strange film which, after a while seems not to be a film at all but an experience you are having, a kind of a journey that you don't remember setting out on. It takes you through England, Bali, Cambodia, Italy, through time, through light. In the end, as with all good journeys, you are someplace else and you are a little different, though in ways you can't describe. That's what is so great about this book; it takes you someplace in a way that lies outside summation.

Customer Reviews:

The Genius Of Al Capp.......2003-04-05

Al Capp was on the verge of reaching his peak- a peak he would maintain for many, many years- in these great 1939 newspaper strips. The drawing style is getting bolder and funnier and Capp's visual and narrative satire is beginning to hit a stride that put him at the top of his medium and at the forefront of American popular culture. "Li'l Abner" is a great American work of art, and boy, is it funny stuff. This beautiful series of books is a Godsend from revered publisher Denis Kitchen, and reestablishes Capp's important place as a twentieth century artist and writer.

My favorite sequence here has Abner posing as a college student ("Oh,Happy Collidge Days!!") as a couple of equally-disguised gangsters try to kill him. While being shoved off a cliff and into a river, tied to a boulder, Abner enthuses "This is mah first collidge hazin'!!" Buy all 27 volumes of this priceless series and take the phone off the hook for a few months.

Book Description

Mold is one of the most common and least understood of all living creatures. Yet, mold is involved in a number of highly publicized court cases involving real estate. How on earth is it possible for such a simple and common creature to be the cause of so much upheaval in the extremely complex business of real estate? Media reports of court cases involving mold and real estate are filled with references to the large settlements collected by plaintiffs. How these cases were made and what the actual findings were are more complex than they appear. In this book, Streater includes cases that illustrate the major findings of district and state courts. The variety of state statutes governing mold disclosures by real estate licensees is also examined. Mold and Real Estate is not intended to make you an expert in either mold or real estate. It will simply give you a general but factual knowledge of mold's impact on real estate. After reading this book you will learn two facts: (1) not all mold problems are deal breakers, and (2) there need never be a mold problem serious enough to place a building in either physical or economic jeopardy if the appropriate management techniques are followed.

Customer Reviews:

Mold and Real Estate: A Handbook for Buyers and Sellers.......2004-03-08

Mold and Real Estate: A Handbook for Buyers and Sellers
by Carmel Streater

Review:
This book is a necessity for those who have or think they may have a mold problem. This book offered the knowledge and description of mold types and much more that I needed to further determine if I had a problem in my home. Thanks to this book I was able to effectively identify and contact the appropriate services to clean up my home. I believe homeowners and renters could benefit from reading this book. Carmel Streater is right, mold is just another fact of life (to a certain point!).
I am looking forward to more books by Carmel Streater!

Thank you for your thoughtful consideration and research in preparing and writing this important book.

Highest of Regards,
K. L. Stevens, M.Ed.

Average customer rating:
Mold and Real Estate : A Handbook for Buyers & Sellers
DREI, Carmel Streater Ph.D.
Manufacturer: South-Western Educational Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OUK39E

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