Ever since McKim, Mead & White’s stately Penn Station was demolished in 1964 and replaced by Charles Luckman’s ultrabanal one, which included a doughnut-shaped Madison Square Garden and dreary office buildings, its users have suffered. The aesthetic pain has not been helped by the functional discomfort caused by excessive numbers (650,000 commuters a day). So cheers resounded with Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement in late September: the state and developers Related Companies and Vornado Realty Trust would put into place a long-touted plan by the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan to divert Amtrak—and now the Long Island Rail Road—to a new train hall to be located in the nearby James A. Farley Post Office, also designed by McKim, Mead & White.
Soon after, architect and planner Vishaan Chakrabarti and his firm Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) unveiled a scheme addressing the fact that many tracks and platforms need to remain under the existing Madison Square Garden (MSG). They urge stripping the present Garden to its frame, glazing it, and recycling it as a hall for commuters. (Read more about the proposal in the New York Times editorial.)
You have 0 complimentary articles remaining.
Unlimited access + premium benefits for as low as $1.99/month.