Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Guide to the Penn Station, New York, Photographs

Summary
761, Station Site Work
761, Station Site Work
Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.1048
Creators:
Pennsylvania Railroad.
Dates:
1904-1910
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
10.5 Cubic feet
23 boxes
Repository:
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.
Scope and Contents
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.
Arrangement
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
Historical
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.
Administration
Author
Alison Oswald
Immediate Source of Acquisiton
The photographs and stereograph cards were purchased from Charles Lloyd, III, a dealer, in 1980.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Alison Oswald, archivist, 2023.
Custodial History
Transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Civil and Mechanical Engineering (now Division of Work and Industry) in 2007.
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
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.
Preferred Citation
Penn Station, New York, Photographs, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
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.
Related Materials
Materials at Other Organizations
New York Historical Society
McKim Mead & White Architectural Records Collection, circa 1875-1950
Columbia University, Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
McKim Mead & White architectural records and drawings, 1879-1958
Progress photographs taken by L. H. Dreyer and others during the construction of the Pennsylvania Terminal (Penn Station), New York City, 1907-1910
Hagley Museum and Library
Pennsylvania Railroad Company records, 1813-1968
Keywords
Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Glass plate negatives Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroads -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Railroad stations Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stereographs -- 1900-1910 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tunnels -- New York Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dreyer, Louis H. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
McKim, Mead & White Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of History of Technology Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pennsylvania Station Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
Business Number: Phone: 202-633-3270
Fax Number: Fax: 202-786-2453
archivescenter@si.edu