This video about Penn Station was so much more interesting than any of the Grand Central videos and tours. For some reason,  I really enjoyed the older woman’s commentary because it was really personal, she included stories of her aunt’s visits to Penn Station, and made Penn Station feel less far-removed than it really is. When the older woman gives her account of Penn Station at age 10, and mentioned that her aunt described Penn Station as making her feel as if she was a queen, it made me wish I was old enough to experience Penn Station for myself. It was exciting to see the underwater tunneling process, and actually see the sandhogs that contributed to infrastructure that still stands today.  Alexander Cossott’s ambition and determination to connect Pennsylvania R.R. to Manhattan without government subsidies is almost unbelievable to me because everyone is always trying to keep as much money, as possible, in their pockets (even the rich folk). Whether I’m right or wrong, I get the sense that one of Cossott’s goals was not to make history but to improve the quality of daily life whereas Vanderbilt only wanted to make money and keep it within his family. Despite all the construction setbacks and negative publicity, publicity, Cassot still managed to get the two halves of the North tunnel to align, almost perfectly, underneath the Hudson River. Penn Station didn’t get a fair chance to blossom as did Grand Central Terminal. And because of that, younger generations will never get the opportunity to appreciate the beauty it once was.