I did not know that watching a documentation on the rise of Penn Station would cause me to feel so connected to the station. Alexander Cassatt’s vision of a seamless ride without the need of a ferry was so far-fetched and daunting yet he managed to build a station and the tunnels into New York City. In the video, we saw how sandhogs, the workers who risked their health and lives, created the tunnel in the Hudson River. When they mentioned that it took them 6 hours to place the ring segments but after experience, it took them 90 minutes, it made me think of how proud the workers must have been when they finally got the hang of it. The Penn Station monument itself was an amazing building and I’m sure made New Yorkers feel like their city was truly something special.

Four years of construction, fifty years of living, only to be destroyed because of money. Watching the complete destruction of Penn Station was so heartbreaking. It was destroyed because not enough people realized how important it was until it was torn down. Yes, it acts as a martyr for Grand Central Terminal and other buildings that were at risk of being destroyed but it didn’t need to be if enough people petitioned against it. There is no other monument like Penn Station in New York City and I feel so much regret that I was not able to see it in its glory.