Although the information that was shared in the panel of historians and architectures was repetitive information that we had already learned in class, it was interesting to see  how in depth one can go when discussing grand central.  One interesting idea  that they brought up was the comparison between Penn Station and GST.  They argued that Penn station was a standalone building as appose to GST which contained shops or as they stated a choreography of connection.  They also debated on how Penn station was a necessary evil  for the preservation movement to rise; thus  thanks to Penn station we now have GST and other landmarks.

Up until this class I never new Penn station was such a monstrous building. Inspired again by the beaux-arts Mckim  truly designed a building that was meant for a great metropolitan city. We see the vast entrance which he borrow from the Roman’s Baths of Caracalla after his visit there and sadly he never got the chance to see his work completed as he died before completion.

Although Penn station in it of itself was a  momentous  structure the infrastructure it laid was astonishing. We saw how with great precision and engineering  the vision that a tunnel under the Hudson river was built. Sandhogs risk their lives and devoted  many hours for cheap labor constructing the tunnel.

It was very disturbing watching the demolition crew bring down the station. I can see now how people can grow such emotional connections to something  like a building.

After the Transit Archive  visit, I feel like I have a better grasp distinguishing between a primary and secondary sources. I was very impressed by the amount of  security and protection the archivist handled their collection and the knowledge the accompanies this job. It is not just simply placing old things in a basement and locking them away, but there is a science that must be well understood.  For example, its important to understand  that temperature and light( incandescent,natural,fluorescent..)  can emphatically damage an item from oxidation or even reactivity of volatile chemicals. Even the enzymes naturally secreted by our sweat glands and sebaceous glands can taint the quality of the item.

I was upset that we spent very little time browsing over the content, but one thing I found truly unique were the advertising images that once stood over  GC and around time square. To me they seem more of an art rather than some cheesy ad like we now see today. I guess you weren’t allowed to place any “junk” around especially if it is going to be display over GC. Viewing old images of time square you can see how the structure and the space was destined for that area to be of high significance later in time and i wish my parents or grandparents would have been savvy enough to purchase space/real estate there!

Some of the content were difficult to cite as they were lacking information:

The Gateway to a Continent. (1940). New York,  New York City Architects. NY Transit Archive. 130 Livingston Street Brooklyn, NY 11202. 17 June 2016.

This was a book that contained advertising  images  of fancy hotels that were distributed downtown and around  Grand Central around the 1940s.

A finding aid is essentially that it is a guide for finding something. When doing archival research that is searching for a primary source in an archive it can become overwhelming especially if the archival site contains a huge collection.  In this example the finding aid is set up by Creator,Call number, Physical description, repository and access to material. The collection is described as 115 linear feet (112 boxes),  and the  collection consists of records that document Wilgus’ professional activities as a civil engineer. New York Central and Hudson River Railroad papers, 1895-1931, include correspondence; research notes, articles and pictures, engineering reports, in this case It is also important to note that some material are restricted while others require permission for use.

William Wilgus was a true pioneer. He was the Nostradamus of engineering. He worked on may engineering project that helped shape the New York transportation system. His resume consisted of Buffalo Union Station, the Weehawken (N.J.) Terminal and the modern Grand Central Station.  Through his life he received many awards for his engineering work  and war service. After his retirement he moved to New Hampshire where he died in 1949.

Visiting grand central terminal for the third time I can confidently say that i am now more aware of the building’s history and can appreciate why this building holds so much value. It is interesting to see the emotional connection people have developed to a building, which has gone through three renovations and in essence have given this lifeless entity a personality. You can see how the building’s character effects those other structure built around it. It’s sad that such nice piece of art work has now  become polluted with modern age  construction  and personally think its detrimental to  NYC history and  to those that fought to preserve it.

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