Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
A. J. Greenough was the president of the PRR at the time the decision was made to allow Penn Station to be demolished.  In order to act he would have had to have the approval of the PRR Board of Directors.   Rumors of the PRR's desire to rid itself of the financial burden imposed by Penn Station had been afoot since the middle 1950s.  As Greenough noted, because of the decline in long distance passenger rail service, Penn Station was no longer a major portal for the city.  No one from the city, at least with any real clout, i.e. money, resources, etc., stepped forth with a real plan to save Penn Station. The president of a company has an obligation to protect the interests of his key stakeholders.  Amongst these are the shareholders, creditors, regulators, employees, etc.  It is a difficult balancing act. At the end of the day, however, his or her primary obligation is to ensure the survival of the company.  The PRR could no longer afford to keep Penn Station, and it made that clear to New York's civic leaders. Apparently they were not overly impressed. In 1960 NYC hit Penn Station with a $1.3 million property tax bill.   Ultimately, Irving Felt, who was a major NYC developer, organized the deal to raze Penn Station and replace it with what we have today.   According to Jill Jonnes, Conquering Gotham, most New Yorkers did not place a high value on Penn Station. It was out of the way, in many respects, and did not strike a strong cord in their collective hearts. For many New Yorkers, as per Jonnes, Penn Station was imposed on the city from Philadelphia. New Yorkers did not identify with it like they did with Grand Central Terminal. Or like modern day rail revisionists.  There is no evidence that Greenough profited from the sale and demolishment of Penn Station. In fact, within a few short years, the PRR disappeared into the Penn Central debacle. And Greenough, if I remember correctly retired.  The demise of Penn Station, however, gave rise to the preservationist movement in NYC and ultimately throughout the country. It was this movement that helped save Grand Central, which required private as well as public funds.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag