Comments on: Demolished! 11 Beautiful Train Stations That Fell To The Wrecking Ball

By: Tere Elgas

Tere Elgas — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:26:13 +0000

I recently saw what used to be a train station in Milwaukee, on the area east of downtown. The trains rain on tracks under the memorial Blvd, going North. It was a beautiful station, and reminded me of the station in a town in Neberaska. I imagin there are alot of pictures of this station, in archives. I believe the Betty Brim Center, along with the Summerfest grounds, takes it’s place. (Also used to be a Nike missel site, was where the Dan Hoen bridge goes over. ) There was also an airfield for small aircraft there, next to the lake.

By: michael

michael — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:00:35 +0000

oftentimes i’ve thought that a great piece of installation art would be to project the facade of old Penn Station onto the blank walls of Madison Square Garden at night - haunting and creepy, like a ghostly image back from the past meant to remind all of what was lost

By: The Candyman (Can’t) Cabrini Green and “Architecture of Difficult Beauty” « A Connecticut Yankee Out West

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:54:59 +0000

[...] ever present symbols and advertisements of the failure of our most recent, large scale projects. Even worse, many inspirational architecture of a preceding era have been demolished. The landscapes of today often serve to deaden the political will and stiffens the conventional [...]

By: chris

chris — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:32:26 +0000

Thanks for putting this together with the before/after photos. Great work!

By: Garry

Garry — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:30:30 +0000

Sorry, but this comment on Central Station in Chicago, the demolished Illinois Central Station is absurd: “A well-designed depot in the heart of downtown on the shore of Lake Michigan”

That dump was anything but well designed. It was built in 6 months, just in time for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. To go to the tracks, which are below street level, you had to go upstairs first & then downstairs. To go outside to the street when you arrived, first you had to go inside the station.
It was a pedestrian traffic atrocity!
No one in Chicago missed it when it was flattened!

By: Random Cool Things of the Week :A Quick Remark

Random Cool Things of the Week :A Quick Remark — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:12:47 +0000

[...] Train Stations Here is a blog showing 11 beautiful train stations and what currently stands there today. It’s kind of depressing. I wish I could’ve seen those buildings as they stood back then. [...]

By: The crap they built where the beautiful old train stations were | ADBDAT

The crap they built where the beautiful old train stations were | ADBDAT — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:34:33 +0000

[...] Demolished! 11 Beautiful Train Stations That Fell To The Wrecking Ball [...]

By: Clark Jordan

Clark Jordan — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 06:22:34 +0000

I remember the old Penn Station in NY, the Illinois Central Station in Chicago, and the Union Station in Atlanta…all wonderful memories of epic train journeys in many years gone past. The airline and automobile industries made a concerted effort in the forties and fifties to effectively kill the US rail system in favor of interstate highways and airports. It is a shame. Our rail system is 40-50 years behind those in western European countries, and we have suffered for it. Oscar Wilde said, “All the great adventures in life start in a railway station”…and he was right.

By: bill

bill — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:28:40 +0000

This seems to be a little biased. I did not fall into that trap. How much money did the writter of this loose because of the loss of the above ground train to the subway.

By: Tim Scammell, PTech

Tim Scammell, PTech — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:40:04 +0000

Further to my post of June 2009 I am happy to say that after more than 10 years of neglect and 7 years of my personal battle we have won.
The York Street Station in Fredericton, New Brunswick is being repaired and refurbished as I write this.
Here is a link to a recent article. http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/search/article/907283
Some are unhappy that it will be part of a liquor store.
I am just happy that anything is going to be here and this happened before it was too late.

Tim Scammell, President
Fredericton Friends of the Railway

By: Best of 2009: “At the junction” | Likelihood of Success

Best of 2009: “At the junction” | Likelihood of Success — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:08:33 +0000

[...] first reaction when I saw this post on a blog called Infrastructurist (looks very cool) (via Boing Boing) was just to link to it on my [...]

By: jeff

jeff — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 22:23:27 +0000

Here’s Stanley Kubrick’s Killer’s Kiss with the scene shot at old Penn Station:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5msae4GXNvg

The scene starts at 5:17

By: gabe

gabe — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:40:54 +0000

my dad remebers who grow up in New York rembers going to Penn as a kid, on way to Baltimore, or to see his grandmouther of when she would go to Miami, he said old Penn was batter then grand central.

By: gabe

gabe — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:38:09 +0000

taring down old Penn has to be the worst thing New York ever did, perhaps the worst examel of 60s era urban renal, only toped by taring down a thierd of historic Boston in the 60s.What is a real shame is that Grand Cenral is only for comuter trians, so one travaling from Boston is frosed to use Penn, which is one step above a New York/Boston subway station, 5 steps bellow a washington subway station. Detreit should not make the same mistake, and instead restore the building for a high speed rail link to chicago, or even Taronto. To bad about the old North Station/ Boston Garden. The new one is nice but lacks the history (and is beter then Penn (at least its above ground.)) At least we where able to save Fenway Park.

By: F.K. Plous

F.K. Plous — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:36:58 +0000

You have overlooked a particularly nasty atrocity–Cleveland Union Terminal (which is not a terminal but a station) at the base of Cleveland’s Terminal Tower office complex. Built in the 1920s, the whole building and its station are still there, but after Amtrak moved out and started serving a newer and smaller station on the lakefront, the U.S. Justice Dept. planted its new 22-story federal courthouse right on the footprint of the former interlocking plant controlling the track fan at the western end of the station. They left room for the two tracks used by the local rapid-transit trains, but mainline passenger trains no longer can access this multi-track, below-street-level station with its splendid marble waiting rooml and concourse above. The tragedy is compounded b the fact that, if it were open, CUT would be exactly the kind of intermodal station that all transportation advocates are promoting today, with rapid transit, intercity and commuter rail all in the same facility under one roof and the city most important bus routes converging right outside the front door. Unlike most stations, CUT is located not on the edge of downtown in a dubious warehousing/industrial district, but right in the heart of downtown Cleveland, at the foot of Euclid Avenue where it looks out on the Soldiers and Sailors monument and a lovely array of restored commercial and hotel buildings dating back to the noontide of American urbanism. You come up from track level and emerge into a classical downtown cityscape. Friends familiar with Cleveland tell me that at considerable expense and some additional earthen fill, space for a couple of tracks could be created around one side of the new courthouse, allowing trains from the west into CUT again (the eastern approach was never truncated). Unfortunately, the state DOT and Amtrak plan to keep using the lakefront location, albeit with a larger building once Ohio’s passenger-train network starts developing. There seems to be no serious advocacy movement for a restoration/reopening of CUT.

By: Oz Childs

Oz Childs — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:51:13 +0000

Here on the West Coast, we still have a number of old-time rail stations: San Diego (AT&SF), with more trains than ever thanks to Amtrak and the Coaster, L.A. Union Passenger Terminal (aka Union Station) with more trains than ever thanks to Metro Rail, Sacramento (SP, now Amtrak), Portland Union Station, and King Street Station, Seattle. Yes, the Portland station is a little down at the heels, but it is the historic station, and, I hope, will soon be connected to downtown via streetcar.

The old SP station at 3d and Townsend was really not all that grand — when it was built, the plan was to replace it in a decade or two. By the 1960’s, there were only six long distance trains a day (the Daylights, the Larks, and the Del Montes to and from Monterey). I suppose they only kept it because the commuters on the San Jose line needed to have *somewhere* near downtown to catch the train.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:27:36 +0000

Yeah, I feel like in a certain time they just decided to destroy all the pretty things and turn them into garbage. I take the Pennstation daily, such a terrible place. Grand central is still a classic place though

http://www.bloginity.com

By: Georgia

Georgia — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:54:01 +0000

Not sure which is more depressing: lots standing empty for decades after the teardown of beautiful buildings or unattractive structures built on the former sites of beautiful buildings. At least with the former, there’s literal room to rebuild.

By: Old made new « Meanderings

Old made new « Meanderings — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:56:40 +0000

[...] things, and only miss old ones well after they’re gone. Take New York’s Penn Station, which sure would be more welcoming than that underground maze beneath Madison Square [...]

By: Rail Architecture « The Transit Pass

Rail Architecture « The Transit Pass — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:19:41 +0000

[...] magnificent like Grand Central Station and 30th Street Station. Classic train stations have also frequently been ruined and mocked, like New York’s Penn Station (H/T [...]

By: Old Penn Station Lives Again In Virtual 3D Model » INFRASTRUCTURIST

Old Penn Station Lives Again In Virtual 3D Model » INFRASTRUCTURIST — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:57:05 +0000

[...] ghost of New York’s old Penn Station will probably never rest. Which is a good thing, because knocking it down to build Madison Square Garden was one of those [...]

By: Zoungy

Zoungy — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:03:05 +0000

Wow! Such a response to this topic, I’m afraid mine will get lost in the bunch

I’ve re-created Penn Station, my favorite of these, in Google SketchUp 3D format. If you are interested in viewing the model please follow the link:

http://sketchupisland.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-monopoly-masterpiece.html

I first saw Penn Station in a photo of the waiting room, and thought to myself “I’ve been to New York before, how did I miss this?” Then when I “found” it and realized what was there now (MSG), which I had definitely seen before, I felt awful. I’ve been a fan ever since!

By: getplaning

getplaning — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:40:19 +0000

Here is what’s possible- Spain just finished restoring one of it’s historic train stations, Canfranc. I saw it several years ago when it was in sad shape. Now it is busy with travelers and commerce.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=Canfranc&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=AZK7Su_XEMaJtgfV0Oy0DQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4

By: 11 Beautiful Train Stations That Fell To The Wrecking Ball : Galt Gone Wild

11 Beautiful Train Stations That Fell To The Wrecking Ball : Galt Gone Wild — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:18:47 +0000

[...] Demolished! 11 Beautiful Train Stations That Fell To The Wrecking Ball [...]

By: railwayist

railwayist — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:26:45 +0000

Take notice that the mainstream media pays little -if any- attention to public transport/railway stations/terminals/depot issues or needs in the urban abandonment, energy, sprawl or climate/global warming debate…
Next time you view ABC, BBC America, CBS, CBC, CNN, E-Entertainment TV, ESPN, FOX, NBC or numerous local affiliates of these media conglomerates - take note at the continuous and repetitive ads for CARS—AUTO INSURANCE—OIL/GASOLINE—FAST FOOD—MASS RETAILERS—CREDIT CARDS with AIR MILES/—the ‘INSANITY OF SPRAWL’ feeds these propaganda monsters and we ‘buy it every day’—you get what you pay for…so stop buying TUBS OF GAZOLINE!
Get out of your automobile shells and support local/county/state & national public transport issues—speak out—contact your state reps/senators and keep after them-non stop, the special interest lobbyists never sleep—don’t be timid—your USA Constitution gives you the right to speak you mind!

By: Leanna

Leanna — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:12:14 +0000

I hope the train station in Detriot MI will not meet the same fate.

By: vernhettes dan

vernhettes dan — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:43:50 +0000

Hello Friends, I would like to know how many train stations were in New Orleans in the early 1900s and especially in 1920-1925. American people had not realized until the 70s that they had some treasures. Look how they transformed the Perdido area in New Orleans into a parking lot and a big Town Hall with no interest. Just think a minute of what value would be an area like Storyville, had it not been destroyed. Tourists would gather by millions….
Cordially, Dan, in Paris, France

By: Mike Nomad

Mike Nomad — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 20:03:39 +0000

Nice summation of some criminally stupid things done in the name of “Progress.” Besides being a good movie in general, Kubrick’s “Killer’s Kiss” has a permanent place in my collection because of the scene’s shot in Penn Station.

By: Sullivan and Cronon: Notes, Thoughts, and Questions « Environmental Geography

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:07:02 +0000

[...] we claim to be a nation with much pride in our past; There is a good quote about the demolition of Penn Station, and its replacement with a nondescript bunker. The quote is possibly by Jane Jacobs and goes [...]

By: ‘Mad Men’ Tackles The Sad Saga Of Old Penn Station » INFRASTRUCTURIST

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:51:20 +0000

[...] behind Madison Square Garden are looking for some help turning public opinion their way so they can put the wrecking ball to old Penn (a poll cited on the show had something like 85 percent of New Yorkers opposed to the plan). They [...]

By: admin

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:43:49 +0000

jj-
yeah, old penn was kind of a throwaway…

By: jj solari

jj solari — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:28:41 +0000

i didnt see any architectural triumphs there that needed saving.

By: Dave Campbell

Dave Campbell — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:07:56 +0000

I’d like to extend “Tim in Wisconsin”’s comment and suggest a corollary story about the stations that survive - 2 candidates being the depot in downtown San Diego, and Union Station in Kansas City.

By: Abandoned Subway Stations Around The World (Photo Gallery) » INFRASTRUCTURIST

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:14:29 +0000

[...] August 11th by Jebediah Reed DiggSubmitA few weeks ago, we looked at some of America’s great train stations lost to the wrecking ball. In long hours of photo research on that story, we happened across quite a few pictures of [...]

By: Harry

Harry — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:14:54 +0000

How terrible. And no-one has been send to jail for those demolishings?