Image © SOM and ATCHAIN
When the original Penn Station was demolished in the 1960s, mass transit was on the decline and most public works projects focused on accommodating automobiles and suburban infrastructure. In the five decades since then, the trend has reversed. Both mass transit ridership and New York City’s population have grown in the past decade and are projected to continue. As the trend continues, the infrastructure that made sense to the planners in 1960s is now outdated. Penn Station, pierced by hundreds of structural columns from Madison Square Garden above it, is at capacity.