I was listening to the radio yesterday, and there was a discussion about the loss of Penn Station back in 1963. I immediately looked it up to see what it looked like, and why it was no longer, and I was so sadden by the fact that anyone could have allowed this incredible building to be torn down and discarded. Yes, they did save an item or two, but it was a fraction of the treasure this building held in the stone and steel, and glass. The exterior alone had 84 massive pink granite columns. Once you entered, there was a waiting room that was a block and a half long and 15 stores high that was modeled after, but larger than an imperial Roman bathhouse.
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Here is an except from an article I found by Tony Hiss, written in 2003 called The Death and Life of Preservation

Even now, 40 years after its disappearance, people can still remember the multilayered effect this room had, the glimpses of destinations no trains could reach. Hurrying about on everyday business, people could at the same time feel singled out. Entering the concourse was somehow like boarding a see-through dirigible that was about to float away, or like a stroll across a forest floor beneath gigantic transparent orchids.

And all this just to get on a train! No wonder two generations of New Yorkers took this station to their hearts and felt betrayed by its loss.
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So sad.

Journaling reads: With the rise of the popularity of the automobile, there was a decline in passenger railway use. The owner of Penn Station was near ruin. A group of Architects banded together to form the Action Group for Better Architecture in New York (AGBANY) captured the media spotlight, but in the end, lost its battle. I did in the end succeeded in creating a historic preservation legislation which saved a good many buildings over the years. Pennsylvania Station was demolished in 1963 to make room for the new Madison Square Garden. The new Penn Station was constructed below the new Madison Square Garden, and although I have never been, I have read that it is cold and lifeless, compared to the grandiose beauty of the original station. It seems there are still many that mourn its loss, and every 10 years or so, articles are written to call to light this horrible loss, which is how I learned of it. It brings a tear to my eye, and puts a lump in my throat to think that something of such beauty would have even been considered to be demolished in the first place. It brings to mind this quote that I found, that unfortunately says it all:

"Any city gets what it admires, will pay for, and, ultimately, deserves. Even when we had Penn Station, we couldnt afford to keep it clean. We want and deserve tin-can architecture in a tinhorn culture. And we will probably be judged not by the monuments we build but by those we have destroyed."
- "Farewell to Penn Station," New York Times editorial, October 30, 1963

Everything by Anna Aspnes:
ArtsyTranfers Downtown (coming soon)
ArtsyLayered Template No. 202 http://www.oscraps.com/shop/Artsy-Layered-Template-No.-202.html
ArtPlay Palette Downtown http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Downtown.html
Downtown WordART No. 1 http://www.oscraps.com/shop/Downtown-WordART-No.-1.html
Downtown FotoBlendz No. 1 http://www.oscraps.com/shop/Downtown-FotoBlendz-No.-1.html
Layered Edge Overlays No. 2 http://www.oscraps.com/shop/Layered-Edge-Overlays-No.-2.html
Distressed Edge Overlay No. 9 http://www.oscraps.com/shop/Distressed-Edge-No.-9-Overlays.html
ArtPlay Palette Thankful Heart (brads) http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Thankful-Heart.html
LoopDaLoop Melange ArtStrokes No. 1
ArtPlay Palette Cultivate (stain) http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Cultivate.html
ArtPlay Palette Escape (spatter) http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Escape.html
ArtPlay Palette Beach (spatter) http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Beach.html
ArtPlay Palette Moments (spatter) http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Moments.html
ArtPlay Palette Vintage Summer (Text brush) http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Vintage-Summer.html
Travel Sampler Paris (postmark) http://www.oscraps.com/shop/TravelSampler-Paris.html
ArtPlay Palette Arrive (brushes) http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Arrive.html
ArtPlay Palette Party (spatter) http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Party.html
Artplay Palette Blessings (spatter) http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Blessings.html
ArtPlay Palette Destiny (stain) http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Destiny.html
Artplay Palette Christmas Magic (scroll design) http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Christmas-Magic.html
ArtPlay Palette Night Before Christmas (spatter) http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Night-Before-Christmas.html
ArtPlay Palette Take Flight (artstroke) http://www.oscraps.com/shop/ArtPlay-Palette-Take-Flight.html
Notebook No. 1 http://www.oscraps.com/shop/NoteBook-No.-1.html

My Process: I began with ALT 202. I added the photo to the large white paint layer. I duplicated the photo 4 more times, and clipped them to the clipping mask of each photo. I brought down the opacity of the background photo a bit. I also played around with the texture layers on the template to give the background photo more texture. I then went to each photo, and changed the levels of each to make them pop. I added a cardstock for the background, and began playing around with the various template layers, applying color and blend modes to the various layers. I added a variety of stains and spatters throughout the page, placing some on blend mode divide to make them white, while others I left black. I added two of the new ArtsyTransfers Downtown, copying some of the layers to use in multiple locations. I changed the color/saturation of some of the layers to better match my page color palette. I added the Title font, adding a stroke in the same color to thicken up the weight. I copied the title, and changed the stroke of the bottom layer to white, and increased its size. I applied a shadow to the bottom layer, detached it and played around with the shadow. I added the ArtStroke, and added the brads to portions of the artstroke. I added the journaling, and building info. I then took a portion of the Downtown WordART, and combined it with other words, placing it in the upper right. I then added the grid brushwork, and placed it on the diagonal to add more texture to the background photo. I added two edge overlays, both using a muted blue color. I added additional brushwork to add some text, and more spatters, plus a few stains, and made myself STOP working on it as I know I could have worked on it for a few more hours!!!

Photo from Library of Congress Archives
Fonts: Maratre, Eras Light ITC,
Thanks for looking