New York’s original Penn Station, designed by McKim, Mead and White and inspired by Rome’s Baths of Caracalla, was probably the city’s most spectacular building. The rise of air travel during the 1950s left Penn Station underutilized and there was as of yet no Landmarks Preservation Commission to save it from the wrecking ball. Demolition took three years and outcry over the loss of the amazing edifice was global. This set of photos hint at some of its grandeur. Click on images for larger versions.

Penn Station's grand exterior in 1911.

Looking like a museum or cathedral in 1911.

Berenice Abbott's great photo of the soaring interior.

Penn Station still gleaming in 1962, the year before it would be torn down. (Image by Cervin Robinson.)

Larger than life on May 10, 1962. (Image by Cervin Robinson.)