Destroyed to make way for a new Penn Station
Architect: McKim, Meade, and White
Date Constructed: 1911

A grand and magnificent structure, the old Penn Station was patterned after the Baths of Caracalla and constructed as a befitting entrance to the greatest city in the world. On the outside, it looked like the Parthenon; on the inside, it looked like a cathedral of spiderwebbed steel and glass. It was demolished in 1965 to make way for a newer, more profitable structure, and the public horror at the demolition led to the formation of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which now actively protects historic sites and buildings.