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On this day in New York · February 11, 1968

The Garden Rises Over the Wreckage of Penn Station

New York tore down one of its grandest buildings to put up a windowless arena for hockey pucks and Bob Hope's jokes, and the city has been arguing about that trade ever since.

The facts

Opened
February 11, 1968, with a USO benefit hosted by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby
Cost
$123 million to build (about $1.14 billion in 2025 dollars)
Architect
Charles Luckman Associates
Address
4 Pennsylvania Plaza, built directly above the platforms of Penn Station

On February 11, 1968, the current Madison Square Garden opened at 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, stacked directly above the working tracks of Pennsylvania Station. The $123 million arena, designed by Charles Luckman Associates, sat on the site of the old Penn Station's Beaux-Arts train hall, which the Pennsylvania Railroad had begun demolishing in 1963 to pay for the new complex. Opening night was a USO benefit hosted by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, with Hope staging a mock boxing match against former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano in front of the crowd. The next day the building became permanent home to the Knicks and the Rangers.

In their words

The day in the words of the people who were there. Every quote is verbatim, and every source links out so you can check it.

  1. One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat.

    Yale architectural historian Vincent Scully, comparing the old Pennsylvania Station to the low-ceilinged station built beneath the new Garden

    Source: Wikipedia

  2. It was the city Landmarks Preservation Commission, formed as a result of the demolition, that would save Grand Central Terminal from a similar fate just two years later.

    A Great Big City, on the fallout from Penn Station's demolition

    Source: A Great Big City

Why it still matters

Losing the old Penn Station to make room for an arena still stands as the loss that taught New York to protect its buildings, the outrage that pushed the city to create the Landmarks Preservation Commission and, two years later, save Grand Central from the wrecking ball.

Sources

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