The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1910-09-09
OPENED
Today Was The Magnificent
New Station
Of The Pennsylvania Rail.
way Co. In New York
Some Interesting Facts About
The Structure

New York, Sept. 8-The new Penn
sylvania terminal station in this city,
the largest and most magnificent
structure of its kind in the world, to-
gether with the tunnels, which con-
meet 1t with New Jersey on the one
side, with Long Island on the other,
were opened to public traffic today.
The formal dedication of the station
and tunnels took place about one
month ago, but actual traffic through
the tubes and in the terminal was not
inaugurated until today. The event
which marks the beginning of new
and important epoch in the develop
ment of New York's transportation
facilities, was duly celebrated in Man
haitian, in Brooklyn, in Long Island
City and other Long Island towns by
enthusiastic popular demonstrations
| today.
The work on this gigantic under
taking, which was originally planned
by the late Alexander j. Cassatt, then
president of the Pennsylvania Rail
road Company, and which will con-
stitute a lasting memorial to his
name, was begun about six years ago.
The construction of the tunnels are
continuous tubes of steel, nearly sew
en- miles long, are lined with con
crete and accommodate each but a sin.
gle track.
The erection of the terminal sta
ton itself was a tremendous under
taking. Before the first stone of the
masonry work of the building could
be laid, which was on June 10, 1908, an
enormous amount of work had to be
done. About five hundred buildings
occupying the area bounded by 7th
and Sth Avenue, 31st and 33d street
had to be torn down, the entire area
excavated to great depth and not un
til then could the actual erection o
the magnificent structure be begun
The New York station of the Penn
sylvania Railroad is the largest build
ing ever constructed at one time, In
the history Of the world. 1t GOV
ers an area of. 2S acres, of which
eight acres are taken up by the termi
nal building itself, the rest by the
yards. The station is beautiful struc
ture built after the Roman-Doric style
of architecture. 1t is constructed o
pink granite, quarried at Milford
: Mass, steel and brick and is divided
into three levels. The lowest part con
tains the tracks, which are fully for
ty feet under the street level and ar,
} reached by numerous stairways con
Meeting the tracks with the waiting
rooms and corridors, etc, on tn,
ground floor.
The main entrance is in the cente
of the 9TH Avenue facads, which eX
tends 430 feet, but all four of th
, fronts are practically of the same de
sign, those on 31st and 33d street
being 74O feet long, nearly TWEEN
ty feet longer than the Capitol il
Washington, The maximum heigh
of the building, above the street level
is 1853 feet. From the street level tn
outside walls rise to a height of six
ty feet, except in the center, where
lofty dome covers the general waiting
room, which is 277 by 103 feet and i
approached by a concourse $40 fee
long and 21O feet wide.
: At the corner of Sth Avenue ant
SD street there is an elevation o
four stories, accommodating the Office
of the railroad company The interio
structure is skeleton framework o
steel resting upon $50 concrete piers
each capable of carrying load o
| 900 tons. There are entrances ol
all sides, giving ample access to tn
monumental structure.
The main waiting room on the con
course is the largest in the world. |
has windows of semi-circular shape
nearly 81 feet wide at the base. IL
addition to the general waiting room
there are smaller waiting rooms 70
men and women, which open into tn,
retiring rooms. The main waiting
room contains the ticket offices, etc
and everything is so perfectly arrang
ed that all confusion is PRACTICAL!
avoided. The trains may also b.
reached direct from the outside b!
: means of wide stairs leading dowl
from fha street IaVpl