3 ms·

Tell me about it! I grew up in the tri-state area, and thought Penn Station was The City for most of my childhood. There's a ghost of this sensation that still

Tell me about it! I grew up in the tri-state area, and thought Penn Station was The City for most of my childhood. There's a ghost of this sensation that still haunts me, when I'm in that part of town. Most of the time, trips to Manhattan were by train. A smaller handful of outings were field trips by school bus or by driving in, and arriving at a parking garage. It wasn't until my late teens that I began to explore the rest of the city, and find new places without the lid of parental supervision or chaperones. It wasn't until my 20's that I realized there were parts of NYC that weren't littered with tourist trap schlock shops brimming with statue of liberty figurines and empire state building miniatures. The really funny part is that my siblings still think that way, and in their mind, when I describe hanging out in the city, I think they imagine me hobnobbing with vagrants in front of the Arby's on 8th ave.

harmmonica 10y ago
Such an interesting comment for me given the plan in the article. I grew up in the tri-state area as well, but north of the city and so my access point was always Metro North and thus arrived at Grand Central. Every time I'd show up there I'd have this unbelievable excitement to see Grand Central's soaring ceiling, the clock at the information booth, even the feeling of the heavy (are they?) bronze doors to 42nd or Lexington... There really is something magical about an epic entrance to a city and our very different experiences speak directly to it. I see the comment about the traffic stats not necessarily justifying spending dollars on the experience of Penn Station, and I partly agree with that, but there's something you can't quantify about how important a first impression is (or maybe you can quantify it; I imagine you, pavement, and all the folks like you, who might have been turned off by that Penn Station experience flipping to Grand Central as the entryway and how many more dollars you might spend in the city over the course of your lives as a direct result of that improved first impression).
- potatolicious 10y ago
  There is a famous and relevant quote about Penn Station (and its modern, terrible replacement): "One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat."

harmmonica 10y ago

Such an interesting comment for me given the plan in the article. I grew up in the tri-state area as well, but north of the city and so my access point was always Metro North and thus arrived at Grand Central. Every time I'd show up there I'd have this unbelievable excitement to see Grand Central's soaring ceiling, the clock at the information booth, even the feeling of the heavy (are they?) bronze doors to 42nd or Lexington... There really is something magical about an epic entrance to a city and our very different experiences speak directly to it. I see the comment about the traffic stats not necessarily justifying spending dollars on the experience of Penn Station, and I partly agree with that, but there's something you can't quantify about how important a first impression is (or maybe you can quantify it; I imagine you, pavement, and all the folks like you, who might have been turned off by that Penn Station experience flipping to Grand Central as the entryway and how many more dollars you might spend in the city over the course of your lives as a direct result of that improved first impression).

potatolicious 10y ago
There is a famous and relevant quote about Penn Station (and its modern, terrible replacement): "One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat."