Photo: courtesy Michael Gericke/Pentagram
When it was completed in 1910, New York’s Pennsylvania Station was one of the city’s most celebrated buildings; demolished and rebuilt underground in the 1960s, it’s now a labyrinthine mess–dark, confusing, and dirty. Yale architecture historian Vincent Scully famously quipped: “One entered the city like a god; one scuttles in now like a rat.”
Help is on the way. In 2020, an airy new train hall is scheduled to open, but before that happens the station is taking steps to improve commuters’ experiences, starting with better circulation and wayfinding. The West Concourse, the renovation’s first phase, just opened, and it features supergraphics designed by Pentagram partner Michael Gericke and his team.