Mention one new detail that you learned from the documentary segment that none of your classmates have commented on previously.
18 thoughts on “From the End of the War to the Fall of Penn Station”
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By watching this segment of this documentary, I have learned about the destruction and controversy caused by the Cross Bronx Expressway. Having lived with this infrastructure my entire life, it is difficult to imagine the city without it. I did not witness its construction, therefore, it feels as though it was always present, with buildings appearing around it later. Unfortunately, this was far from the truth. The Expressway, 225 feet wide and 7 miles long, was a project spearheaded by Robert Moses, the man who modernized New York City’s infrastructure, literately and figuratively paving the future for the automobile. The construction of the Expressway led to the uprooting of a community known as East Tremont, populated by people of Jewish, Irish, German, and African American heritage. Moses built the expressway in a straight line, making no attempt to build around existing homes and businesses. When the community learned of his plans in the winter of 1952, they were given 90 days to leave. The community tried to fight the construction of the Expressway. Robert F. Wagner, who was running for mayor, promised that he would stop its construction. Upon his election, Wagner discussed the construction of the Expressway with Moses, ultimately approving his plan. Aside from displacing residents and business owners, the Expressway another difficulty: avoiding existing infrastructure. Moses had to blast though the ridged area, carefully avoiding subway lines, storm sewer mains, gas mains, electric lines, telegraph lines, sewer lines, and utility lines. In spite of these complications, Moses was able to build the Cross Bronx Expressway. Overall, while he was able to connect the boroughs of New York City, Moses eliminated the neighborhood of East Tremont. This event displays the unopposed political power he held at the time. On one hand, the Expressway was constructed for the greater good of the city, becoming vital to transportation. On the other hand, hundreds of minorities and immigrants lost their homes and livelihoods. This raises questions of how individuals should be treated by society. Should the qualms of individuals be ignored in favor of the majority? Could Moses have found a way to compromise with the residents of East Tremont? Is destruction always necessary for advancements and improvements?
I was shocked by the Title One bill passed by the federal government. The document allowed developers to remove thousands of low income residents from their homes to make improved housing. However, the bill back fired as many developers had no interest in making affordable housing. Thus, the developers had their own discretion on developing the land. Most built housing for the middle to upper class, while other didn’t develop the land at all. The irresponsible acts of the developers left many low income families on the streets. Some moved into other low income housing areas highlighting the segregation of race and class in New York City.
Behind the unjustified seizing of land was the well-respected Robert Mosses. He was the man that had built the bridges, highways, and parks that greatly benefited society. However, one finds Robert Moses using his power as the construction coordinator not in the best interest of society. With complete control of the federal funds appropriated, Mosses lent out the money to special interest developers who were only looking out for themselves. Only a select few benefitted from the Title One while the masses perished. Robert Mosses reputation will forever be tainted by his involvement with the Title One project.
One thing I found interesting was the impact automobiles had on New York City, even with public transportation. Cars were seen as a “rich mans’ toy”. They required an indoor garage and chauffeur. In 1900 there were only 8,000 cars and majority of them were in New York City because of the bustle and hustle of New York. Henry Ford started to market his cars towards not just the rich but to the middle class as well. I am so surprised at the connection between cars and the movement into Long Island. I never would’ve thought that because people had this unlimited geographical access with automobiles that they would start to expand beyond city borders. When Jones Beach opened in 1929 and from there on forward, people started to move into more suburban areas. Robert Moses completely changed the outlook of the city. People started to feel the desire to leave the crowded city for a more open spaced living area.
Sorry: Please ignore me previous post. It was an accident. Below is my post for this video.
A fascinating fact from this documentary segment is the impact the United Nations had on New York City. It was a way to bring New York into the prosperous future it missed out on from the 1930s. The Great Depression called for a dramatic change to uplift the spirit of New York. Within five years, New York residences were changed from the ground up to provide better housing. New York’s new project: to become the capital of the world. Along the East River, was the greatest housing project, the United Nation Building. E. B. White states that the UN Building became a shelter for all governments. The spark for this new project was when the United States returned from the second world war as an emerging, powerful country. I’m surprised that New York city was not the first choice for the placement of the UN building. Initially the leading architect considered Westchester and Philadelphia. The UN brought a new architectural taste with its structure and glass. From then on forward, New York became an office capital from 1950 to 1960. It was forever changed by the new UN building. There was a “feeling” that corporations had that drove them to New York.
For a century, the factories in New York City supplied the jobs and money for new immigrants to rise in the country and it saddened me to see that after the waves of the Irish, the Italians, the jews, the blacks and Puerto Ricans were left with the short ends of the stick. They arrived in the city at a time when New York was beginning to face heavy competition from manufacturing plants in the west, in the south, and even in their own suburbs. This really stuck a chord with me because one of my earliest memories was walking up the winding staircases of the garment factory on the corner of Grand and Allen, which has now become a TD Bank and a clothing shop, that my mom worked at after school one day. I remember her giving me some raisins. The last wave of immigrants- the Puerto Ricans, the black, and the Chinese never got the opportunities for social advancement as the previous generations of immigrants had and this may be the reason why so many of these people, after a generation of hard work and struggle, still live in poverty.
One thing I found interesting in this documentary was Title 2. This was essentially an act by the federal government to develop the suburbs. It instituted mortgage guarantees for banks to encourage them to loan money to individuals, who might not be credit worthy, in order to help them buy a home. The government promised to pay the loan in the event that the individuals could not pay it back. This promise made banks eager to loan to those planning to buy homes. However, this did not apply to multiple family housing, only private housing that is most often found outside the city. Therefore, the government directed money from city housing into suburb development. The newly constructed highway system also contributed to making the development of suburbs possible because people could commute to work in the city and return home to the suburbs fairly easily. Many people viewed this policy as “anti-city” and were very angry because, theoretically, these new policies were supposed to help the city develop, while in reality they directed the money that was necessary for development away from New York City.
What I found most interesting from the documentary segment was the demolishment of Penn Station in New York. From the images in the video, it looked absolutely marvelous. A quote that I thought put everything into perspective is by Vince, “We used to come to New York like gods when we came to Penn Station, now we come in to the present Penn station like rats.” For one, I had never knew that the old Penn Station existed. I had always thought of Penn station as the one current today, not one with beautiful architecture and columns like the monuments in ancient Greece. Of course it is understandable that places like Penn Station are businesses and if profits are not made, then they must seek to other opportunities and that was what lead to the destruction of the station. However, I feel like the government had a responsibility to preserve such a tremendous work of art. Even so, the destruction of Penn Station really did mark a transition of New York into it’s age of automobiles and eventually lead to the construction of Madison Square Garden, a epicenter of entertainment for the city.
One surprising thing I learned from this documentary is the focus Robert Moses had on his public works projects and the way in which he did not let anything stop him from completing his projects. For example, when building the Cross Bronx Expressway, Moses simply sent a letter to all of the residents of the area he planned to demolish, stating that they had to move out for the sake of the project. When fought against due to outrage from residents, he argued that if the billions of dollars that went into such projects depended on the very few people who lived in those neighborhoods, nothing would ever be built. He stated, “there would be no highways, there would be no housing, there would be no public improvements.” Robert Moses saw his projects as meeting the needs of the majority, therefore it was necessary to overstep the wants of the minority. For such arguments, those who tried to battle his projects which lost them their homes, never stood a chance. Robert Moses followed a similar theme in most of his public works projects, as he used any means necessary to complete them. The wants and complaints of those who stood in his way went unheard as he built many of the structures which we now take advantage of on a daily basis. I found it interesting that a man who was so well known and respected for the progress he made in New York City, did not try to approach the subject with more sensitivity to those who were affected. As people were forced out of their homes, his instructions were directives and did not take into account the opinions of those whom he was displacing.
One thing that I learned from the documentary was that Puerto Ricans who migrated to New York did not have to go through the immigration process for they were already citizens. It was interesting that they did not share the same Ellis Island experience as many other did when first entering the country. They came in hundreds of thousands by plane rather than by ship as many of immigrant families have when escaping similar political terminals. One might expect because they are already US citizens and did not suffer such a treacherous journey across the Atlantic, Puerto Ricans would fit right in the city. However, they became the newest addition to the lowest race on the New York social ladder as it was mentioned in the documentary. They lived in slums and could only find menial jobs that they were mostly stuck with due to racism and discrimination. Puerto Ricans simply came to New York out of all the places during the most difficult time for a minority to enter the blue collar workforce as there were not many opportunities for these thousands of people. As stated in the documentary, if they were to go anywhere else, they would’ve had more success finding wanted industrial labor than New York who was entering a post-industrial economy. It’s ironic how the city with Ellis Island, the city that unofficially represented the country, the city that was suppose to be the first step for many immigrant families in the past who came to America for the same purpose, had failed thousands of Puerto Ricans when they came seeking for a better life to live.
I learned from this segment that the idea of outsourcing labor to wherever production costs are lower began with moving industry jobs from cities to suburbs, specifically with the loss of industrial jobs in New York City that were relocated to the suburbs. Its startling that the number of industrial jobs went from over a million in 1950 to under two hundred thousand by the the end of the twentieth century. This shift can be partially attributed to the effects the war had on the economy along with the creation of the highway system. Both lead to the development of the nation as a whole and drew away from New York and other industrial cities in the north east.
I think it is interesting that eventually the industrial jobs left the suburbs as well to move down south, and today most industrial jobs have been relocated to other countries where wages are significantly lower and therefore so are production costs. This has become a significant issue as many Americans feel that this outsourcing of jobs has led to the increase in unemployment. However it seem this was just the eventual outcome of the progression of industrial jobs beginning in the post war era in New York.
One interesting detail from this documentary was how the great celebration in New York City following the end of World War 2 could be seen as the symbol for the end of the dark days of New York. Prior to the war, New York Struggled. Unemployment was high, homelessness was at new records, and people dreamed of a better state for their city. However, the end of the war and the Japanese surrender brought a new age to New York – one filled with great optimism for the city and the future. As the city celebrated like never before following the end of the war, ships carrying those who fought in the war arrived in New York with applauds from thousands of onlookers. At this moment, it was clear that New York was united and stronger than ever before. It was clear that New York would be soon on its way to the great glory we all recognize the city for today.
Something that I found interesting in the documentary was the decline of the New York Harbor although it was very unfortunate. For nearly three and a half centuries, the New York Harbor served as a key component to the city’s prosperity and growth as one of America’s most important ports. In 1950, there were more than 100,000 longshoremen in the city. But because of the shift from transportation of goods by water to containerization, it led to a sudden decline in industrial jobs as well as harbor jobs. Unlike shipment via waterway, containerization, shipping only required a few laborers and many acres of land to park 18 tractor trailers. What was once crowded by countless liners, the harbor now only houses one stationary boat. The Intrepid is now a boat turned museum that displays what was once a very lucrative industry in New York City.
Something that was even further enhanced in this documentary was the significant influence Robert Moses had in New York City. One can even go as far as to say that he was somewhat manipulative in his dealings. Even Fiorello La Guardia himself once was lamenting over the amount of power that Robert Moses had. According to the documentary, Robert Moses wanted to be the construction coordinator. There was a bill that the legislature would pass that would create the office of construction coordinator. It was implied as well that the construction coordinator would represent the city in all its dealings with the government and so that any city request for federal money would have to go through him. Hence, Moses would be able to have control over public housing, the federal highway money, etc. I was shocked to find out how Moses manipulated this in order to gain control over the federal funds. Robert Moses was definitely an influential person in regards to shaping the structure of New York City but I was surprised to find that Moses used his power and influence to wrest control of federal funds in such a manipulative way.
From this documentary segment, I learned not only that the original Pennsylvania Station had been built and demolished, but that even after only standing for half of a century, there was recognition for its artistic value and cultural heritage as plans were made to tear it down.
In the Spring of 1961, the Pennsylvania Railroad was in deep financial trouble and therefore made plans to tear the magnificent building down in order to make way for a hopefully more profitable office high rise and a sports facility. I expected there to be some discontentment, however I also expected much of that to be canceled out and left unsaid considering that a new and exciting sports center would be coming to New York City. Out with the old and in with the new – a mentality I thought New Yorkers at the time could resonate with as the City became bigger and better than ever. However, that was not the case as a small coalition rose in protest, and I believe many others were silently opposed to the destruction of Penn Station as well.
The strong sentiment for a such a building is perplexing. Yes, the station was breathtaking, but how much historical value can be in a building only 50 years old? Furthermore, the planners wouldn’t replace such a beautiful building with a bland box of steal. If I were alive at the time, I would have imagined that the replacing structures would obviously bring some an amazement and beauty of their own to the city. My sentiment was not shared with the people of that time and perhaps I need to experience the original Penn Station in person to fully grasp its influence and the love people had for it. Perhaps that is testament to its greatness and its strong tie to New York. “It was one of the worst things to happen to an American treasure.” “No one was convinced that … New York would permit this monumental act of vandalism against one of the largest and finest landmarks of its age.“ (Ada Louise Huxtable) “Could you tear down the Grand Canyon?” These three quotes, I believe, teach us of Penn Station’s value to New Yorkers, and give us a glimpse of what a loss it was, before the structure even lost a tile.
By watching this segment of the documentary, I learned about the effect that air travel had on immigration into the United States. A year after World War 2, Trans Tropic Airline offered the first flight service from San Juan to New York, and many Puerto Ricans took advantage of the opportunity to relocate. Immigrants traveling by plane did not go to Ellis Island to get pictures taken, and the process of entering the U.S. was eventually streamlined, while remaining secure. In a sense, this made coming to the States more welcoming and much simpler for foreign citizens. As air travel expanded, many South Americans were able to immigrate to New York. This, complemented with the decline of New York Harbor, led to increasing populations of Hispanic immigrants into the city. Many of these populations remain prominent in neighborhoods to this day, because immigrants settled together within the five boroughs after immigrating.
The fall of the original Pennsylvania Station is an interesting fact to me, primarily because I have traveled to and from the present Penn Station in the past. The fall of Penn Station is more a symbolic loss than a physical loss. It was the place where many people would have the pleasure of arriving, a truly great destination and arrival point for non-New Yorkers and New Yorkers aside. The belief that new and efficiency is better than the old and traditional architecture was the primary motive behind the fall of Penn Station. This is the case with much of New York City; it is a recurring theme. There is not as much of historic New York City that is left because of this motivating mentality to always create something newer, bigger, taller, shinier. However, this causes the loss of much of precious history, and Penn station is one such unfortunate occasion.
One detail that I found particularly interesting from this segment of the documentary is the incredible genius that is Robert Moses. Robert Moses had a vision in which the entirety of New York, including its suburbs, was a canvas that could be used for his design. Moses built roads across and around the city, he built many of our city’s parks, and he also contributed to the creation of the highway system which allowed traffic to flow endlessly. These accomplishments paved the way for Moses to earn the First National Award. Again, Robert Moses rebuilt the city during the tragic era that is the Great Depression. It is incredible that a man could have the innovation and drive to be so daring and invaluable during an era that evoked the opposite. Moses architectural vision is the reason why the city remains as united as it is today.
Although we know about the immense power that Robert Moses held over New York city during the 20th century, I did not know the extent of his power until this documentary. At the height of his Robert Moses held 12 government positions in New York city which meant that he controlled all aspects of New York City development. He wasn’t the man who controlled not just the roads but also the bridges, the buildings, the houses, the businesses and much more. Nothing in New York city could be built without his approval and I think this is a scary yet interesting power role. This basically meant that the New York that we see today was essentially built by him. It is his vision that we are living in and he had chosen to give a different set of order in his career to the development of New York city, we would not have the same city that we have today.
I also thought it was interesting that the man who was known for connecting New York to the outer boroughs and Long Island with an unprecedented networks of roads did not know how to drive. After he failed his first driving test, Robert Moses did not learn how to drive and instead had a personal driver who drove him around in a luxurious car as he surveyed the land that he transformed over the course of his career.