Penn Station, whose 1964 destruction and ensuing rebuild is a vital plot point in Mad Men this season, unveiled a new entrance/exit for New Jersey Transit commuters today, reports LoHud.com.
JerseyJim reports:
Autumn in New York has always been a great season, but it just got a little better for commuters at Penn Station.
At 7th avenue and 31st Street, a new entrance greets commuters climbing in and out of the lobby of NJ Transit — saving most folks from the daily merge onto the central stairwell at 32nd street, where the massive flow of LIRR, subway, Amtrak and dazed tourists all funnelled between street level, and the low clearance lobby under Madison Square Garden.
This well located access to all commuters heading downtown, will break up the bottlenecks at 32nd street, and for at least a day or so, we can avoid the AM New York barkers that block the passage at the top of the stairs on 32nd street.
As the August edition of FYI Commuter Update tells us, the design is meant “to capture the style of imagery of the original Penn Station, including its barrel-vaulted ceiling with exposed, open trusses, exposed structure and mosaics that include images of the original station.”
For now, I just hope the windows don’t leak and the place stays clean. But so far, my commute looks to be cut down by two minutes each way!
[photos from JerseyJim, but not the Mad Men one]