Saving Place Iwan Baan-Grand Central Terminal-NYC-Landmarks Law-50th Anniversary-Museum of CIty of New York ExhibitionPhotograph from Saving Place: 50 Years of NYC Landmarks by Iwan Baan

This month, we’ve been actively covering the wonderful preservation exhibition Saving Place: 50 Years of NYC Landmarks at the Museum of the City of New York, from a preview of the exhibition, a look at the unique architectural remnants on display, to an interview with the curators. We asked co-curator Andrew Dolkart to share with us five losses and five success stories in the history of landmarking in New York City. Here were his picks:

5 Lost Landmarks of NYC

We’ll begin with Dolkart’s picks of significant buildings that were lost before the passing of the New York City Landmarks Law in 1965.

5. Penn Station

Penn Station-Vintage Photograph-McKim Mead White-Train Station-Remnants-Tour-NYCImage via Wikimedia Commons, Library of Congress

Penn Station, of course,” Dolkart tells us. Indeed, the loss of the original Pennsylvania Station by McKim, Meade & White is commonly referred to as the building that galvanized support for landmarking in the city. Photographs of its demolition, which took an agonizing three years, continue to haunt us today, but amazingly, remnants of the original station abound with many within the existing much-maligned structure, the subject of a popular tour we give here at Untapped Cities. In addition, Saving Place: 50 Years of NYC Landmarks has the head of an eagle that once adorned the facade of Penn Station.