2. The Time Telling at 34th Street Penn Station

People walk up steps past New mosaic in Penn Station that depicts a clock framed by an arched window
The Time Telling at Penn Station. Photo by Marc A. Hermann. Courtesy of the MTA.

An iconic clock once hung at the former entrance to New York City’s lost McKim, Mead, and White-designed Penn Station. In her most recent 15 feet high and 14 feet wide glass mosaic, entitled The Time Telling, artist Diana Al-Hadid recreates this famous clock, giving life to a piece of forgotten New York history. 

Inspiration for the mosaic was drawn from a 1943 photograph by Alfred Eisenstadt, which captures the clock hanging above a crowd of servicemen saying goodbye to their loved ones before shipping out. Abstractly reimagining this image, The Time Telling depicts the clock face alongside a blurry crowd of commuters, the image slightly hazy mimicking a fading memory. The mosaic can be found at the 34th Street Penn Station subway stop’s new fully accessible street entrance and fare control area at 7th Avenue and 33rd Street.