There’s a Play about the Demolition of Penn Station, See “The Eternal Space” at the Center for Architecture

Architecture and preservation fans rejoice: there’s a play called The Eternal Space currently in the works about the demolition of Penn Station. We’ve been following the development of this project since the initial readings in late 2012 and are excited to announce that there will be an official event at the Center for Architecture on November 6th to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Penn Station’s demolition which began on October 28, 1963.

Select scenes will be read at this event, as well as honoring unique photography of the demolition from some of the subject’s most noteworthy photographers including Norman McGrath, Peter Moore, Alexander Hatos, Ron Ziel, and Aaron Rose. The producers of the play have amassed an incredible collection of more than 500 photographs that have never been published.

The Eternal Space is a two-man play that begins with a coincidental meeting in 1963, launching a three-year conversation about the value of old and new, as one man fights to keep the station standing while the other is instrumental in taking it down. Using original photography from the journalists who documented the station’s destruction and recreations of broadcast recordings as powerful backdrops to the story, The Eternal Space charts an unlikely friendship during the social and cultural upheavals of the mid-1960s.

“The Eternal Space dramatizes the conflicts between those who would replace our architectural legacy in the name of progress, and those whose frame of reference carries heavy intellectual baggage. Is reconciliation possible? Come hear the scintillating dialogue in a play that makes you think twice about what we take for granted,” said Rick Bell, Executive Director of AIANY. “We invite architects, historians and urban enthusiasts to attend this unique event.”

The event will take place at the AIANY Center for Architecture’s in the Gerald D. Hines Gallery at 536 LaGuardia Place, New York, NY, at 6:00 PM. The event is free with registration here.

Join us for an upcoming tour of the Remnants of Penn Station:
Tour of the Remnants of Penn Station