Newark Penn Station

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia. At its peak in 1882, the Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest railroad (by traffic and revenue), the largest transportation enterprise, and the largest corporation in the world. -wiki

Designed by McKim, Mead & White, architects of the late, lamented old Penn Station in New York, the Newark terminal post-Classical with Art Deco detailing. It is listed on both the state and national historic registers.

main waiting room

The main waiting room still looks much as it did in 1935. During the day, natural light fills the room through 30-foot-tall windows, illuminating walls covered with rose yellow travertine and acoustic material. Air is circulated from slots in the ceiling and through grills in the benches below.
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The ceiling & chandeliers

Four large globe chandeliers hang high overhead in the waiting room. Each of the orbs weighs 800 pounds and is five feet in diameter. The ceiling, gently curved and covered in blue acoustic tiles with undulating bronze accents, was revealed during an earlier restoration almost three decades ago.
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Chandeliers encircled with white-bronze bands

depicting the Zodiac signs

The floor

Still intact after nearly 90 years of daily use, the waiting room floor is pink terrazzo with black and yellow floral motifs, outlined by embedded brass strips.

Waiting room benches

Constructed of grey walnut, the waiting room benches feature inlaid aluminum decoration including a representation of the Pennsylvania Railroad logo and are “numbered, to facilitate meeting,” according to the opening-day program.

Raymond Plaza West

Aluminum decorations are everywhere in the station, most prominently surrounding windows and doors, both inside and out. Common in art deco design, stylized foliage, flowers and stars coexist with the geometric patterns surrounding the main waiting room’s Raymond Plaza West & Market Street entrance.

Medallions/Plaques

Decorative plaques, tracing the evolution of travel in America, are mounted high on the 46-foot walls of the main waiting room. Along with this representation of a Native American on horseback, other examples include a clipper ship, stagecoach, steam locomotive and airplane.

Medallions/Plaques

The main waiting room has medallions showing the history of transportation, from wagons to steamships to cars and airplanes, the eventual doom of the railroad age

aluminum details

In the concourses leading to the platforms, more aluminum details can be foun

Train Platform

Waiting rooms along the train platform are made of aluminum, complete with art deco design flourishes.

The bell-shaped girders

The bell-shaped girders in the roof of Penn Station.

Day and Night

Wopo Holup created twenty-eight stainless steel globes, mounted on bollards. “Day and Night” represents the world we live in. Each globe uniquely displays the earth’s rotation around the sun, dependent on time. The globes symbolize the cycle of day to night – the underlying rhythm to our lives.

Connecting the Dots

Kate Dodd created the “Connecting the Dots” mural. The mural displays images of constellations and astrological configurations which connect with the interior Newark Penn Station stellar art installations. This installation continues the reference to connection- linking destinations through transportation.

Rosettes

Stephen Robins created “Rosettes.” Two rosettes adorn the front of the concourse façade. These rosettes complement the architecture of the original station.

Mel Clark created “The New Spirit Ensemble” mosaic mural installation of colorful interacting musical images, paying homage to the rich jazz history in Newark.

Predecessor to Light Rail

City Subway: The Predecessor to Light Rail

Ebb and Flow

Michele Oka Doner created “Ebb and Flow,” 50 bronze icons of the railroad scattered into terrazzo depicting movement. The bronze floor insets lead to the Gateway overpass.

View from a PCC operator Perspective

Hiroshi Murata created a tile mural of the inside of the old President’s Conference Committee (PCC) cars along with the names of the stations prior to the Newark Light Rail extension. This would be what PCC operator would see while operating on the alignment

Grigory Gurevich is well known for his sculpture, with his most famous work being The Commuters. Gurevich had the life-sized figures, as well as a ticket booth, cast in bronze.

Canopy

Like many Art Deco buildings, Penn Station also uses a lot of metal (aluminum) for decoration. This includes the window frames, entrance door frames, and even the canopy, which features solar system motifs.

Hideous glass walkway (Gateway overpass)

Seen by many as an incongruous intrusion on the art deco edifice, a pedestrian bridge was added in 1972, connecting the station with a nearby hotel and office complex.

main façade

Newark Penn Station's main façade features two tall entrance arches: one with a clock at the top and the other with a zodiac motif. Astronomical and astrological themes were common motifs in American Art Deco of that era.

Gantalism

Jerry Gant created five, painted steel patterns inserted into the median fencing between Penn Station and the Gateway Center. The focus was to reflect on the past and present railway vehicles, while connecting them to the modern commuter

“Turning-True New-Arc”

Richard Criddle and Debora Coombs created a 12-foot high Indiana limestone sculpture called “Turning-True New-Arc” representing the nuts and bolts of Newark. It has a compass mounted in the top center.

reliefs / terra cotta

The station features an arch spanning the local road, topped with eagles, lion head reliefs, and green terra cotta decorations. The station's name is displayed in cast aluminum letters.