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The Powerhouse
Pennsylvania Railroad Power Station - Long Island City, New York
Built: 1905-09 - Operational: until 1920 - Selective dismantling: 2005-09 - Construction: 2006-09
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Long dormant against the Manhattan skyline, the giant metabolic chambers sprang to life behind scaffold and netting.
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Forced by jackhammer, crowbar and torch to reverse course after decades of coal burning and ultimately suck themselves back within. Demolition and implosion were wholly inadequate to characterize the process. |
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This was catabolization on an industrial scale!
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The smokestacks vanished from the skyline in the summer of 2005 and continued to recede down through the floors, into the basement. Gone by October, their absence continued to impact the building's interior, exposed to the dramatic shadows of fall. |
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2010 marked the 100-year anniversary of Pennsylvania Railroad Company’s completion of their eastward expansion. The power station across the East River from Manhattan in Long Island City generated the steam to power the commuter network and remained a symbol of the nation’s industrial era long after the magnificent Pennsylvania Station’s demolition in the 1960’s. Penn Station's tragedy stands as a symbol for the rise of a robust preservationist consciousness in New York that has since contributed to the preservation of other historic structures like the power station; at least in part.
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Obsolete by the early 1920’s, what became known as the Powerhouse LIC, remained structurally intact until 2005, when the dismantling of its four, 275 ft. smokestacks, roof and remaining industrial apparatus began in preparation for a 21st Century adaptation. |
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This extraordinary period of deconstruction and subsequent transformation was made possible through a 4-year collaboration between developer and artist revealing the unique character of early 20th Century Industry, and a modern vision to preserve its heritage. |
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