The New York transit system is almost a century old. Age and deferred maintenance have taken their toll on its appearance and accommodation. In the last decade, new strategies for revitalizing the system were developed as a result of a comprehensive capital improvement program. Penn Station and Prospect Park station illustrate the success of this initiative.

When work began on Prospect Park Subway Station, it was in an advanced state of disrepair. The station, built in 1905, suffered from having no clear, identifiable street presence. The new station entrance was redesigned as a gateway portal and entrance plaza to create a strong street identity. Circuitous and potentially dangerous circulation was replaced by direct and safer routes. The design team, including artists, took as its themes imagery from the station's neighborhood, including the adjoining historic Prospect Park, Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and the Children's Zoo. Images of flora appear on mosaic murals and friezes decorating the station, and cast iron – evocative of nearby park structures – was used for the entrance gate.

At Penn Station, New York City's busiest Intermodal transportation hub, which serves 250,000 customers daily, the improvement project transformed an extremely cramped and chaotic space two levels below the street into an attractive, comfortable and efficient facility. Pedestrian circulation patterns form the basis for the new design, which reinforces a sense of movement yet lets customers know here they are and where they are going. An illuminated, arched ceiling defines the connecting concourse spine which organizes the entire space and links platform gates to customer service areas, subways and streets. The confluence of the connecting concourse spine, a new glass and steel entrance pavilion on 34th Street and the newly enlarged 7th Avenue subway entrance create a new public space enhanced by prominent works of art.

CREDITS...

Prospect Park Station

• MTA New York City Transit
• William Nicholas Bodouva + Associates, P.C.
• Susan Tunick

Penn Station

• MTA Long Island Railroad
• TAMS Consultants, Inc.
• R.M Kliment & Frances Halsband Architects
• Andrew Leicester
• Maya Lin

JURY COMMENTS...

In an era when many assume that effective transit service is measured by schedule, speed and cost, it is rewarding to note that the largest transit system in America is also emphasizing a human objective. Explicit in the rebuilding program is a commitment to provide a very inviting and rewarding experience for the rides as they arrive, as they ride and as they depart. Implicit is the assumption that ridership is attracted by the quality of the whole transit experience.