THIS forlorn subway entrance, with its rolldown aluminum gate (that I have never seen open) is actually all that remains of the old Pennsylvania Hotel, built in 1919, closed in 2020 and razed in 2023. The hotel was named for the railroad that operated the depot across the street, and slowly sank from preeminence to decrepitude. The gate can be found on West 32nd Street east of 7th avenue; the hotel once towered above it. It’s been an empty patch for two years, as real estate developers and New York State can’t agree on what to do with the space. The entrance features the subways’s standard Unimark black and white signs with the red bullets of the 7th Avenue IRT 1, 2 and 3 trains. Above the sign, you can see a previous generation of subway signage.
Often subway entrances are all that remain of old buildings. Another instance can be found at the entrance to the DeKalb Avenue BMT subway. It was entered through one of the buildings at the SW corner of the Flatbush Avenue Extension and DeKalb that were razed, but the entrance had to be retained and any new building that goes up there will have to retain it. In this Street View you can see that’s just what happened. The same situation may be happening at the old Pennsylvania Hotel.
Check out the ForgottenBook, take a look at the gift shop. As always, “comment…as you see fit.” I earn a small payment when you click on any ad on the site.
5/20/25
11 comments
The Hotel Pennsylvania’s telephone number was “PEnnsylvania 6-5000″, which Glen Miller turned into a big-bank hit in 1940. If you dial (yes, we still say :”dial” even though we haven’t used actual dials in decades) you will reach a recording telling you that the Hotel is permanently closed.
More Forgotten and Lost signage in the DeKalb photo is the Newsstand.
Not too many of them exist anymore in these Digital times.
MetroCards will be gone at the end of 2025.
MetroNorth has stopped selling MetroCards in their ticket machines as of May 25, 2025. It would be reasonable to assume that the LIRR machines are also affected.
What with the office market having been WFH’ed into oblivion the developer’s original plans for an office building are going nowhere fast. Last I heard there were plans to put pickleball courts on the site as a placeholder (2023 called, they want their sport back).
I continue to be horrified that they did not convert the hotel into permanent housing. The demolition of the hotel is a travesty in the midst of a severe housing crisis.
The destruction of the historic building is the travesty. Should have been renovated / refreshed maintaining the artifacts, instead of razing it.
“….these stunning machine age wall lamps,which once graced the entrance to a
subway station,are now being offered exclusively for sale to you…”
There is an open entrance on 33rd Street
The entrance shown in the photo was at the south end of the IRT #1,2,3 trains. It led to the uptown #1 train platform, which via an undergrade passageway connected to the #2/3 trains in the middle platform and the downtown #1 on the west side of the street; beyond there was a direct entry into Penn Station’s Hilton Passageway, named for one of the hotel names on this site. Except for the entrance in the photo, the passageways and stairs are still in daily use. When the replacement building is constructed on this site, this entrance will most likely be resurrected.
I was in the area a few days ago. The entrance is now behind the standard blue construction walls. You can still make out the “building” and the 34 St Penn Station sign upward to the top.