The Rise and Fall of Penn Station, Chapter 1

The enormous engineering feat and one of the greatest architectural achievements of its time, Pennsylvania Station was torn down after just 53 years. Premieres on PBS American Experience February 18, 2014.

Go to episode

Clip Season 26 Episode 5 Length 08:42 Premiere: 02/18/14

Recent Episodes

Bombshell

S37 E8 Length 1:22:36 Premiere Date 01/06/26

Part 2 | Kissinger | American Experience

S37 E7 Length 1:22:42 Premiere Date 10/22/25

Part 1 | Kissinger | American Experience

S37 E6 Length 1:22:49 Premiere Date 10/14/25

Hard Hat Riot

S37 E5 Length 1:21:16 Premiere Date 09/30/25

Clearing the Air: The War on Smog

S37 E4 Length 52:39 Premiere Date 08/26/25

Mr. Polaroid

S37 E3 Length 52:20 Premiere Date 05/19/25

Clips & Previews

Mapping Engineering in America

Preview Length 02:15 Premiere Date 02/18/14

The Rise and Fall of Penn Station Preview

Preview Length 00:30 Premiere Date 02/18/14

The Rise and Fall of Penn Station, Chapter 1

Clip Length 08:42 Premiere Date 02/18/14

Compressed Air in the Tunnels

Clip Length 02:42 Premiere Date 02/18/14

Confined Labor in the Tunnels

Clip Length 01:24 Premiere Date 02/18/14

Constructing Pennsylvania Station

Clip Length 01:35 Premiere Date 02/18/14

The Destruction of Penn Station

Clip Length 02:59 Premiere Date 02/18/14

Tunneling the East River

Clip Length 02:17 Premiere Date 02/18/14

Hudson River Tunnel Shifting

Clip Length 02:03 Premiere Date 02/18/14

Penn Station Rising

Clip Length 02:14 Premiere Date 02/18/14

Preliminary Worries with the Pennsylvania Railroad Tunnels

Clip Length 02:06 Premiere Date 02/18/14

Penn Station Central Control

Clip Length 03:00 Premiere Date 02/18/14

Inside the MTA's East Side Access Project

Clip Length 08:09 Premiere Date 02/18/14

Specials

Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act [ASL]

Length 53:02 Premiere Date 03/25/25

Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act [Extended Audio Description]

Length 1:00:42 Premiere Date 03/19/25

FDR's Pearl Harbor Speech

Length 01:10 Premiere Date 12/06/16

Olympian Profile: Andrew Campbell

Length 03:06 Premiere Date 08/02/16

Olympian Profile: Katelin Snyder

Length 02:53 Premiere Date 08/02/16

Radio Coverage of the 1936 Olympics

Length 05:28 Premiere Date 08/02/16

Olympian Profile: Bryan Volpenhein

Length 03:25 Premiere Date 07/18/16

Olympian Profile: Caryn Davies

Length 03:23 Premiere Date 07/11/16

Grand Central: Crisis Leads to Opportunity

Length 02:19 Premiere Date 02/04/08

Grand Central: Breaking Ground

Length 01:51 Premiere Date 02/04/08

The Design of Grand Central

Length 01:07 Premiere Date 02/04/08

TV Schedules

Upcoming

No upcoming airdates

Jump to Upcoming Airdates

Recent

Jesse James - S18 E7

Thursday October 15, 2026 2:00 am ET on KET
Thursday October 15, 2026 1:00 am CT on KET
Tuesday October 13, 2026 9:00 pm ET on KET
Tuesday October 13, 2026 8:00 pm CT on KET

Top

The Rise and Fall of Penn Station, Chapter 1

Recent Episodes

Bombshell

Part 2 | Kissinger | American Experience

Part 1 | Kissinger | American Experience

Hard Hat Riot

Clearing the Air: The War on Smog

Mr. Polaroid

Sponsored by:

Clips & Previews

Mapping Engineering in America

The Rise and Fall of Penn Station Preview

The Rise and Fall of Penn Station, Chapter 1

Compressed Air in the Tunnels

Confined Labor in the Tunnels

Constructing Pennsylvania Station

The Destruction of Penn Station

Tunneling the East River

Hudson River Tunnel Shifting

Penn Station Rising

Preliminary Worries with the Pennsylvania Railroad Tunnels

Penn Station Central Control

Inside the MTA's East Side Access Project

Specials

Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act [ASL]

Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act [Extended Audio Description]

FDR's Pearl Harbor Speech

Olympian Profile: Andrew Campbell

Olympian Profile: Katelin Snyder

Radio Coverage of the 1936 Olympics

Olympian Profile: Bryan Volpenhein

Olympian Profile: Caryn Davies

Grand Central: Crisis Leads to Opportunity

Grand Central: Breaking Ground

The Design of Grand Central

TV Schedules

Upcoming

Recent

Jesse James - S18 E7

Explore KET