Penn Station Demolition (1963)
Manhattan's original Pennsylvania Station, a Beaux-Arts landmark, was demolished to make way for the current Madison Square Garden. The demolition triggered a national outcry that helped found the historic preservation movement.
The station was replaced by a low-slung arena widely judged an architectural loss.
The backlash spurred the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and expanded landmark protections nationwide.
Contrast: a landmark torn down with no replacement effort, versus Salt Lake City's promise to rebuild a facsimile. Both test how much of a building's history survives demolition.
