Rise and Fall of Penn Station

In 2016 the Colrain Historical Society celebrates the 120^th anniversary of the Shelburne Falls and Colrain Street Railway with a season-long focus on transportation in Colrain’s history. But our first program on Thursday, April 14 is a tip of the (conductor’s) hat to another anniversary – 50 years of the National Historic Preservation Act.

Penn Station in 1911. Photo source: Wikimedia Commons.

For Thursday’s program we’ll show the PBS documentary film “The Rise and Fall of Penn Station,” which tells the story of building the magnificent terminal of the Pennsylvania Railroad in New York City in 1910. But just 53 years after the station’s opening, the building was demolished. The heartbreaking loss inspired the city to establish the Landmarks Preservation Commission, sparing Grand Central Terminal a similar fate. Larger than that, it sparked the modern preservationist movement, culminating with the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966.

For any town grappling with the fate of its remaining historic structures and character, this film serves as a great conversation-starter. It will be shown at 7:30 p.m. in the Stacy Barn behind the Pitt House at 8 Main Road in Colrain. The program, which follows a business meeting at 7:00, is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For more information call Belden at 624-3453.