Events & News

Media Mentions: Penn Station on Mad Men

October 14, 2009
Article from the Fall 2009 Newsletter

The demolition of Pennsylvania Station features prominently in the August 23, 2009 episode of AMC’s Mad Men. The hit show, which depicts life at the New York advertising firm Sterling-Cooper in the early 1960s, is known for its dedication to historical accuracy and realistic recreation of the time period. During a meeting with client Madison Square Garden Corporation, agency executives discuss mounting public opposition to the redevelopment plan and mention an article by Ada Louise Huxtable, whose columns in The New York Times alerted New Yorkers to the station’s impending destruction. Although his job is to quell opposition to the plan, one of the ad executives laments the loss of the beautiful old station, in an interesting vocalization of the tension between developers and preservationists. Mad Men airs Sundays at 10:00 p.m. on AMC. 

Above: Picketers outside of Penn Station in 1961; Courtesy of David Hirsch