Madison Square Garden is understood to be the world’s most famous arena and likewise the massive transportation hub that sits underneath it—Penn Station—is equally well known.  With a rich history as a part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, in 1900 the world’s largest corporation in the world running 10,000 miles of track between New York and the Mississippi River, today Penn Station is one of the busiest rail stations in the world… the destination of an average of 600,000 travelers every day.

The massive overhaul of the MSG/Penn Station megalith really began with the refurbishing of the Garden in 2013 and continued with the repurposing of the USPS Main Building on 8th Avenue into the massive and architecturally brilliant Moynihan Train Hall that connects to Penn Station, between 2017 and 2021.   But the real issue that faced MTA/AMTRAK planners was what to do with the crumbling and outdated infrastructure of Penn Station.  The result was that in April 2021 Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled the Empire Station Complex, a mixed-use development that included the reconstruction of Penn Station.

They say first impressions are the most critical.  Out of the 20 entrances into Penn Station none are busier or more important than what is considered the main entrance at the corner of 32nd Street and 7th Avenue.  As people enter the interior and descend by way of the extra-long escalators they will see an incredible lighting achievement, made possible a team of consummate lighting professionals including Apogee Lighting, General Contractor Forte Construction, Electrical Contractor Dagnachew and Lighting Designer HLB. AMTRAK was the project owner with the MTA. AECOM Tishman was also involved in the project as a partner.

The job for HLB was to design something that was immediately breathtaking and a signature visual that would tgreet visitors as they descended representing the completely redesigned Penn Station Main Corridor.  Great designers like HLB understand the balance between their vision and what is possible and that’s why time and time again the partnership between HLB and Apogee has yielded such stellar results.  Each depends on the other’s capabilities when it comes to truly creative achievement and the Penn Station Main Entrance is indicative of this partnership.

For Apogee’s part, the triangular array hanging from the ceiling is all custom architectural metal work to HLB’s specifications containing individual IP65 rated Lightscape Diffused Membrane Fixtures powered by our Pixel Luminous Ceiling LED Panels.  These were accented by custom IP65 rated linear fixtures.  Securing the array in its configuration and ensuring it was hung at the proper height and angle was facilitated by Apogee fabrication and engineering of the custom metal superstructure and custom hanging points.  Finally, the initial layer that the eye sees of the circle patterns within the triangular fixture was fabricated by Apogee based again on HLD’s vision.