Conquering Gotham: A Gilded Age Epic: The Construction of Penn Station and Its Tunnels

Written by Jill Jonnes

Narrated by David Drummond

The demolition of Penn Station in 1963 destroyed not just a soaring neoclassical edifice but also a building that commemorated one of the last century's great engineering feats—the construction of railroad tunnels into New York City. Now, in this gripping narrative, Jill Jonnes tells this fascinating story—a high-stakes drama that pitted the money and will of the nation's mightiest railroad against the corruption of Tammany Hall, the unruly forces of nature, and the machinations of labor agitators.



In 1901, the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Alexander Cassatt, determined that it was technically feasible to build a system of tunnels connecting Manhattan to New Jersey and Long Island. Confronted by payoff-hungry politicians, brutal underground working conditions, and disastrous blowouts and explosions, it would take him nearly a decade to make Penn Station and its tunnels a reality. Set against the bustling backdrop of Gilded Age New York, Conquering Gotham will enthrall fans of David McCullough's The Great Bridge and Ron Chernow's Titan.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: May 28, 2007
• ISBN: 9781400174362

Jill Jonnes

Jill Jonnes holds an M.S. from Columbia Journalism School and a Ph.D. in American History from Johns Hopkins University. She is the author of Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify the World; Conquering Gotham: Building Penn Station and Its Tunnels; and Urban Forests: A Natural History of Trees and People in the American Cityscape.

Reviews for Conquering Gotham

[ericcostello-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Engaging history of the construction of New York City’s Penn Station and the monumental challenges, physical and political, that had to be overcome. The technical points are put across with a minimum of jargon, and one grasps the points easily. The choice of illustrations is also good; too often, books like this skimp on them. The author also explains why Penn Station failed, a point that sentimentalists often overlook. One oddity is repeated references to the “Journal American” newspaper, which is anachronistic, since it wasn’t created until much later. Recommended, especially for railroad and NYC buffs.

[myrlton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful history of one the the greatest buildings ever created in America. The tragic, pointless destruction of Pennsylvania Station in the 1960's will always be rememberd as one of the saddest chapters in architectural history. The preservation of historic buildings movement was sparked by the razing of Pennsylvania Station and led to the saving of Grand Central Terminal later in the 1970's. The folly of the American trend to destroy such treasures can be seen in the current movement to recreate Penn Station in the Old Post Office building, located ajacent to the current Penn Station

[gordon361 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this. It was of a proper length for what it covered, plenty of background bio of the people involved and not overly technical in the building specifics. The author is a pleasant find, I have another book of hers in my TBR which will quickly move toward the top.

[phoenixcomet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sometimes confusing, but otherwise interesting recounting of the battle the Pennsylvania Railroad had in getting into Manhattan (Gotham). Conquering Gotham included conquering Carnegie, Tammany, Belmont and civil engineering challenges. Creating an incredible work of art at Penn Station, New York lost an opulence impossible to recapture by the demolition of Charles McKim's and Stanford White's original Penn