New York City’s Penn Station is the busiest train station in the Western Hemisphere and a hub for the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR), New Jersey Transit, Amtrak and two subway lines. The renovation of these spaces is one of the most significant projects undertaken in New York City in a generation. Together, the projects—which opened between 2017 and 2023—significantly relieve congestion and recapture the grandeur of rail travel to New York.

The design brings light to the station’s concourses for the first time in more than 50 years, emanates a sense of warmth and integrates artistic elements into a public space that travelers have not experienced in decades. Over an acre of glass lends itself to the well-lit space.

Moynihan Train Hall Exteriors

Pulp Studio fabricated glass for the new mid-block canopies which complement the original arched windows of the Farley Building. The iconic designs were decorated with Pulp Studio’s D2G™ and triple laminated for a long-lasting finish.

Penn Station and Moynihan Train Hall Interiors

One of the challenges Pulp Studio faced was to reproduce the exacting color aesthetic envisioned by SOM. Two faces on every column feature mirror-backed glass colored in blue at the bottom until rising, in a gradually changing gradient, to a mirror at the top. The shade of blue is the same color throughout the project, creating a sense of continuity not only within the interiors but also connecting with the outside as seen through the glass ceilings.

Pulp Studio also used Pintura graphics to create bright yellow glass signs to identify tracks. Throughout the Amtrak and Long Island Rail Road stations, Pulp Studio’s double-sided graphics, laminated, tempered and heat strengthened glass provide safe and clear wayfaring. Guardrails were chemically strengthened and finished with the Precision Edge® polished finish.