# Balancing progress

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://paragraph.com/@brandondonnelly), 2013-10-29

beaux-arts, historic-preservation, mckim, mead, new-york-city, penn-station, rail, station, train, uncategorized, white

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Some buildings should be torn down. And others should not be. The challenge, sometimes, is figuring out which is which. But when a great building is torn down, I get upset. 

I get upset because good architecture should represent the place and era in which it was built. This means that, in a lot of cases, it’ll never be replicated. When it’s gone, it’s gone.

Take for example the [old Penn Station in New York City](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Station_\(New_York_City\)). Designed by renowned architectural firm [McKim, Mead, and White](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKim,_Mead_%26_White), the station opened in 1910 and was an iconic Beaux-Arts structure. [Here’s an historic photo](http://www.shorpy.com/node/6456):

In 1963 the building was demolished. It was eventually replaced with a building that, I think most people today would agree, is quite awful. And while it did [teach New York City a lesson about historic preservation](http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2013/10/10-gorgeous-nostalgic-photos-new-yorks-old-penn-station/7384/), the loss still sucks.

Ultimately I think that preservation is about balance. I’m obviously pro-development but, at the same time, I don’t believe in erasing our history.

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://paragraph.com/@brandondonnelly/balancing-progress)*