Back to Show
American Experience
The Destruction of Penn Station
In 1961, the financially strapped Pennsylvania Railroad announced it had sold the air rights above Penn Station. The company would tear down what had once been its crowning jewel to build Madison Square Garden, a high-rise office building and sports complex. Demolition began on October 28, 1963 and would continue for the next three years.
Support Provided By
Season
1:52:23
How a horrific incident of racial violence became catalyst for the civil rights movement.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:52:47
Part Two examines the mounting dispute over strategies and reveals the pervasive racism.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:52:42
The fiery campaign that led to passage of the 19th Amendment, granting women the vote.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:53:15
The woman whose groundbreaking books revolutionized our relationship to the natural world.
53:25
The story of nine young men from Washington who captured gold at the 1936 Olympic Games.
52:12
In the summer of 1910, the largest fire in American history raged in the Northern Rockies.
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:02
His stunning triumph at the 1936 Olympics captivated the world and infuriated the Nazis.
1:20:50
The Stonewall riots marked a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement.
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:20
The story of the American effort to relieve starvation in 1921 Soviet Russia.
1:49:38
The man behind the atomic bomb is put on trial for suspected communist ties in 1954.
Unlock with PBS Passport
52:21
The exceptional life and career of Puerto Rican baseball star Roberto Clemente.
Unlock with PBS Passport
51:32
In June 1943, Los Angeles erupted into the worst race riots in the city to date.