The public got its first glimpse inside Penn Station’s new train hall at the historic Farley Post Office Building during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday.
Moynihan Train Hall — which officially opens Friday — boasts a 255,000-square-foot, $1.6 billion skylit waiting area that will serve as a hub for Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road, adjoining 700,000 square feet of retail and dining space, officials said.
Inside, travelers have access to the massive open hall — with escalator connections to Penn Station’s platforms — as well as a private waiting area with seats for ticketed customers.
The train hall’s grand atmosphere provides a stark contrast to the existing Penn Station, which consists of dimly lit, cavernous underground tunnels that Gov. Andrew Cuomo once likened to Dante’s “Inferno.”
“We built this as a statement of who we are and who we believe we are and who we aspire to be,” Cuomo said as he opened the hall.
“Is it bold, yes, because that is the spirit of New York and that’s the statement we want to make to our visitors, to our children and to future generations.”
In addition to its 92-foot-high skylight, Moynihan features installations by artists Kehinde Wiley, Stan Douglas and Elmgreen & Dragset.
The Wiley piece is a trio of stained-glass images showing breakdancing on a blue sky backdrop, while art duo Elmgreen & Dragset contributed a model of an upside-down skyscraper that hangs from the ceiling.
Eating and shopping options at Moynihan include Magnolia Bakery, H&H Bagels, Starbucks, Damselfly Flower and fancy greeting card seller Lovepop.
Penn Station was built in the 1960s after the much-maligned destruction of its Beaux-Arts predecessor.
The new space is named for the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who cooked up the idea of repurposing the post office building for public transportation in the 1990s.
Construction of the actual train hall has been a slow-roll, however, with multiple bumps in the road since Moynihan first floated the idea. Amtrak got on board with the idea in 2009, and the project finally broke ground the following year.
“One of the first missions Senator Moynihan gave to me when he retired was to make sure that Penn Station was renovated,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer, who served in the senate with Moynihan for two years.
“When I suggested the station be named for him, I knew the result would be something he would be proud of.”