Tri-State Presents "Penn Station: Preserving an Eternal Space"
A Free Presentation by Justin Rivers
Playwright and historian Justin Rivers will give a free talk on the over 100-year history of Penn Station, and how its history affects the Penn Station we know today. It will answer the burning question of how Penn Station went from a "civic temple" to the confusing basement we know today.
Playwright, historian and tour guide, Justin Rivers, will speak about his 10-year journey to preserve the old Penn Station by rebuilding it on off-Broadway stage. His production, The Eternal Space, ran at Theatre Row during the 2015 fall season and used over 2500 photos from Penn’s demolition to create various locations in the station from 1963 to 1966.
Justin will take an in-depth look at his popular tour of Penn Station which explores why we have the Penn Station we do today and how it used to fit in the former station. To date over 1200 people have followed him into the current Penn station to discover the many old station remnants still hidden in plain site today.
He will also discuss his role conceptualizing and coordinating the first Penn Station Summit held in two parts this fall at the New York Transit Museum and the Cooper Union Great Hall where over 1000 architects, urban planners, and historians gathered to lend their voice to a future Penn Station that is both user friendly and a timeless gateway worthy of New Jersey commuters and New York City.
Justin Rivers - (Playwright & Producer, The Eternal Space, Contributing Editor, Untapped Cities) Justin wrote The Eternal Space as an examination of an unlikely friendship that arose from Penn Station’s demolition and then became deeply fascinated with Penn’s past, present and future. Currently, Justin is a licensed New York City tour guide giving tours of Penn Station through Untapped Cities. He is author and co-collaborator of The Wonder City, a graphic novel that re-imagines the history of New York City. He is also Founding Director of The Character Connection Initiative, a non-profit organization that brings character education and mindfulness practices to inner-city middle school students and teachers throughout the NYC metro area. He currently lives in Brooklyn.