Ephemera

The most common maps of Penn Station's interior are ephemeral, and are usually found on MTA fliers and posters. They are designed to guide commuters to their trains and to exit the station, but rarely provide spatial orientation to the station as a whole or to the outside environment of the city. In its current configuration, Penn is divided into three "zones" for its three railroad services - Amtrak, Long Island Railroad, and New Jersey Transit. Map ephemera generally details one of these areas, without providing context to the rest of the station.

Below are examples of map ephemera relating to Penn Station.

2010 Long Island Railroad Area Map
This map is found on the LIRR's website, and is also used in poster form on kiosks throughout the LIRR zone of the station.

Source: Long Island Rail Road


2003 New Jersey Transit Area Map 
A map of the NJ Transit area found on a flier.

New Jersey Transit. "Secaucus Junction." Newark: New Jersey Transit, 2003. Print.
Collection: New York Public Library Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division

2004 Full Station Map  

This map, from a flier which advises commuters how to connect to area airports via Penn Station, provides a rare (although distorted) view of the entire station.

"Airport Connections Through NY Penn Station: to Newark Liberty International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport." New York: The Port Authority of NY & NJ, 2004. Print.
Collection: New York Public Library Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division

1960's Station Pamphlet 
Produced by the LIRR, this pamphlet was designed to help commuters navigate the changes to Penn during the demolition of the old station and the layout of the new station. It is also a rare piece of ephemera which provides a map of the entire station. This map can be used to track changes to the station's layout since the 1960s.

The Long Island Railroad. "Inside Penn Station, or How to Beat the System While We Raze the Old and Raise the New."  [N.p.]: The Long Island Railroad, c1964.
Source: The Municipal Art Society of New York

The brochure may be downloaded here.