The eagle has landed – again.
A century-old pink-granite eagle statue that was once perched atop Manhattan’s original Penn Station and later guarded its successor in the same area is back on display after spending years in storage, The Post has learned.
The historic 1,700-pound stone bird was one of roughly two dozen that adorned the original Beaux Arts transit station between Seventh and Eighth avenues and West 31st and 33rd streets before the site’s controversial demolition in the 1960s.
The bird then graced the famed hub’s revived, expanded Midtown location before ending up in storage again in 2019.
The majestic sculpture only returned to the area March 6, tucked into a pedestrian plaza between 33rd and 34th streets as part of developer Vornado Realty Trust’s massive $2.4 billion revamp of the neighborhood dubbed “the Penn District.”
“Our investment in the future of the Penn District proudly builds on the history of the neighborhood,” said Glen Weiss, co-head of Real Estate and executive vice president at Vornado, in a statement. “It is a privilege to bring back the iconic eagle that once graced Penn Station as part of our transformation of the public realm.”
The eagle was removed from its Midtown perch on Seventh Avenue to a storage facility in 2019 as construction began on the massive local redevelopment project, a Vornado rep said.
The granite statue was then meticulously cleaned and restored, according to Urban Art Projects — the storied firm behind projects such as the redesign of the Big Button in the Garment District and the famous Academy Awards trophies.
“That sculpture was in very good condition, we actually didn’t need to do a lot of restoration on the stone piece,” said Nick Anderson of Urban Art Projects to The Post. “It was mostly [a matter of using] soap and water to clean up cobwebs and other things, dirt that accumulated from being in storage for a while and being around for such a long time.”
The 110-year-old granite statue was constructed by German-born artist Adolph Alexander Weinman, who was commissioned by Pennsylvania Station’s architects to create the eight small and 14 large eagle sculptures for the station’s 1910 opening.
But the birds were scattered across the country soon after the historic building’s demolition, and the 18 known intact eagles are now stationed from Pennsylvania to Missouri. A second eagle owned by Vornado is still in storage and will be restored and unveiled at a later date, a rep said.
The only other eagle in Manhattan can be found at a Cooper Union-owned building in the East Village.
To pay homage to the iconic eagle even further, Urban Art Projects also created an aluminum replica of the eagle over eight months to be displayed at The Perch, a rooftop venue on the 32nd floor of Vornado’s PENN 2 skyscraper.
“The original intent was to place one of the [original] stone eagles to reside on top of PENN 2, but the challenge was it weighed too much for the building to support,” Anderson said. “Really, they’re identical sister pieces now. We maintained the authenticity and artist’s intent there in creating this aluminum version.”
Manhattan’s restored stone eagle remains perched at street level for the public to enjoy.
“It’s a nod back to our past because these pieces were originally meant for the public,” Anderson said. “Artwork is meant for all to experience and enjoy — we find great passion and really enjoy working on these public pieces.”
A plaque honoring the eagle’s significance is set to come at a later date, as well as the debut of the second restored eagle from the original station. Urban Art Projects confirmed “ongoing preservation efforts are now under way” for the second eagle and that the project team will continue maintaining the iconic statues as needed.
“It’s very important to … preserve and document the original form of this eagle, which is such an important part of New York’s history,” Anderson said.
“Sometimes people don’t realize [the eagles] are out there, and now they can see, ‘Hey, that’s a piece of New York City history.’ “
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