7 iconic buildings across the US that no longer exist — and what's in their place today

Even the most beautiful buildings don't always stand the test of time. Sometimes they're torn down due to mounting maintenance costs after falling into disrepair, and sometimes they'll fall prey to natural disasters. It is why the US has a list of historical places and landmarks that must be preserved no matter what.

HomeAdvisor has chosen seven iconic US buildings and recreated them to show what they would look like today, as well as what's actually standing (or not standing) in their place now.

Keep scrolling to see what some of these lost" buildings looked like.

Penn Station in New York City is a staple of the city — 650,000 people go through it daily. The original Pennsylvania Station was built in 1910, and looked like it was straight out of Rome with its columns and stonework.

Penn Station used to be a lot grander.

Now, it's been moved entirely underground. The new Penn Station is a result of the astronomical costs of the original building's upkeep — it was demolished in 1963.

It was such a travesty to New Yorkers to tear down Penn Station that it jump-started the historical preservation movement in the US. Just two years later, the Landmarks Preservation Commission was formed in New York City. And one year after that, the National Historic Preservation Act was signed into federal law.

The present-day Penn Station is completely underground. It sits underneath two skyscrapers and Madison Square Garden.

The Singer Building was built in 1908, and was at one point the tallest building in the world.

The Singer Building was doomed by its own iconic design— the architect behind it believed that buildings higher than 10 to 15 stories should be set back from the sidewalk. Thus, he built the Singer Building to have its first 12 floors take up an entire city block, but had it become a narrow tower at the top.

Once the Singer Manufacturing Company moved out in 1961, no one knew what was to become of the Singer Building. Its unusual floorplan made it unattractive to big companies.