40°45′10″N 73°58′38″W / 40.75278°N 73.97722°W / 40.75278; -73.97722

Grand Central's facade at night
42nd Street exterior at night

Grand Central Terminal is a major commuter rail terminal in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, serving the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem, Hudson and New Haven Lines. It is the most recent of three functionally similar buildings on the same site.[1] The current structure was built by and named for the New York Central Railroad, though it also served New York Central's successors as well as the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.

19th century

An ornate railroad terminal
Grand Central Depot

20th century

  • 1900 (1900): Grand Central Depot is redesigned and reopens as Grand Central Station.[3]
  • 1902 (1902): A crash in the Park Avenue Tunnel spurs the railroad's electrification and a new terminal.
  • 1903 (1903): Architecture firms are invited to compete in designing Grand Central Terminal.
  • June 19, 1903 (1903-06-19): Grand Central Terminal's construction begins.[4]
  • February 1904 (1904-02): Warren and Wetmore, along with Reed and Stem, agree to become the "associated architects of Grand Central Terminal", co-designing the terminal.[5]
  • June 5, 1910 (1910-06-05): The last train departed the old Grand Central Station; demolition of the building was to start later that day.[6]
  • February 1, 1913 (1913-02-01): Grand Central Terminal's opening is celebrated with a private dinner for the architects at the Grand Central Terminal Restaurant.[7]
  • February 2, 1913 (1913-02-02): Grand Central Terminal opens.[8]
A large clock and stone sculptural group adorning the building's facade
Glory of Commerce, a sculptural group by Jules-Félix Coutan
  • 1914 (1914): The Glory of Commerce sculpture is installed on the terminal's facade.[9]
  • December 1914 (1914-12): The "New York Central Railroad" is reestablished with the merging of various railroads into the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad.
  • 1919 (1919): One leg of the Park Avenue Viaduct opens.[10]
  • 1923-24 (1923-24): The Grand Central Art Galleries and the Grand Central School of Art open in the terminal, both remaining there until the 1950s.[11][12]
  • 1926 (1926): The Graybar Passage opens, built on the first floor of the newly-opened Graybar Building.[13]
  • 1928 (1928): The other leg of the Park Avenue Viaduct opens.[14]
  • 1929 (1929): Ernst Plassmann's statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt is moved to Grand Central Terminal.[15]
  • 1944 (1944): The Main Concourse ceiling is irreparably damaged and covered over with boards, replicating the original celestial design.[16]
  • 1966 (1966): The Vanderbilt Tennis Club opens in a space directly above Vanderbilt Hall.[17]
  • February 1, 1968 (1968-02-01): The New York Central Railroad merges with the Pennsylvania Railroad, forming the Penn Central Railroad.
  • December 31, 1968 (1968-12-31): The New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad merges into the Penn Central Railroad.
  • September 11, 1976 (1976-09-11): Croatian nationalists plant a bomb in a coin locker in Grand Central; its deactivation kills a bomb squad specialist and injures three others.[18]
  • April 7, 1991 (1991-04-07): Amtrak stops service at Grand Central, ending its 78-year role as an intercity rail terminal.[19]
  • 1994 (1994) – 1999 (1999): Grand Central North, a series of tunnels between the terminal and streets to its north, is constructed.[20]
A late-1990s renovation brought the main concourse of Grand Central Terminal to its current configuration, shown here in 2014.
  • 1995 (1995) – 1998 (1998): The terminal is renovated close to its original appearance; all billboards are removed, the 1944 celestial ceiling is cleaned, the waiting room is renovated and reopens to become Vanderbilt Hall, Grand Central Market opens, and the East Stairs are built in the Main Concourse, replicating the design of the West Stairs.[21][22][23][24]
  • 1999 (1999): The Campbell Apartment first opens as a bar and cocktail lounge, following an extensive renovation.[25]

21st century

  • 2007 (2007): East Side Access, a project to bring Long Island Rail Road trains into a new station beneath the terminal, begins.[26]
  • February 1, 2013 (2013-02-01): Numerous displays, performances, and events are held to celebrate the terminal's centennial.[27]
  • November 2018 (2018-11): The MTA proposes and confirms its purchase of the terminal, along with the Hudson and Harlem Lines, for $35 million.[28]
  • January 25, 2023 (2023-01-25): Grand Central Madison opens, bringing Long Island Rail Road trains into service beneath Grand Central Terminal.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gray, Christopher (June 21, 1998). "Grand Central Terminal; How a Rail Complex Chugged Into the 20th Century". The New York Times. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  2. ↑ Fitch, James Marston; Waite, Diana S. (1974). Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center: A Historic-critical Estimate of Their Significance. Albany, New York: The Division. p. 3.
  3. ↑ "NEWS OF THE RAILROADS; New Waiting Room at the Grand Central Station Opens To-day. Appointments Are Up to Date and Improvements of a Modern Type -- Some Novel Ideas". The New York Times. October 18, 1900. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  4. ↑ Landmarks Preservation Commission 1980, p. 5
  5. ↑ Schlichting 2001, pp. 121–122
  6. ↑ "LAST TRAIN LEAVES OLD CENTRAL STATION; Way Now Clear for the Beginning of the Great Terminal in Forty-second Street". The New York Times. June 5, 1910. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  7. ↑ Grigoletti, Enrico (December 15, 2015). "Grand Central Terminal". Contemporary Standard. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  8. ↑ "With the Surrounding Buildings It Covers an Area of Thirty City Blocks -- Can Accommodate 100,000,000 People a Year". The New York Times. 1913-02-02. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  9. ↑ "New Grand Central Terminal Opens its Doors". The New York Times. February 2, 1913. pp. 69–74. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Link Up Park Av. to Ease Congestion". The New York Times. April 17, 1919. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  11. ↑ "New Art School Opens: Reception Held in Studios Over the Grand Central". The New York Times. October 2, 1924. p. 27. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Terminal Fire Not in Art School". The New York Times. September 6, 1929. p. 9. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  13. ↑ "New Passageway into Terminal is Part of Building". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 19, 1926. p. 31. Retrieved December 18, 2018 – via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com. Open access icon
  14. ↑ "New Viaduct Thoroughfare Relieves Park Avenue Traffic Congestion; Result of Many Years' Work" (PDF). The New York Times. September 2, 1928. p. Real Estate, Page 123. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Grand Central Terminal to Have Vanderbilt Statue". The New York Times. February 24, 1929. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  16. ↑ "What Is That Spot on the Ceiling of Grand Central Terminal?". The New York Times. June 7, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  17. ↑ Sherman, William (March 19, 2009). "Donald Trump Bounced off Grand Central Tennis Deal". Daily News. New York. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  18. ↑ Slotnik, Daniel E. (6 September 2013). "Zvonko Busic, 67, Croatian Hijacker, Dies". The New York Times.
  19. ↑ Barron, James (April 8, 1991). "Riding the Past From Grand Central". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  20. ↑ Ames, Lynn (October 10, 1999). "The View From/Manhattan; A Shorter Commute". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  21. ↑ Dunlap, David W. (January 29, 1995). "Grand Central Makeover Is Readied". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  22. ↑ Lueck, Thomas J. (September 20, 1996). "Work Starts 100 Feet Above Grand Central Commuters". The New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  23. ↑ Dunlap, David W. (September 29, 1994). "Grand Central May Be Getting East Staircase". The New York Times. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  24. ↑ Sachs, Susan (October 2, 1998). "From Gritty Depot, A Glittery Destination; Refurbished Grand Central Terminal, Worthy of Its Name, Is Reopened". The New York Times. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  25. ↑ Ramirez, Anthony (March 5, 2007). "Threadbare to Quite Posh, in Just 12 Hours". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-11-12.
  26. ↑ Siff, Andrew (April 16, 2018). "MTA Megaproject to Cost Almost $1B More Than Prior Estimate". NBC New York. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  27. ↑ "Grand Central Centennial Continues in 2013". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. February 3, 2013. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
  28. ↑ "New York's Grand Central Terminal sold for US$35m". Business Times. November 20, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.

Further reading

General references

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