More than a history of a train station--the story of a city and an
age, as reflected in a building aptly described as a secular
cathedral.
Winner of the Professional/Scholarly Publishing Award in Architecture
from the Association of American Publishers
Grand Central Terminal, one of New York City's preeminent buildings,
stands as a magnificent Beaux-Arts monument to America's Railway Age,
and it remains a vital part of city life today. Completed in 1913 after
ten years of construction, the terminal became the city's most important
transportation hub, linking long-distance and commuter trains to New
York's network of subways, elevated trains, and streetcars. Its soaring
Grand Concourse still offers passengers a majestic gateway to the
wonders beyond 42nd Street.
In Grand Central Terminal, Kurt C. Schlichting traces the history of
this spectacular building, detailing the colorful personalities, bitter
conflicts, and Herculean feats of engineering that lie behind its
construction. Schlichting begins with Cornelius Vanderbilt--"The
Commodore"--whose railroad empire demanded an appropriately palatial
passenger terminal in the heart of New York City. Completed in 1871, the
first Grand Central was the largest rail facility in the world and
yet--cramped and overburdened--soon proved thoroughly inadequate for the
needs of this rapidly expanding city. William Wilgus, chief engineer of
the New York Central Railroad, conceived of a new Grand Central
Terminal, one that would fully meet the needs of the New York Central
line. Grand Central became a monument to the creativity and daring of a
remarkable age.
The terminal's construction proved to be a massive undertaking. Before
construction could begin, more than 3 million cubic yards of rock and
earth had to be removed and some 200 buildings demolished. Manhattan's
exorbitant real estate prices necessitated a vast, two-story underground
train yard, which in turn required a new, smoke-free electrified rail
system. The project consumed nearly 30,000 tons of steel, three times
more than that in the Eiffel Tower, and two power plants were built. The
terminal building alone cost $43 million in 1913, the equivalent of
nearly $750 million today.
Some of these costs were offset by an ambitious redevelopment project on
property above the New York Central's underground tracks. Schlichting
writes about the economic and cultural impact of the terminal on midtown
Manhattan, from building of the Biltmore and Waldorf-Astoria Hotels to
the transformation of Park Avenue. Schlichting concludes with an account
of the New York Central's decline; the public outcry that prevented
Grand Central's new owner, Penn Central, from following through with its
1969 plan to demolish or drastically alter the terminal; the rise of
Metro-North Railroad; and the meticulous 1990s restoration project that
returned Grand Central Terminal to its original splendor. More than a
history of a train station, this book is the story of a city and an age
as reflected in a building aptly described as a secular cathedral.
