Few people have had as profound an impact on the history of New York
City as William J. Wilgus. As chief engineer of the New York Central
Railroad, Wilgus conceived the Grand Central Terminal, the city's
magnificent monument to America's Railway Age. Kurt C. Schlichting here
examines the remarkable career of this innovator, revealing how his
tireless work moving people and goods over and under Manhattan Island's
surrounding waterways forever changed New York's bustling transportation
system.
After his herculean efforts on behalf of Grand Central, the most
complicated construction project in New York's history, Wilgus turned to
solving the city's transportation quandary: Manhattan--the financial,
commercial, and cultural hub of the United States in the twentieth
century--was separated from the mainland by two major rivers to the west
and east, a deep-water estuary to the south, and the Harlem River to the
north.
Wilgus believed that railroads and mass transportation provided the
answer to New York City's complicated geography. His ingenious ideas
included a freight subway linking rail facilities in New Jersey with
manufacturers and shippers in Manhattan, a freight and passenger tunnel
connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn, and a belt railway
interconnecting sixteen private railroads serving the metropolitan area.
Schlichting's deep passion for Wilgus and his engineering achievements
are evident in the pages of this fascinating work. Wilgus was a true
pioneer, and Schlichting ensures that his brilliant contributions to New
York City's transportation system will not be forgotten.
Praise for Schlichting's Grand Central Terminal
"Grand Central Terminal is celebrated for its Beaux-Arts style, but Kurt
C. Schlichting looks behind the facade to see the hidden engineering
marvels."--New York Times Book Review
"His study peels away our contemporary expectations and experiences and
reveals the layers of history and acts of men that served as the
foundation for this great structure."--H-Urban, H-Net Review
"The most detailed account yet of one of the most important events in
the history of 20th-century architecture, railroad development, and city
building."--Choice
"In his detailed accounts of the fiscal, stylistic, and engineering
decisions that went into the creation of . . . Grand Central Terminal,
Schlichting clearly shows both how energetic and talented all of the
people involved were and how dramatically they altered this central
portion of New York City."--Journal of the Society of Architectural
Historians
"Ably tells the story of the New York rail system's most active and
visible symbol: the architectural and engineering masterpiece, with its
grand public concourse, in the heart of Midtown."--New Scientist
