by Barbara Barton Sloane
It is one of the most beloved and visited of New York City’s landmarks. Let me introduce you to the very grand Grand Central Terminal. Most people refer to this Beaux-Arts beauty as Grand Central Station but it’s actually a Terminal because this is where train lines originate and terminate. And, lest we all forget, this iconic structure is not just a tourist attraction – it’s one of the world’s busiest train stations and a landmark with a complex that has become a community in itself.
Going back to the terminal’s beginnings, in 1869 shipping magnate Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, owner of the Hudson River Railroad and the New York Central Railroad, purchased the property between 42nd and 48th Streets and between Lexington Avenue and Madison Avenue for construction of a train depot and rail yard. On this site rose the first Grand Central.
Designed by architect John B. Snook, the depot was built at a cost of $6.4 Million and officially opened in 1871. There was further expansion to the building in 1898 and 1900, and the reconfigured depot was reborn as Grand Central. The updated station featured a classical façade, a 16,000 square foot waiting room and distinctive ornamentation, including monumental cast iron eagles with wingspans of 13 feet. One of these eagles was salvaged, and today rises again above the terminal’s entrance on 43rd Street and Lexington Avenue.
This original station was demolished at the turn of the century due to noise, pollution and safety issues, culminating in a catastrophic train collision on June 8, 1902 which killed 17 and injured 38. There was a public outcry for electronic trains and expansion of Grand Central which would ultimately cost $80 Million ($2 Billion in today’s terms). For this new building venture, a select group of architects were invited to submit designs in a competition. The winning submission was from the St. Paul firm of Reed & Stern in collaboration with the New York firm of Warren & Wetmore.
Construction would last 10 years. Excavation was an enormous undertaking as the grade of the rail yard was lowered to a depth of 30 feet below street level. Yet, in spite of the upheaval, rail service continued uninterrupted and Grand Central Terminal officially opened to great fanfare on February 2, 1913 and more than 150,000 people visited on its opening day. Grand Central was now the busiest train station in the country with a bustling suburban concourse on the lower level and famous long distance trains like the Fast Mail, the Wolverine and the 20th Century Limited departing from its main concourse This was a very glamorous time for train travel and one that is depicted in many movies during this period. In 1947, over 65 million people, the equivalent of 40% of the population of the U.S., traveled the rails via Grand Central Terminal!
But the Terminal was about to fall victim to the same forces that originally enabled its construction. By the early 1950s, as post-war America transformed itself into a nation of suburbs and automobiles, revenues from long distance rail travel were plummeting. At the same time, the value of prime midtown Manhattan real estate had risen dramatically and in 1954, the railroad commissioned plans to demolish Grand Central Terminal and replace it with a 6 million square foot office tower.
Nothing came of this plan but in 1963, the 59 story Pan Am Building (now Met Life), went up at the rear of the terminal, sealing off Park Avenue and completely obscuring the view of the terminal from uptown. At the same time, the interior of the terminal was being parceled out for billboards and advertising in an effort to increase revenues. As many can recall, there was, during this time, a gigantic Kodak billboard hanging on the eastern wall of the Great Hall, all but obliterating the dramatic arched windows with their thousands of glass panes and the soft rays of light which illuminate the Main Concourse. This was not Grand Central’s finest hour.
In 1967, the recently established Landmarks Preservation Commission, formed in response to the demolition of glorious Pennsylvania Station, designated Grand Central Terminal as a landmark, thus protecting it by law. Still, plans to significantly change or alter the interior, to demolish the façade, and to build a 55 story tower above the terminal persisted, but over a litigious ten year period, the Landmarks Commission, with the not insignificant help of one Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, thwarted all changes.
In December, 1976, the National Register of Historic Places named Grand Central Terminal a National Historic Landmark, sparing it from the wrecking ball. However, Grand Central was far from saved. After decades of deferred maintenance, the building was crumbling. In 1983, Metro-North took over the operation of the terminal and soon after began a systematic program of repairs and improvements. In 1988, a revitalization plan was undertaken as well as a retail plan to address amenities and services. In April, 1990, a $425 Million master plan for Grand Central Terminal was implemented and construction began in 1996 with the cleaning of the Main Concourse and the Sky Ceiling. A few years later, with the final scaffolding dismantled and the last construction crew departed, this venerable New York City landmark embarked on a new chapter of its history. Now completely restored with pedestrian circulation overhauled, climate controls added, 100 shops and restaurants and a fresh food and produce marketplace, Grand Central Terminal is once again New York City’s premier meeting, shopping, dining and transportation hub.
A few interesting facts throughout Grand Central’s history:
• In 1923, John W. Campbell rented a spare room in the terminal as a pied a terre and had it decorated to recall the interior of a 13th century Florentine palace. Today, The Campbell Apartment is a luxurious, intimate cocktail lounge popular with commuters, tourists and New Yorkers alike. In this same year, the Grand Central Art Gallery opened on the 6th floor of the terminal, and in 1937, the Grand Central Theatre, a 242 seat movie house, opened.
• The floor of the Main Concourse measures 200 feet by 120 feet and the vaulted Sky Ceiling mural is 120 feet above the Main Concourse floor.
• The sculpture group above the main entrance is entitled “Transportation”, stands 50 feet tall and 60 feet wide and weighs 1500 tons. It depicts Mercury, Minerva and Hercules and was created by Jules Couton. The structure sits upon a monumental clock with a diameter of 13 feet.
• Every day 700,000 people pass through Grand Central Terminal, which is the population of Alaska!
• It is the second most visited site in NYC after Times Square. 200,000 people visit it every day.
• The retail space in the Terminal garners half a billion dollars a year for goods and services, and every day 10,000 people lunch here.
• The clock above the information booth has been valued at between $10 to $20 Million. Every face of the four-faced clock is made out of one solid piece of precious opal.
When you visit Grand Central Terminal, be sure to stop by the New York Transit Museum. Here you’ll find the history of New York City’s mass transit system in displays and photographs. You can pick up gifts and memorabilia. Maps too. Grand Central Terminal, as ever, continues to help us on our way!
Tours of Grand Central
Wednesdays at 12:30 pm
The Municipal Arts Society sponsors a tour every Wednesday at 12:30 pm. Meet the tour guide at the center information booth on the Main Concourse. There is a suggested donation of $10 per person.. For information call 212-935-3960
Fridays at 12:30 pm
The Grand Central Partnership sponsors a free, 90 minute walking tour of Grand Central Terminal and the surrounding neighborhood. The tour meets in the Sculpture Court of the Whitney Museum on East 42nd Street across from Grand Central. For information call 212-883-2420 or visit www.grandcentralpartnership.org
"
No comments:
Post a Comment