Grand Central Terminal Railroads, Engineering, and Architecture in New York City

Kurt C. Schlichting

ISBN 10: 0801865107 / ISBN 13: 9780801865107

Editore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001

Riguardo questo articolo

Fine (unidentified signature and date "6/08" on the title page, fresh copy in equally fine dust jacket. First edition, first printing. Hardcover. Illustrated endpapers.xiii+ 243 p. with index. Illustrated with vintage and contemporary photographs, maps, reproductions. A history of one of New York City's preeminent buildings, the Beaux-Arts monument to America's railroad age, Grand Central Terminal. Begun in 1903 and completed in 1913, Grand Central became the city's most important transportation hub (along with the long destroyed Pennsylvania Station) kinking long-distance and communter trains to New York's network of subways, elevateds, and streetcars. The actual first Grand Central Station (completed in 1871) was spearheaded by Cornelius Vanderbilt whose railroad empire demanded an appropriately palatial passenger terminal in the heart of the city. The replacement terminal (on the same site) required the excavation of more than 3 million cubic yards of rock and earth, the demolition of 200 buildings, 30,000 tons of steel, and the development of a new, smoke-free electrified rail system to service the vast, two-story underground train yard. In 1969, its new owner, the Penn Central, made plans to demolish it but public outcry prevented it and a meticulous restoration project began in the 1990s.

Codice articolo E30258

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: Grand Central Terminal Railroads, Engineering, and Architecture in New York City
• Editore: The Johns Hopkins University Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2001
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0801865107
• ISBN 13: 9780801865107
• Rilegatura: Hardcover
• Edizione: First edition.
• Condizione: Fine
• Condizione della sovraccoperta: fine
• Cataloghi dei venditori:
  • Architecture

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

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.

Informazioni sull?autore

Kurt C. Schlichting is the E. Gerald Corrigan '63 Chair in Humanities and Social Sciences at Fairfield University and a professor of sociology. He is author of Grand Central's Engineer: William J. Wilgus and the Planning of Modern Manhattan, and Waterfront Manhattan: From Henry Hudson to the High Line, also published by Johns Hopkins.