The first time I entered Grand Central Terminal when I was 4 or 5 years old I stood in awe at the majesty and stunning architecture. I felt as if I had been transported into a different time period. When the light streamed in from the giant big windows the small little paticles of dust seemed to freeze in time and stay still. I and so many other people were so entranced by the contillations depicted on the ceiling and the large train hall. Grand Central Terminal is America’s most beautiful Train Terminal and it’s namesake speaks for itself.
Trade and banking energized New York in the early 1800s, drawing new businesses and people. Railroads were a vital part of this dynamic cycle — both a response to and catalyst for the city’s expansion. Freight and passenger lines blossomed, and in the 1830s New York City’s first railroad line connected Prince Street to the Harlem River, accelerating the city’s expansion northward from Lower Manhattan. the Hudson, New Haven, and Harlem Railroads were eager to expand. To save money, they agreed to share a new transit hub. With 42nd Street the southern limit for steam engines, it was the logical station location. Grand Central Depot opened in 1871. Three towers represented the three participating railroads. Thirty years later, a new Annex doubled the Depot’s size, but double wasn’t enough–rail traffic had already quadrupled.
Vanderbilt was America’s first tycoon. He launched a ferryboat service to Staten Island at age 16, he swiftly built a vast shipping business on the Hudson River, Atlantic Coast, and beyond. In the 1850s, Vanderbilt recognized the inefficiency of the fledgling railroad industry, a hodgepodge of competing companies. Shifting his sights from ships to trains, he bought up stock in local railroads, ultimately combining them into a vast transportation network and a powerful family empire that transformed New York’s infrastructure and reshaped the region.
Though splendid in its day, the original Grand Central Depot of 1871 had become a 19th century relic struggling to meet the demands of a 20th century city.Its 30-year-old rail tunnels couldn’t handle the steadily increasing traffic. The building lacked modern conveniences and signaling technology, as well as the infrastructure for electric rail lines. And having been designed for three independent railroad companies — with three separate waiting rooms — the terminal was badly outdated, crowded, and inefficient.On top of that, the old station no longer reflected its surroundings. In 1870, 42nd Street was still a relative backwater. By 1910, it was the vibrant heart of a dynamic, ambitious, and swiftly growing New York City. The train terminal which we know today was finished in 1913 and greets hundredths of thousands of people per day.
The New Terminal which we know tody is when of the great spaces that’s in the city and the world. It’s not just a terminal it’s also a place of making lasting memories. That memory of the first time I entered Grand Central Terminal always will stay as a great reminder of what great public spaces can do for our imaginations.