“Looks behind the facade to see the hidden engineering marvels . . . will deepen anyone’s appreciation for New York’s most magnificent interior space.” —The New York Times Book Review
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.
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.
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.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 The Commodore's Grand Central Chapter 2 The Engineer's Grand Central Chapter 3 The Architect's Grand Central Chapter 4 New York's Grand Central
What People are Saying About This
Herbert H. Harwood
A lot has been written about Grand Central Terminal, but this is the first book to take the reader deeply inside the intricacies and agonies that went into creating this remarkable monument. With fascinating insights, Kurt Schlichting explores Grand Central as both an innovative engineering project and a force in shaping the life of the city. His book will give New Yorkers—and everyone else—a new appreciation of just how visionary a project Grand Central was and what a difficult, complex, and sometimes hair-raising job it was to build.
— Herbert H. Harwood, Jr., author of Royal Blue Line and Impossible Challenge: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Maryland
Clifton HoodHobart and William Smith Colleges
Grand Central Terminal is the single most important building in New York City—at once a symbol of corporate capitalism, an architectural landmark, and a critical transport hub. Kurt Schlichting's thoroughly researched, well-illustrated book is the best history ever written on this vital subject. Schlichting's achievement lies in explaining Grand Central Terminal's career and in placing its complicated development squarely in the context of New York City's larger history.
— Clifton HoodHobart and William Smith Colleges, author of 722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York
Clifton Hood
Grand Central Terminal is the single most important building in New York City -- at once a symbol of corporate capitalism, an architectural landmark, and a critical transport hub. Kurt Schlichting's thoroughly researched, well-illustrated book is the best history ever written on this vital subject. Schlichting's achievement lies in explaining Grand Central Terminal's career and in placing its complicated development squarely in the context of New York City's larger history.
— Clifton HoodHobart and William Smith Colleges, author of 722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York
From the Publisher
Grand Central Terminal is the single most important building in New York City—at once a symbol of corporate capitalism, an architectural landmark, and a critical transport hub. Kurt Schlichting's thoroughly researched, well-illustrated book is the best history ever written on this vital subject. Schlichting's achievement lies in explaining Grand Central Terminal's career and in placing its complicated development squarely in the context of New York City's larger history.—Clifton Hood, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, author of 722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York
A lot has been written about Grand Central Terminal, but this is the first book to take the reader deeply inside the intricacies and agonies that went into creating this remarkable monument. With fascinating insights, Kurt Schlichting explores Grand Central as both an innovative engineering project and a force in shaping the life of the city. His book will give New Yorkers—and everyone else—a new appreciation of just how visionary a project Grand Central was and what a difficult, complex, and sometimes hair-raising job it was to build.—Herbert H. Harwood, Jr., author of Royal Blue Line and Impossible Challenge: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Maryland
