Terminal City, also known as the Grand Central Zone, is an early 20th century commercial and office development in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The space was developed atop the former Grand Central Station railyard, after the New York Central Railroad decided to rebuild the station into Grand Central Terminal, and reshape the railyard into a below-ground train shed, allowing roads and skyscrapers to be built atop it.
Note: some links may direct to the current building at the same address
237 Park Avenue, or 466 Lexington Avenue, within the Grand Central Zone, was built in an earlier period of development, completed in 1905 though gutted in 1981.
These buildings within the Grand Central Zone were built in a later period of development:
Terminal City originated as an idea during the reconstruction of Grand Central Terminal from the old Grand Central Station from 1903 to 1913. The railroad owner, the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, wished to increase capacity of the station's train shed and rail yards, and so it devised a plan to bury the tracks and platforms and create two levels to its new train shed, more than doubling the station's capacity. At the same time, chief engineer William J. Wilgus was the first to realize the potential of selling air rights, the right to build atop the now-underground train shed, for real-estate development. [2] [3] Grand Central's construction thus produced several blocks of prime real estate in Manhattan, stretching from 42nd to 51st Streets between Madison and Lexington Avenues. [2] [3] The Realty and Terminal Company typically profited from the air rights in one of two ways: constructing the structures and renting them out, or selling the air rights to private developers who would construct their own buildings. [4]
William Wilgus saw these air rights as merely a means to fund the terminal's construction. Reed & Stem originally proposed a "Court of Honor" for this space, while other proposals included a new Metropolitan Opera House, a Madison Square Garden, or a National Academy of Design building. [5] Ultimately, the railroads decided to develop the area into a commercial office district. [2] [3]
Planning for the development began long before the terminal was completed. In 1903, the New York Central Railroad created a derivative, the New York State Realty and Terminal Company, to oversee construction above Grand Central's rail yards. [6] The New Haven Railroad joined the venture later on. [4] One early proposed name for this area was "Pershing Square", a name that was ultimately applied to the southern side of Grand Central Terminal. [7] The blocks on the north side of the terminal were later dubbed "Terminal City" or the "Grand Central Zone". [2] [3] [8]
By 1906, news of the plans for Grand Central was already boosting the values of nearby properties. [9] In conjunction with this project, the segment of Park Avenue above Grand Central's rail yards received a landscaped median and was widened to 140 feet (43 m). [10] [11] By the time the terminal opened in 1913, the blocks surrounding it were each valued at $2 million to $3 million. [12] Terminal City soon became Manhattan's most desirable commercial and office district. From 1904 to 1926, land values along Park Avenue doubled, and land values in the Terminal City area increased 244%. [13] A 1920 New York Times article said that the "development of the Grand Central property has in many respects surpassed original expectations. With its hotels, office buildings, apartments and underground streets it not only is a wonderful railroad terminal, but also a great civic centre." [14]
The first building in Terminal City was the new Grand Central Palace, which opened in 1911 and replaced another building of the same name. [15] [16] [13]
The district came to include office buildings such as the Chrysler Building, Chanin Building, Bowery Savings Bank Building, and Pershing Square Building; luxury apartment houses along Park Avenue; an array of high-end hotels that included the Commodore, Biltmore, Roosevelt, Marguery, Chatham, Barclay, Park Lane, and Waldorf Astoria; [17] [13] the Grand Central Palace; and the Yale Club of New York City's clubhouse at 50 Vanderbilt Avenue. [18] [13] The structures immediately around Grand Central Terminal were developed shortly after the terminal's opening, while the structures along Park Avenue were constructed through the 1920s and 1930s. [4]
These structures were designed in the neoclassical style, complementing the terminal's architecture. [5] Although Warren and Wetmore designed most of these buildings, it also monitored other architects' plans (such as those of James Gamble Rogers, who designed the Yale Club) to ensure that the style of the new buildings was compatible with that of Terminal City. [19] In general, the site plan of Terminal City was derived from the City Beautiful movement, which encouraged aesthetic harmony between adjacent buildings. The consistency of the architectural styles, as well as the vast funding provided by investment bankers, contributed to Terminal City's success. [6]
The Graybar Building, completed in 1927, was one of the last projects of Terminal City. The building incorporates many of Grand Central's train platforms, as well as the Graybar Passage, a hallway with vendors and train gates stretching from the terminal to Lexington Avenue. [20] In 1929, New York Central built its headquarters in a 34-story building, later renamed the Helmsley Building, which straddled Park Avenue north of the terminal. [21] Development slowed drastically during the Great Depression, [13] and part of Terminal City was gradually demolished or reconstructed with steel-and-glass designs after World War II. [17] [22] In particular, many of the low-rise residential structures on Park Avenue were replaced with International Style skyscrapers during the 1950s and 1960s, many of which were zoned for commercial use. [23] Some residential buildings from the era still exist along Lexington Avenue. [17] Remnants of the neoclassical design can also be seen in the Yale Club and Roosevelt Hotel on Vanderbilt Avenue. [5]
The area shares similar boundaries as the Grand Central Business Improvement District, a neighborhood with businesses collectively funding improvements and maintenance in the area. The district is well-funded; in 1990 it had the largest budget of any business improvement district in the United States. [24] The district's organization and operation is run by the Grand Central Partnership, which has given free tours of the station building. [25] [26] The partnership has also funded some restoration projects around the terminal, including installation of lamps to illuminate its facade and purchase of a streetlamp that used to stand on the Park Avenue Viaduct. [27]
Grand Central Terminal is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus of the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem, Hudson and New Haven Lines, serving the northern parts of the New York metropolitan area. It also contains a connection to the Long Island Rail Road through the Grand Central Madison station, a 16-acre (65,000 m2) rail terminal underneath the Metro-North station, built from 2007 to 2023. The terminal also connects to the New York City Subway at Grand Central–42nd Street station. The terminal is the third-busiest train station in North America, after New York Penn Station and Toronto Union Station.
Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east. Park Avenue's entire length was formerly called Fourth Avenue; the title still applies to the section between Cooper Square and 14th Street. The avenue is called Union Square East between 14th and 17th Streets, and Park Avenue South between 17th and 32nd Streets.
The Grand Central–42nd Street station is a major station complex of the New York City Subway. Located in Midtown Manhattan at 42nd Street between Madison and Lexington Avenues, it serves trains on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, the IRT Flushing Line and the 42nd Street Shuttle. The complex is served by the 4, 6, and 7 trains at all times; the 5 and 42nd Street Shuttle (S) trains at all times except late nights; the <6> train during weekdays in the peak direction; and the <7> train during rush hours and early evenings in the peak direction.
The New York Biltmore Hotel was a luxury hotel at 335 Madison Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The hotel was developed by the New York Central Railroad and the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and operated from 1913 to 1981. It was one of several large hotels developed around Grand Central Terminal as part of Terminal City. The Biltmore was designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style by Warren and Wetmore, one of the firms involved in designing Grand Central. Although the hotel's steel frame still exists, the hotel itself was almost entirely demolished and replaced by an office building in the early 1980s.
The Chanin Building, also known as 122 East 42nd Street, is a 56-story office skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is on the southwest corner of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, near Grand Central Terminal to the north and adjacent to 110 East 42nd Street to the west. The building is named for Irwin S. Chanin, its developer.
The Helmsley Building is a 35-story skyscraper at 230 Park Avenue between East 45th and 46th Streets, just north of Grand Central Terminal, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It was built in 1929 as the New York Central Building and was designed by Warren & Wetmore in the Beaux-Arts style. It was the tallest structure in the "Terminal City" complex around Grand Central prior to the completion of what is now the MetLife Building.
The Park Avenue main line, which consists of the Park Avenue Tunnel and the Park Avenue Viaduct, is a railroad line in the New York City borough of Manhattan, running entirely along Park Avenue. The line carries four tracks of the Metro-North Railroad as a tunnel from Grand Central Terminal at 42nd Street to a portal at 97th Street, where it rises to a viaduct north of 99th Street and continues over the Harlem River into the Bronx over the Park Avenue Bridge. During rush hours, Metro-North uses three of the four tracks in the peak direction.
270 Park Avenue, also the JPMorgan Chase Tower and Union Carbide Building, was a skyscraper in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1960 for chemical company Union Carbide, it was designed by architects Gordon Bunshaft and Natalie de Blois of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). The 52-story, 707 ft (215 m) skyscraper later became the global headquarters for JPMorgan Chase. When it was demolished in 2021, the Union Carbide Building was the tallest peacefully demolished building in the world. A taller skyscraper with the same address, to be completed in 2025, is being constructed on the site.
The Park Avenue Viaduct, also known as the Pershing Square Viaduct, is a roadway in Manhattan in New York City. It carries vehicular traffic on Park Avenue from 40th to 46th Streets around Grand Central Terminal and the MetLife Building, then through the Helmsley Building. All three buildings lie across the north–south line of the avenue. The viaduct itself is composed of two sections: a steel viaduct with two roadways from 40th to 42nd Streets, as well as a pair of roadways between 42nd and 46th Streets. The section from 40th to 42nd Streets was designated a New York City landmark in 1980 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The street-level service roads of Park Avenue, which flank the viaduct between 40th and 42nd Streets, are called Pershing Square.
The Hyatt Grand Central New York is a hotel located at 109 East 42nd Street, adjoining Grand Central Terminal, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It operated as the 2,000-room Commodore Hotel between 1919 and 1976, before hotel chain Hyatt and real estate developer Donald Trump converted the hotel to the 1,400-room Grand Hyatt New York between 1978 and 1980. As of 2019, the hotel is planned to be replaced with a skyscraper named Project Commodore after 2023.
The Pershing Square Building, also known as 125 Park Avenue or 100 East 42nd Street, is a 25-story office building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the eastern side of Park Avenue between 41st and 42nd streets, across from Grand Central Terminal to the north and adjacent to 110 East 42nd Street to the east.
The InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel is a hotel at 111 East 48th Street, on Lexington Avenue between 48th and 49th Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14-story hotel, operated by IHG Hotels & Resorts, was designed by Cross and Cross in the Colonial style and contains 702 rooms. The Barclay was one of several large hotels developed around Grand Central Terminal as part of Terminal City.
The Grand Central Palace was an exhibition hall in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The name refers to two structures, both located on Lexington Avenue near Grand Central Terminal.
The Lexington Hotel, Autograph Collection is a hotel at 509 Lexington Avenue, at the southeast corner with 48th Street, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 27-story hotel was designed by Schultze & Weaver in the Romanesque Revival style and contains 725 rooms. The Lexington, one of several large hotels developed around Grand Central Terminal as part of Terminal City, is a New York City designated landmark.
The Graybar Building, also known as 420 Lexington Avenue, is a 30-story office building in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Designed by Sloan & Robertson in the Art Deco style, the Graybar Building is at 420–430 Lexington Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets, adjacent to Grand Central Terminal.
Grand Central Terminal, one of the main railroad stations in New York City, features public art by a variety of artists. Through its status as a transportation and architectural icon, the terminal has also been depicted in many works of art.
Grand Central Terminal is a major commuter rail terminal in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, serving the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem, Hudson and New Haven Lines. It is the most recent of three functionally similar buildings on the same site. The current structure was built by and named for the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad, though it also served the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Passenger service has continued under the successors of the New York Central and New Haven railroads.
Grand Central Tower was a scrapped proposal by Penn Central to have a skyscraper built on top of Grand Central Terminal in 1968. It was designed by Marcel Breuer and would have been 950 feet (290 m) tall. The plan itself drew major opposition from the public and architects, especially from Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, as it would have resulted in the destruction of the terminal. The plan was scrapped after it was settled in a court case in 1978, which meant Penn Central could not build the tower.
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