GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL CENTENNIAL
1913-2013
ABOVE: Anyone for tennis? The Vanderbilt Tennis Club inside Grand Central reopened in 2011. ELDAD ZVULUN LEFT: Located on the West Balcony, the new Apple Store was the company’s largest when it opened in Decem- ber 2011. STEVE BARRY BELOW: Epicureans delight at the gourmet offerings in the bustling Central Market. EMILY MOSER
record of more than 65 million travel- ers passing through Grand Central. However, not long after that railroads across the country began a steady de- cline. Once the favored mode of trans- portation in the United States, the rail- roads had difficulty keeping up with the government subsidized Interstate Highways, and the popular advent of air travel. As many of the country’s railroads approached bankruptcy, they looked to make money wherever they could, often turning to their most valu- able assets: real estate.
In many instances, unique tenants have also called the station home. In 1922 several prominent American artists founded the Grand Central Art Galleries, located in the upper floors of the terminal until 1958. By 1939 other areas of Grand Central were used by CBS as soundstages, and television programs like What’s My Line and the CBS Evening News were produced there. These spaces were later convert- ed into clay tennis courts in 1965. Though the tennis courts were removed in 2009 to make way for a new crew lounge, the tennis club was reestab- lished in 2011 in an alternate Grand Central location. Perhaps the most in- teresting tenant was John W. Camp- bell, a financier who served on the rail-
road’s board of directors. His opulently finished office was used to entertain his friends and colleagues from 1923 until his death in 1957. The space fell into disrepair and was forgotten until it was renovated and restored in 1999 as a swank cocktail bar known as The Campbell Apartment.
Decline and rebirth
In its early years traffic through Grand Central was booming. As nearby suburban towns continued to grow, the number of commuters only increased. Throughout two World Wars the New York Central had an integral role car- rying both troops and freight, many of them passing through the Terminal. In 1947 the boom culminated with a
The first of many threats to Grand Central Terminal came in 1954, with a proposal to level the terminal and con- struct an 80-story office tower. While this idea was quickly scrapped, a sec- ond proposal planned a much smaller tower located north of the main con- course and replacing the terminal’s six story office building. The new tower rose up behind Grand Central in 1963, emblazoned with the logo of principal tenant Pan Am Airways, further demonstrating the new dominance of the airline industry over the railroads. In an attempt to stave off financial dis- aster, the New York Central merged with the rival Pennsylvania Railroad to form the ill-fated Penn Central. By the time Penn Central had inherit-
ed Grand Central the situation was only worse. Passenger train travel had de- clined further, and the industry was in turmoil. Proposing its own plan in 1968, Penn Central sought to demolish Grand Central and replace it with a modern of- fice tower even larger than the Pan Am Building. With the city still wounded from the 1963 demolition of Pennsylva- nia Station, the plans drew loud protest from all corners. Thanks in no small part
to support
from Jacqueline 35
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