The Challenges of Building a New Grand Central Terminal in New York 1890-1903

The railroads in the 19th century played a key role in the American industrial revolution. The major railroads fought to dominate freight and passenger service to Manhattan Island. Commodore Vanderbilt’s New York Central gained control and built the first Grand Central in 1871 on 42nd Street, but passenger volume grew exponentially, and by the 1890s the terminal was obsolete. William Wilgus, the chief engineer of the New York Central, developed a monumental plan to replace the old Grand Central. Engineering challenges included switching from steam to electricity and building a two-story, underground train yard from Lexington Avenue to Madison Avenue from 44th Street to 58th Street. Opening in February 1903, the dazzling new Grand Central transformed the upper East Side, and the Grand Concourse, in the heart of the building, remains to this day one of the most iconic interiors in the country.

This seminar will explore all the major challenges leading up to the completion of the new Grand Central. In the second session, the 2008 award-winning “PBS American Experience: Grand Central” film, based on my book “Grand Central Terminal,” will be shown and discussed.

Kurt Schlichting, Ph.D., is the E. Gerald Corrigan ’63 chair in humanities and social sciences emeritus at Fairfield University. Kurt served as the dean and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and he is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. His academic research leads the field of historic geographical information system, HGIS, which he used to study the Irish in Newport. He has lectured for the Newport Museum of Irish History and presented at academic conferences in the United States and abroad. Kurt was a visiting fellow at the Moore Research Institute, National University Ireland, Galway.