1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:06,320 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:12,559 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:16,040 Speaker 1: show that rides the rails of history every day of 4 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:20,240 Speaker 1: the week. I'm Gabe Lucier, and today we're looking at 5 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: the culmination of a decade long construction project that changed 6 00:00:24,400 --> 00:00:26,840 Speaker 1: the shape of New York City and brought a new 7 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:40,200 Speaker 1: level of sophistication to mass transit. The day was February second, 8 00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: nineteen thirteen. New York City's Grand Central Terminal was officially 9 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:50,519 Speaker 1: open to the public. The terminal doors were unlocked just 10 00:00:50,640 --> 00:00:53,920 Speaker 1: after midnight, and over the next seven hours, more than 11 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:57,360 Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty thousand people from all over the 12 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: city would pass through them. Taken ten years and eighty 13 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: million dollars to construct the sprawling transportation hub, and many 14 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,680 Speaker 1: New Yorkers were understandably eager to see the finished product. 15 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: In fact, many visitors on opening day didn't even ride 16 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: a train. They were just there to check out the 17 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: long awaited new landmark. The huge turnout took railroad workers 18 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,360 Speaker 1: by surprise, with one remarking to The New York Times 19 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,800 Speaker 1: that quote never before had the public been known to 20 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:30,679 Speaker 1: take such a keen interest in the opening of a 21 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: railroad terminal. Before the construction of the Grand Central we 22 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:38,679 Speaker 1: know today, the location at forty second Street was home 23 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: to an older steam train station that first opened in 24 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 1: the eighteen seventies. Known as the Grand Central Depot, it 25 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:50,320 Speaker 1: was built and operated by famed industrialists and railroad tycoon 26 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:55,800 Speaker 1: Cornelius Vanderbilt. The depot had two tracks and accommodated trains 27 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 1: from three distinct rail lines running through and around New 28 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: York City. Over the next three decades, the depot was 29 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 1: gradually expanded and updated to better accommodate the growing number 30 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:11,840 Speaker 1: of commuters. In the year nineteen hundred, this larger Grand Central, 31 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 1: now known as Grand Central Station was reopened with four 32 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:20,840 Speaker 1: tracks located just beneath Park Avenue. This set up isolated 33 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,920 Speaker 1: the messy steam engines below ground, allowing the city's increasing 34 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:30,560 Speaker 1: road traffic to pass over elevated bridges without interruption. Unfortunately, 35 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:35,400 Speaker 1: the subterranean tunnels were poorly ventilated, and passengers whose trains 36 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: were delayed were often subjected to suffocating heat, steam, and smoke. 37 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: These hazardous conditions quickly soured the public's opinion of the 38 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 1: newly revamped station, but it wasn't until two years later, 39 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 1: the New Yorkers would swear it off for good. The 40 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,639 Speaker 1: turning point came on January eighth, nineteen o two, when 41 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:58,840 Speaker 1: a devastating crash in the Park Avenue tunnel claimed the 42 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: lives of fifteen people and injured dozens of others. Public 43 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: outcry was swift, and in response, the city passed legislation 44 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: banning the use of steam powered trains anywhere south of 45 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:14,880 Speaker 1: the Harlem River. The collision highlighted the need for a 46 00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: more substantial renovation, and by the end of the year 47 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:20,760 Speaker 1: the station's owners had settled on a plan to make 48 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: it happen. The initial idea came from a civil engineer 49 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: named William John Wilgis. He recommended tearing down the old 50 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 1: depot and replacing its underground tracks with a new electric 51 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 1: transit system, one that could safely operate without producing exhaust fumes. 52 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: He cited the London Underground as his proof of concept, 53 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: as the system had already been using a deep level 54 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: electric railway for over a decade without issue. Vanderbilt's grandsons, 55 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:54,280 Speaker 1: William and Cornelius the Third, championed the idea of going electric, 56 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:57,840 Speaker 1: especially since Wilgos had also provided a plan for how 57 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: to pay for it. He reasoned that the railroad could 58 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: finance the entire reconstruction just by selling the air rights 59 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: for developers to build residential and commercial buildings above the 60 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 1: underground system. That stroke of genius earned Wilgas the job 61 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:18,839 Speaker 1: of chief engineer for the new electrified Grand Central. He 62 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:22,400 Speaker 1: hired two architecture firms to help bring his vision to life, 63 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:27,280 Speaker 1: Reed and Stern and Warner and Wetmore. Working together, the 64 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:30,800 Speaker 1: firm settled on a Beaux Arts design for the new terminal, 65 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 1: a grandiose French style of architecture characterized by formal symmetry, 66 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: lavish interiors, and classical elements such as columns and terraces. 67 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: Planning officials also took the opportunity to correct the station's name. 68 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:48,880 Speaker 1: Because trains no longer ran south from Grand Central, the 69 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: hub was now the end of the line, which technically 70 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 1: made it a terminal, not a station. Construction on Grand 71 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: Central Terminal began in the summer of nineteen o three 72 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:02,760 Speaker 1: with the demo coition of the existing station. From there, 73 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:06,200 Speaker 1: a new double level structure was built on a wopping 74 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:10,320 Speaker 1: sixty nine point eight acres of land, the world's largest 75 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:14,080 Speaker 1: train station at the time. The main concourse was two 76 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,520 Speaker 1: hundred and seventy five feet long, one hundred and twenty 77 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 1: feet wide, and one hundred and twenty five feet high, 78 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 1: complete with a towering white marble facade. The inside was 79 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:31,040 Speaker 1: even more extravagant, featuring sweeping arches, ninety foot tall transparent walls, 80 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:34,960 Speaker 1: and an expansive ceiling mural depicting the constellations of the 81 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:39,279 Speaker 1: Mediterranean night sky. More than just a pretty face, the 82 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:44,320 Speaker 1: terminal also boasted a highly efficient circulation plan. Realizing that 83 00:05:44,400 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 1: long distance travelers would have suitcases in tow, the designers 84 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:51,920 Speaker 1: kept staircases to a minimum, instead opting for a series 85 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: of ramps that stretched all the way from the train 86 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:59,120 Speaker 1: platform to the street. Another design innovation were the terminals 87 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:04,320 Speaker 1: so called galleries, special elevated alcoves away from the main 88 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:07,919 Speaker 1: flow of traffic, where arriving passengers could pause to greet 89 00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:11,520 Speaker 1: the loved ones who had come to meet them. These clever, 90 00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: thoughtful touches didn't go unnoticed by the public or the press. 91 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 1: In eighteen ninety nine, the New York Times had called 92 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:23,040 Speaker 1: Grand Central a quote cruel disgrace, but after glimpsing the 93 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: new and improved terminal, On February second, nineteen thirteen, the 94 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: Times quickly changed its tune. It now declared, quote, the 95 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 1: Grand Central Terminal is not only a station, It is 96 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:39,039 Speaker 1: a monument, a civic center, or, if one will, a 97 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: city without exception. It is not only the greatest station 98 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:46,279 Speaker 1: in the United States, but the greatest station of any 99 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:51,520 Speaker 1: type in the world. Despite its warm reception, Grand Central 100 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:55,719 Speaker 1: eventually fell into disrepair after a major uptick in highway 101 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:59,680 Speaker 1: use led to its gradual neglect as the decades went on, 102 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: Even its famous ceiling became tarnished by cigarette smoke. By 103 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: nineteen forty five, some people were already calling for the 104 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 1: building to be torn down, but thankfully, cooler heads prevailed 105 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,880 Speaker 1: and the terminal was granted a reprieve. Then, in the 106 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:19,440 Speaker 1: nineteen sixties, several high profile New Yorkers, including former First 107 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: Lady Jackie Kennedy, O Nassis, and architect Philip Johnson, banded 108 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: together to create the Committee to Save Grand Central. The 109 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:31,880 Speaker 1: group succeeded in preserving the terminal's landmark status, ensuring that 110 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:35,560 Speaker 1: it could never be removed from the city skyline. By 111 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:38,960 Speaker 1: that point, there wasn't all that much worth preserving, so 112 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 1: beginning in nineteen eighty, a one hundred million dollar restoration began, 113 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 1: eventually restoring the historic monument to its ornate, bustling old self. 114 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: I'm gay, Bluesier and hopefully you now know a little 115 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. If you 116 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:03,680 Speaker 1: enjoy today's episode, consider keeping up with us on Twitter, Facebook, 117 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:08,120 Speaker 1: and Instagram at TDI HC Show, And if you have 118 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,000 Speaker 1: any comments or suggestions, you can always send them my 119 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:15,640 Speaker 1: way by writing to This Day at iHeartMedia dot com. 120 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:18,640 Speaker 1: Thanks as always to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 121 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:21,400 Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back 122 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:24,880 Speaker 1: here again soon for another day in History class.