Building Grand Central Terminal

Images of Rail

by Gregory Bilotto

Built in the heart of the Empire City is the world's greatest and most iconic railway terminal. A colossal Beaux-Arts style transport nexus, Grand Central Terminal was completed in 1913 from the legacy of the railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt. The terminal quickly became vital to travel and today accommodates 750,000 people daily. This book documents the construction of Grand Central Terminal, the former Grand Central Depot (1871) and Grand Central Station (1900), and illuminates the incredible story of the terminal that revolutionized transport, developed Midtown Manhattan, and opened railroad access to suburban areas.

130 pages, Hardcover

Published May 29, 2017

Reviews

[Geoffrey]

I picked this up as it showed up as recommended on Hoopla AND I was visiting New York at the end of December - staying 4 blocks from Grand Central. I thought it would be interesting to read about some of the history of the building. Parts of it were interesting, and I picked up a few tidbits of information. The book really falls apart in the 4th chapter when it randomly rambles on about a bunch of the train station rehabs that took place up in Westchester county - basically your typical New York bloated union lead rehab project that costs 20X what it should. This read like Bilotto is a bit of a city employee know it all who should have brought in both a historian and a better writer instead of doing so much (and therefore so little) on his own.