Main Concourse, Grand Central Terminal, New York City - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

Grand Central Terminal is located at 42nd St. and Park Ave. in New York City. To date, three different buildings have occupied this site serving as a railway station. The first was called Grand Central Depot and served three different railroads: The New York & Harlem R.R., The New York Central & Hudson River R.R. and the New York & New Haven R.R. It opened in 1871 and was considered practically obsolete shortly thereafter. A new building, which was basically a facelift to the existing one, was dubbed Grand Central Station and was completed in 1900.

The current building was constructed between 1903 and 1913 and represented major changes to the entire infrastructure of the area. All tracks below 42nd St. were removed making the new building the terminus of the railroad lines. Also, the train yard was removed and replaced with a two-tiered underground network. Finally, the entire line was electrified eliminating the need for steam locomotives. Although still commonly called Grand Central Station, its correct name is Grand Central Terminal because all lines terminate here. (Further compounding the naming confusion is a post office across the street called Grand Central Station.)

Grand Central Terminal cost $80 million to complete and took 10 years to build. With its Beaux-Arts façade and grand main concourse, Grand Central was hailed as the greatest railway terminal in the world at that time being twice as large as its New York City counterpart, Pennsylvania Station.

Speaking of Pennsylvania Station, its demolition in 1963 sparked a movement for architectural preservation within the United States and indirectly saved Grand Central Terminal from a similar fate. With declining rail traffic in the 1960s, Grand Central Terminal was on a collision course with the wrecking ball. But in 1967, Grand Central Terminal was declared a New York City Landmark and with the help of public sentiment (including, most notably, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis) and a Supreme Court decision, it was preserved. And today, after extensive renovation (which cost about 2 and a half times the original cost!), it has been restored to its original splendor.

The stamp was issued to pay the current Express Mail rate and shows the interior of the main concourse looking east. It was issued on Feb. 1, 2013 almost exactly 100 years after the first train departed Grand Central Terminal at 12:20 am on Feb. 2, 1913 and indirectly commemorates the building’s centennial. Interestingly, the grand staircase that can be seen on the stamp was not part of the original structure but rather was added as part of the renovation project.

Stamp Issuing Country: United States Date of Issue: Feb. 1, 2013 Denomination: $19.95 Color: multicolored Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: [Web Link]

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