New-York tribune., 1911-11-29
One of the Gre test t
Engineering Feats of
the Century Now
Under Way.
CONGESTION RELIEVED
The Evolution of a New Civic
Centre from Un-
slightly Railroad
Yards.

The idea of building n new Grand Cen
tral station on tho site OF the old one
which was less than forty years old and
mad lust been remodelled at an expense OF
more than a million dollars. started with
,,o rronosition TO clcctrify the road. and
do away with the smoke and steam in the
Park avenue tunnel
Plans Of the station building we're sub
,,itted ~, prominent architects, and after
several months study the railroad officials
s,rroved tho plans Of Reed e stem, which
embraced not only a station building, but a
scheme for the development Of the entire
area over the yards. with buildings for
business and other purposes. and the con-
,,oction Of Park avenue South with Park
avenue North by an elevated street around
tho station building They associated with
,nor, in the work Of carrying out the plans
,he firm Of Warren & Wetmore, and In
tho contract with these firms provided
that they should work under the direction
oe g. 4. Reed as executive head Of the
associated firms.
ono Of the greatest ideas presented by
the Reed & Stem plans. and one that will
nrove Of the greatest value to the railroad
companv. was the scheme Of utilizing the
property above the railroad tracks This
demanded the connection Of Park avenue
IN some way, and led to the development
Of elevated streets around the station
thus serving two purposes-giving an ad-
dtional street and allowing the bridging
over Of 42d street by Park avenue. and re-
gr ~
ton.
These points, and the broad and expert
enced way in which the problem was ham
died led the railroad officials to decide on
the Reed 4 stem plans I'm preference 10
the others for this great and complex rail-
road station. The people Of New York can
readily understand what st means TO have
,orty-six acres of land in the heart Of one
or the greatest business districts Of the
world made available for all kinds OF
buildings up 20 twenty stories IN height
This has been accomplished, and millions
Of dollars are being used 10 build up this
tract Of land. Almost every piece Of
-round available has some tentative
scheme for development
4 proposition of this magnitude comes TO
az architect once I'm a hundred years or
so. and IL is TO the brains and ingenuity Of
G.. A Reed. the executive head of the
Grand Central architects, that all the cred
il must be given for the way in which the
great work has been carried out under his
direct and personal supervision.
People from all over the country have
been looking or in wonder at the vast
mining operation being carried on in the
forty-six acres comprising the excavation
Of the New Grand Central Staton-the
worlds greatest terminal rising in the
heart Of New York. What has lately ap-
pcared TO the casual observer 20 be a huge
mining camp or marble quarry gridironed
by railroad tracks, with the noise Of the
steam drill and shovel. emphasized now and
then by blasts Of dynamite loosening tons
OF rock, is beginning to assume concrete
form and give them an idea Of what II is
going 10 look like when completed.
Besides being a vast terminal FOR thC
arrival and departure OF trains. a new
civic centre viii be established above The
railroad tracks, dozen or more large city
blocks will he developed for building pur
POSES, on which the architects have de-
veloped 4 scheme Of harmonious grouping
q monumental buildings unequalled by
any city i'm the world.
II was but q few years ago that this
area was covered with screeching, grind