New Britain herald., 1929-10-18
q EVELAND DEPOT
 A MODERN MARVEL.
New S200,0O0,0O0 Rail Termi- nal Last Word in Engineering

Ncity EtdlS ago two youths, oIFlS r. Van Swcringen and his brother | Mantis James, even then promising young real estate operators, dreamed l of some day erecting a passenger station in Cleveland's Public Square. i The idea was conceived when the brothers took over parcel of subur ban real estate known as Shaker Heights. It was the problem of providing transportation for their prospective purchasers of lots that was the germ ot the idea. In the very heart of the business section of Cleveland, rapidly nearing completion, is the result of that dream, and subsequent action, of the Van Sweringens.
 Facing Public Square a towering 52-story office building stands over looking what is probably the larg est piece Of construction underway i3 the world today Here a virtual underground metropolis. Clevelands Union Terminal, is in the final stages of completion and will be opened fol service January 1. 1880.
 Here a vast maze of streets stores, hanks, theaters, electric car lines, bridges, hotels and railroad lines have been erected to form an ultra modern railroad terminal.
 Some idea of the cnormity of the project can be had from the amount of money it will require to complete the construction.
 Estimated Cost, S2OO, 100000
 Recently the whole project was estimated to require s1S0,000,000 be- fore the final touch would be put on if. Later estimates even placed the total as high as $200,000, 900. This would include all the ramifications and business buildings grouped around the Terminal building itself.
 Six railroads--the New York Gen. tral, Nickel Plate. Erie, Wheeling &. Lake Erie, Baltimore & Ohio and the Big Fcur--will run tracks into the Terminal. Huge sums of money are being expended individually by these roads. The Nickel Plate alone will spend approximately $15,000,000 Cn its program.
 When completed there will be nothing like it anywhere. The ter minals of St. Louis, Kansas City. Chicago and even the Grand Central of New York, considered the acme of perfection in terminals will pale be- side the Cleveland structure.
 Supplementary details of 14 and B story buildings, a rapid transit system, paralleling each railroad line exclusively for suburban service bringing passengers into the city within 10 minutes at 70 miles ar hour, and a proposed city wide sub way system is expected to make the Cleveland station even buster than the Grand Central.
 A marvel of design with it's facil- ities for handling traffic, the ter minal will consolidate all the fea- lures of modern engineering and architecture.
 The first floor, Or basement will consist of tracks and platforms for railroads. The next floor will be de- voted to numerous retail stores, theaters, restaurants and other places of business. On the third level even with the streets in the square, traffic will circulate over network of bridges and avenues.
 Above these levels will be q maze of pedestrian bridges, ramps and walks swung between the buildings. Numerous ramps leading down to the basement have been constructed for the use of taxis and private automo hiles. This whole mechanism will be intcrconnected by a maze of ,1n J5- I - passages.
 Completing the group of buildings built to supplement the terminal building itself with be an l8story Medical Arts Building. already com pleted, a large addition to Hotel Cleveland, which Hanks the Ter minal a large department store as big as any now in Cleveland and two other large buildings to be built by private concerns.
 Although the terminal and the various railroads connected with it are receiving primary consideration from the brothers it is not by any means the bulk of their enterprises.
 They have become financially in- terested in some of the city's manu- featuring interests. have constructed Q huge food terminal as part of the terminal group, are about to take over the city's street railway as part of the terminal program and have built numerous stores and other places of business in their structure.
 Vast holdings of real estate in the Shaker Heights district, one of the city's most exclusive residential sec tions, is also in their name. The original portion of this land Is valued in excess of 75,O00,000. Recently they secured another addition to their allotment. Under present plans this section will be improved to the extent of S100,000,000, which would be paid by individual purchasers, The rapid transit line was originated primarily to serve this development.
 Subway System Planned
 A $2.000,000 suburban retail shop ping center at each stop of their