Grand Central Terminal celebrates 100 Years

Grand Central Terminal at night 

(courtesy of Wikipedia)

It took over 10 years to build and opened on February 2, 1913.

The terminal was actually the third structure at the site.

The impetus for its building was a tragic accident that occurred on January 8, 1902 when a commuter train from Westchester county crashed into another train waiting at the entrance to the tunnel killing 12 passengers.

Soot and smog coughed up by the steam locomotive had blinded the engineer.

So, the Vanderbilts, developers of the terminal, decided to build a new complex that would be run only on electricity.

GCT is the world's largest terminal spanning 49 acres.

There are over 33 miles of track.

Each day over 750,00 people pass through the terminal where the Metro North Railroad operates over 700 trains per day.

Happy birthday Grand Central Terminal!