New York City’s Grand Central Terminal opened in 1913, on 2 February.
The terminal replaced an earlier Grand Central station complex built for the New York Central Railroad. Construction of the present Beaux-Arts terminal began in 1903 after a 1902 collision helped spur the replacement of steam locomotives with electric trains in the Park Avenue tunnel approach. The new building was designed by Reed and Stem with Warren and Wetmore.
Grand Central was built as a vast underground rail complex, with separate upper and lower levels and dozens of tracks. Its opening transformed Midtown Manhattan and helped create “Terminal City,” a major commercial district built above the covered tracks. About 150,000 people passed through during its first day.
The name is another source of confusion: “Grand Central Station” is widely used informally, but the official name is Grand Central Terminal. It remained an intercity terminal until 1991, when Amtrak moved its New York operations to Penn Station; Metro-North commuter trains continue to use it.