Editing Grand Central Terminal (section)

=== Terminal City ===
[[File:Helmsley Building vanaf Park Ave - New York 27-02-2016 9-19-52.jpg|thumb|alt=The Beaux-Arts skyscraper in front of the more modern MetLife Building|The [[Helmsley Building]], in front of the [[MetLife Building]], was built as part of Terminal City, a commercial and office district created above the tracks]]
{{main|Terminal City (Manhattan)}}
Burying the terminal's tracks and platforms also allowed the railroads to sell above-ground [[air rights]] for real-estate development.<ref name="nyt19300914" /><ref name="PS1931" /> Grand Central's construction thus produced several blocks of prime real estate in Manhattan, stretching from 42nd to 51st Streets between Madison and Lexington avenues.<ref name="nyt19300914" /><ref name="PS1931" /> By the time the terminal opened in 1913, the blocks surrounding it were each valued at $2 million to $3 million.<ref name="nyt19130202-1" /> Terminal City soon became Manhattan's most desirable commercial and office district. From 1904 to 1926, land values along Park Avenue doubled, and land values in the Terminal City area increased 244%.<ref name="Fitch Waite p. 6" />

The district came to include office buildings such as the [[Chrysler Building]], [[Chanin Building]], [[110 East 42nd Street|Bowery Savings Bank Building]], and [[Pershing Square Building]]; luxury apartment houses along Park Avenue; an array of high-end hotels that included the [[Commodore Hotel New York|Commodore]], [[New York Biltmore Hotel|Biltmore]], [[Roosevelt Hotel (Manhattan)|Roosevelt]], [[Marguery Hotel|Marguery]], Chatham, [[InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel|Barclay]], Park Lane, and [[Waldorf Astoria New York|Waldorf Astoria]];<ref name="Gray 2010" /><ref name="Fitch Waite p. 6" /> the [[Grand Central Palace]]; and the [[Yale Club of New York City]].<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|New York Central|1912|p=24}}</ref><ref name="Fitch Waite p. 6" /> The structures immediately around Grand Central Terminal were developed shortly after the terminal's opening, while the structures along Park Avenue were constructed through the 1920s and 1930s.<ref name="Schlichting p. 162" />

The [[Graybar Building]], completed in 1927, was one of the last projects of Terminal City. The building incorporates many of Grand Central's train platforms, as well as the Graybar Passage, a hallway with vendors and train gates stretching from the terminal to Lexington Avenue.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Graybar Building|publisher=Landmarks Preservation Commission|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2554.pdf|date=November 22, 2016|access-date=December 7, 2018|archive-date=February 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206154750/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2554.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1929, New York Central built its headquarters in a 34-story building, later renamed the [[Helmsley Building]], which straddled Park Avenue north of the terminal.<ref>{{cite news|title=Park Avenue, Interrupted|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/realestate/park-avenue-interrupted.html|date=December 21, 2014|access-date=December 8, 2018|archive-date=March 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303165637/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/realestate/park-avenue-interrupted.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Development slowed drastically during the [[Great Depression]],<ref name="Fitch Waite p. 6" /> and part of Terminal City was gradually demolished or reconstructed with steel-and-glass designs after [[World War II]].<ref name="Gray 2010" /><ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=113}}</ref>

The area shares similar boundaries as the [[Grand Central Partnership|Grand Central Business Improvement District]], a neighborhood with businesses collectively funding improvements and maintenance in the area. The district is well-funded; in 1990 it had the largest budget of any [[Business improvement districts in the United States|business improvement district]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/03/arts/architecture-view-grand-central-basks-in-a-burst-of-morning-light.html|title=Grand Central Basks in a Burst of Morning Light|last=Goldberger|first=Paul|date=June 3, 1990|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 25, 2018|archive-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225082351/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/03/arts/architecture-view-grand-central-basks-in-a-burst-of-morning-light.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The district's organization and operation is run by the Grand Central Partnership, which has given free tours of the station building.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/27/nyregion/answering-questions-about-new-york.html|title=Answering Questions About New York|date=April 27, 2014|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 25, 2018|archive-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225125950/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/27/nyregion/answering-questions-about-new-york.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/travel/16weekend.html|title=Sheltering Under Grand Central's Ceiling of Stars|last=Kugel|first=Seth|date=November 16, 2008|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 25, 2018|archive-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225125940/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/travel/16weekend.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The partnership has also funded some restoration projects around the terminal, including installation of lamps to illuminate its facade and purchase of a streetlamp that used to stand on the Park Avenue Viaduct.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/29/nyregion/new-lighting-for-grand-central-elegance.html|title=New Lighting for Grand Central Elegance|last=Shepard|first=Richard F.|date=March 29, 1991|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 25, 2018|archive-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225130030/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/29/nyregion/new-lighting-for-grand-central-elegance.html|url-status=live}}</ref>