Description
Book Synopsis-Journal of the Society of Architectural HistoriansAbly tells the story of the New York rail system's most active and visible symbol: the architectural and engineering masterpiece, with its grand public concourse, in the heart of Midtown.-New Scientist
Trade ReviewSchlichting's new book is a stellar example of the importance of university presses. It profiles the chief engineer of the New York Central Railroad, the man 'who first presented his revolutionary plans for a completely new Grand Central'... Wilgus would continue to languish in obscurity had not Johns Hopkins University Press chosen to showcase him by printing his biography. -- Steve Goddard History Wire - Where the Past Comes Alive Schlichting is very good at providing the economic and political context for Wilgus's work... A very well-researched, well-organized, well-written account. Highly recommended. Choice The single best analysis we have of freight transportation in an early twentieth-century U.S. city. -- Clifton Hood Journal of American History Reconsidering accomplishments-and those who accomplished them-that predate our collective living memories is an important and rewarding exercise, especially when done as well as Grand Central's Engineer, which celebrates William J. Wilgus both for his pioneering and visionary work on the terminal and for his subsequent work in transportation planning. -- Ray Bert Civil Engineering Schlichting does more than revive the reputation and importance of William Wilgus; he also provides a fascinating, well-researched, and important case study for how expertise and rational, comprehensive planning was necessary to solve the problems of the modern City. -- Joshua A. Britton Journal of Urban History
Table of ContentsPreface
Introduction
1. New York City's Geography and Transportation Challenges
2. The Brilliance of Grand Central
3. New York's Freight Problem
4. Expanding the Subway in Manhattan
5. World War and Ideas for a New York–New Jersey "Port Authority"
6. Making Room for the Automobile: The Holland Tunnel
7. Joining Staten Island to New York City: The Narrows Tunnel
Conclusion
Notes
Index
