GCT Grand Central Terminal- North Passageway

The access to the North Passage way that is at track level on the upper level:

What was in this place before the walkway? Was it a track? Can someone fill me in on the details of this project?

I am assuming dirt/fill, for the east-west passages. based on the following from Google:


Grand Central North
Grand Central North, opened on August 18, 1999, provides access to Grand Central from 47th and 48th streets. It is connected to the Main Concourse through two long hallways, the Northwest Passage (1000 feet long) and Northeast Passage (1200 feet long), which run parallel to the tracks. Entrances are at the northeast corner of East 47th Street and Madison Avenue (Northwest Passage), northeast corner of East 48th Street and Park Avenue (Northeast Passage) and on the east and west sides of 230 Park Avenue (Helmsley Building). Ellen Driscoll, an artist from Brooklyn, designed the mosaics in Grand Central North.

The entrances to Grand Central North were originally open from 6:30 AM to 9:30 PM Monday through Friday and 9 AM to 9:30 PM on Saturday and Sunday. As of summer 2006, Grand Central North was closed on weekends, with the MTA citing low usage and the need to save money by the shutdown [2]. Prior to the closing, about 6,000 people used Grand Central North on a typical weekend [3], and about 30,000 on weekdays.

Ideas for a northern entrance to Grand Central were floated around since at least the 1970s. Construction on Grand Central North lasted from 1994 to 1999 and cost $112 million. It was originally scheduled to be completed within three years on a budget of $70 million. Delays were attributed to the incomplete nature of the original blueprints of Grand Central and previously undiscovered groundwater underneath East 45th Street. As of 2006, the passages are not air-conditioned.

The depths of the passages in relation to the terminal are:

Metro-North Railroad upper level, 20 feet below street
Northwest and Northeast passages, 20 feet
47th Street cross-passage, 30 feet
45th Street cross-passage, 50 feet
Metro-North Railroad lower level, 60 feet

If I remember the West passage is over the former Track 31, which had a platform, but it did come all the way in as far as the other tracks. For the East Passage, I do not remember what was replaced.

The Northeast Passage was built on what used to be the platform for track 22, which was not used for passenger trains. As stated by Kurt, the Northwest Passage was built on what was formerly the platform for track 31, also not normally used for passenger trains.

When GCN was first opened, both "passages" had no walls - the platform was resurfaced and railings were installed to keep people from walking off the edge, but there was no wall. Walls were built later.

Jim

Also interesting is the question of how the cross passages came into being.
Were they excavated, or pre-existing?

They were not pre-existing.

They were partialy pre existing as postal tunnels that reached the platforms to load mail in old days.

Erie-Lackawanna wrote:When GCN was first opened, both "passages" had no walls - the platform was resurfaced and railings were installed to keep people from walking off the edge, but there was no wall. Walls were built later.

If I remember correctly, the walls were paid for by Bear Sterns as part of the deal to connect their new building (383 Madison Ave) to the 47th St. passage.

excitebike wrote: Also interesting is the question of how the cross passages came into being.
Were they excavated, or pre-existing?

Also, if I remember correctly, the lower level (45th St. passage) originally led to Grand Central Station [post office], but I heard the upper level (47th St. passage) was built from scratch.

All this info based on things I've read in the past, not from firsthand knowledge, so correct me if I'm wrong.

There were some "secret" passages from particular tracks. I recall once walking down the north sidewalk of either 49th or 50th Street just east of Park Avenue. A metal door opened up and a guy wearing a suit and carrying a brief case emerged. I asked him how he got there but he wouldn't tell me.

-those things are killers if the up ecalators are out of service. And the walk down is very long. I usually go to the main terminal, even if it is a longer walk. Love that Big Room.

Roger

Grand Central Madison. That would never be confused with Madison Square Garden / Penn Station!