The "Commodore" Creates Grand Central Depot

Shipping magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt acquired the Hudson River Railroad in 1864.  Soon after, Vanderbilt added the New York Central Railroad to his holdings and consolidated his position by creating a rail-link between Spuyten Duyvil and Mott Haven, allowing Hudson River trains to arrive at a common East Side terminal.  In 1869, Vanderbilt purchased property between 42nd and 48th Streets, Lexington and Madison Avenue for construction of a new train depot and rail yard.  On this site would rise the first Grand Central.

Grand Central Depot, designed by architect John B. Snook, was built at a cost of $6.4 million and opened in October 1871.  Virtually obsolete at the time it opened, it served three distinct rail lines -- the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, New York and Harlem Railroad, and the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad -- each of which maintained its own waiting room, baggage facilities and ticketing operation at the station.  Subsequent renovations and enlargements culminated in the 1898 expansion of the depot under architect Bradford Lee Gilbert and further interior renovation in 1900 directed by Samuel Huckel, Jr.