Pershing Square Viaduct (Park Avenue Viaduct)

History and architecture

Located at Park Avenue and 42nd Street, the Pershing Square Viaduct was constructed in 1917-1919. The viaduct extends from 40th Street to Grand Central Terminal at 42nd Street, linking upper and lower Park Avenue by way of elevated drives that make a circuit around the terminal building and descend to ground level at 42th Street.

Designed in 1912 by the architectural firm of Warren & Wetmore, the viaduct was conceived as part of the original 1903 plan for the station by the firm of Reed & Stem. It is an integral part of a complex circulation system that was planned for the ultimate convenience of both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The terminal, the viaduct, and many of the surrounding buildings in the Grand Central zone comprise a carefully related scheme that is the finest example of Beaux-Arts civic planning in New York.

The Park Avenue viaduct is located on Park Avenue between 40th and 42nd Streets in an area known as Pershing Square. Until 1885, the site was transversed diagonally by Low's Lane, or Steuben Street, named after General Baron von Steuben of Revolutionary War fame. In 1914 the Grand Union Hotel, built on the southeast corner of 42nd Street and Park Avenue In 1883, was demolished and the site purchased by the City of New York to facilitate construction of the Lexington Avenue subway. Plans were publicized in 1919 to create an open plaza on the rectangular plot, named in honor of General John J. Pershing.

A national hero, Pershing pursued a distinguished career in the U.S. Army for more than 60 years. In 1916 he led 12,000 men into Mexico on an expedition to capture Pancho Villa. Pershing was Commander in Chief of the American Expedition Army Force in World War I, and upon his return to America in 1919, was named General of the Armies, the highest achievable rank in the United States army. A genius for organization, Pershing was instrumental in shaping the nation's defense program, and remained active in army life until his death in 1948.

In 1920, Pershing Square was sold to a development company that constructed an office building called the Pershing Square Building on the site at 100 East 42nd Street in 1923. Today, Pershing Square refers to the area occupied by the Park Avenue Viaduct, immediately adjacent to the original square.

Although plans for a viaduct were included In the original Reed & Stem scheme for Grand Central Terminal, construction did not begin until 1917, four years after the station was opened to the public. Prior to completion of the viaduct, traffic was routed around the terminal by way of Vanderbilt Avenue on the west, and Depew Place, originally a private street, on the east.

The final design of the viaduct was executed in 1912 by the firm of Warren & Wetmore. Completion of the bridge in 1919 marked the opening of an important connector establishing Park Avenue as a continuous north/south thoroughfare. The viaduct, which begins at 40th Street at the opening of the Belmont Tunnel, ascends on a gradual incline over 41st and 42nd Streets joining the upper story of the station building on the south facade, directly above the main entrance.

Traffic runs around the building on terraced drives and meets at street level at 45th Street, tunneling under the New York Central Building , and continuing up Park Avenue. The eastern drive was originally reserved for the use of baggage and mail vans, while public traffic traveled on the western roadway. This plan effectively eliminated the vehicular congestion that had characterized the old terminal. Heavy cross-town traffic passes under the viaduct on 42nd Street.

The viaduct was designed as an essential component of the terminal's circulation system. It is an important part of the design of the station itself, and reflects the comprehensive nature of Beaux Arts design and planning. The influence of the Ecole des Beaux-Arty, established in Paris in 1816, an the "Beaux Arts Style" was widespread in America at the turn of the 20th century. Many Beaux-Arts principles and planning techniques had impact in America.

Most influential, perhaps, was the monumental classicism that characterized the architecture and plan of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The exposition demonstrated for the first time in the United States the powerful effect of monumental scale, axial planning and a clearly defined system of circulation. The overall design of Grand Central Terminal,the connecting viaduct, and the neighboring buildings is a superb example of these principles.

Characteristic of Beaux-Arts design, each part of the terminal scheme is related to the whole. The station* both a literal and allegorical gateway to the city, occupies an important axial location on Park Avenue, and although somewhat overshadowed by the Pan Am building, is the focal point from the south of this wide boulevard. A clearly-defined axis directed toward such a fixed point is characteristic of Beaux-Arts planning. The viaduct approach to the terminal emphasizes the station's prominent position at the junction of Park Avenue and 42nd Street. The elevated roadways are a clear reflection of the analytical approach of the Beaux-Arts school to problems of circulation.

The design of the viaduct itself Is French in character, with its low, broad spanning arches and substantial supporting piers. Almost 600 feet long, the viaduct was designed with three arches separated by granite piers. A granite-faced ramp crowned by stone balustrades serves as the approach to the viaduct between 40th and 41st Streets. The piers, which flank the central arch on both sides of the bridge are marked by central projections ornamented with a wide, carved foliate frieze.

Each pier is crowned by an exceptionally handsome iron lamp post, an element that also appears on the elevated roadways around the terminal. The arch spandrels are sheathed with panels of sheet metal and distinguished by an iron railing composed of plain and foliate panels. A section of thi3 railing on the vest side of the 42nd Street arch had been replaced by metal bars. Plaques marked with the words "Pershing Square" crown each arch on both sides of the bridge.

Originally, all three arches of the Pershing Square Viaduct were left, open, with the trusses exposed, and at one time a trolley line ran underneath.

The central arch was enclosed by a steel and glass brick structure in 1939, when the city opened the New York City Convention and Visitors' Bureau under the central Beet ion of the bridge. This structure, fronted by a contemporary glass, enclosure on its north side, now serves temporarily . as an employment office. A cement block enclosure on the north end of the 41st Street arch and a wire fence on the south end of the arch further alter the original appearance of the viaduct. The iron-clad arches have recently been painted green.

Designed as an Integral part of the- comprehensive plan for the Grand Central Terminal, the Pershing Square Viaduct is a fine example of Beaux-Arts civil engineering. Its elegant design harmonizes with the Beaux-Arts character of the terminal itself. In addition, the viaduct is an Important element on Park Avenue, providing a striking visual approach to one of New York's most beautiful and best-known buildings.