Lexington Avenue Station, New York

Recently, I discovered that someone has scanned a copy of the 1910 Official Guide and put it up online. I was looking through the NYNH&H schedules and came across something I've never seen before. There are two terminal stations listed for New York: Grand Central Station and Lexington Avenue Station. Per the Dec. 6, 1909 schedule, for instance, Train 278, the 7:45 a.m. weekday departure for New Haven, originates at Lexington Ave.; train 48, the 8:00 a.m. Boston express via Hartford and Willimantic, originates at Grand Central.

Anyone know what this was? Is it some temporary arrangement from the time they were building the current GCT?

The original line originated down around Wall Street or so and ran up Park Avenue. Subsequently became a terminal at its present location, but was steam and above ground. Two stations, same location, would have been right around the time the current Grand Central Terminal was under construction.

The terminal shown in the schedules as "Lexington Avenue" was a temporary station opened in the basement of the Grand Central Palace on Lexington Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets. As Ridgefielder surmised, it was opened about 1907 to provide additional platform space for trains during the demolition of Grand Central Station and the construction of Grand Central Terminal.

It's very hard to find information about the temporary terminal though there is a reference in paragraph 17 of this pretty good capsule history of Grand Central.

Looking at old newspaper articles, commuting into Grand Central was very difficult during the construction of the new terminal. Commuters wrote many exasperated letters to New York City newspapers. One I especially remember reading was from a Harlem commuter who complained of not knowing if the temporary walkway he used in the morning to get out of the station would still be there that evening when he was trying to get in the station.

Grand Central Palace was an exhibition hall and was itself demolished about 1913 I guess. The Graybar Building was later built on the site (by New York Central) while a new Grand Central Palace opened on Lexington between 46th and 47th Streets about 1911.

The New Haven tried to assist during this difficult time by adding service on the Harlem Branch to the old 132nd Street terminal in the Bronx, hoping to reduce the flow into Grand Central. I don't believe that was very successful though -- it was just too far uptown for most people to want to bother with -- and many of the extra trains were soon discontinued.

Grand Central Palace did not get torn down until sometime in the 60's. I can remember the New Haven running Flower Show specials out of Waterbury, New Haven, Danbury and elsewhere to this event and they were well patronized. The old post office, Grand Central Palace and 466 Lexington Avenue were all buildings of the past and today they are only memories.
Noel Weaver

The Graybar Building was later built on the site (by New York Central) while a new Grand Central Palace opened on Lexington between 46th and 47th Streets about 1911.

Noel Weaver wrote:Grand Central Palace did not get torn down until sometime in the 60's.

The one built in 1911 (the second one) wasn't torn down until the 60s. Read all about it.