Park Avenue Viaduct
The Park Avenue Viaduct, also known as the Pershing Square Viaduct, is a roadway in Manhattan, New York City. It carries vehicular traffic on Park Avenue from 40th to 46th Streets. The viaduct is composed of two sections: a steel viaduct with two roadways from 40th to 42nd Streets, as well as a pair of roadways between 42nd and 46th Streets. The section from 40th to 42nd Streets was designated a New York City landmark in 1980 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The street-level service roads of Park Avenue, which flank the viaduct between 40th and 42nd Streets, are called Pershing Square. The section of the viaduct between 42nd and 46th Streets travels around Grand Central Terminal and the MetLife Building, then through the Helmsley Building; all three buildings lie across the north–south axis of the avenue.
For the bridge over the Harlem River also known as the Park Avenue Bridge, see Harlem River Lift Bridge. For the railroad line, see Park Avenue main line.Location
Park Avenue between East 40th and 46th Streets
Manhattan, New York
1919 (western roadway and south leg)
1928 (eastern roadway)
Warren & Wetmore; Reed & Stem
06101.006478
1127
August 11, 1983[3]
July 6, 1983[1]
September 23, 1980[2]
The viaduct was first proposed by New York Central Railroad president William J. Wilgus in 1900 as part of the construction of Grand Central Terminal. Construction on the viaduct's western leg began in 1917, after the terminal had opened, and was completed in 1919. The western leg initially carried two-way traffic, so the eastern leg was completed for northbound traffic in 1928, and the western leg was reconfigured to carry southbound traffic only. An information booth was established in 1939 beneath the viaduct, and the city renovated the viaduct in the early 1990s.
Critical reception and landmark designations[edit]
When the Park Avenue Viaduct opened, it was praised as a solution to the traffic congestion around Grand Central Terminal. In 1922, the New-York Tribune called it one of several works of "engineering magic".[87] Christopher Gray, architecture critic at The New York Times, wrote that "the completion of the viaduct suddenly changed Park Avenue from an inconvenient local street to the most modern highway in New York."[12] The building's design in relation to Grand Central Terminal was also lauded. Architecture magazine said that the design "has produced a beautiful and satisfying work of truly monumental character."[14]
The Park Avenue Viaduct was designated a New York City landmark in 1980.[88][2] In its report, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission wrote that the viaduct "is an integral part of the complex circulation system of Grand Central Terminal".[11] The viaduct was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, technically as a "boundary increase" to the Grand Central Terminal's listing, but carrying a separate reference number.[3] Both designations apply only to the section of the viaduct between 40th and 42nd Streets.[2][89]
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