No Ordinary Landmark

Louis Hull Hoffer is an independent scholar. He has worked in community development in New Jersey and New York.

Series Foreword Introduction 1. The Railroad City 2. Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station 3. The Terminal in Post-World War II New York City 4. Landmark Law 5. Landmark Status for Grand Central Terminal 6. Penn Central Strikes Back 7. Appeals in the New York State Courts 8. Briefs and Oral Argument in the US Supreme Court 9. The High Court Decides 10. The Terminal After Penn Central Conclusion Chronology Bibliographic Essay Index

"A deeply researched yet engagingly written history not only of Grand Central Terminal and the fight for its preservation, but of the railroads and their connection and contribution to the rise of Manhattan, as well as the brilliant innovations that made the Terminal such a magnificent landmark in its day. Spurred by the tragic destruction of the famed Penn Station in the early 1960s and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis's well-known devotion to historic preservation, the author also recounts the great legal battles that insured not only the Terminal's protection but other historic buildings throughout the country. A fascinating account of a landmark in danger and its amazing survival as a national model and monument to the human ability to solve technological challenges in a most enduringly beautiful way."-Suzanne Hinman, author of The Grandest Madison Square Garden: Art, Scandal, and Architecture in Gilded Age New York "Thriving cities are always reinventing themselves, but their continued prosperity depends on balancing public goods with private interests. Louis Hull Hoffer's fascinating account of the battle over Grand Central Terminal illustrates how New York City-the same city that permitted the old Penn Station to be destroyed-can also get it right."-Salo Coslovsky, Associate Professor at NYU-Wagner "Louis Hull Hoffer's No Ordinary Landmark is no ordinary book. Across ten highly readable chapters Hoffer provides a sweeping account of the construction as well as the near demolition of New York's famed Grand Central Station. For those interested in the history of New York, the history of preservation law, or the history of one of New York's most beautiful buildings, this exquisitely rendered book is a must."-Kafui Attoh, Associate Professor, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, coauthor of Disrupting DC: The Rise of Uber and the Fall of the City "Louis Hull Hoffer takes readers on a captivating historical journey through the making of Grand Central Terminal, revealing the many ways in which people, politics, and the power of the courts converged to preserve one of New York City's most treasured landmarks. No Ordinary Landmark is a must-read for anyone interested in urban governance, community development, and the evolution of land use planning in America."-Yolande A. Cadore, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Population and Family Health at Columbia University