Grand Central Post Office Annex, Forty-fifth Street & Lexington Avenue, Southwest corner, New York, New York County, NY
Summary
Significance: The Grand Central Post Office Annex was envisioned as a key element of the Grand Central Station complex, one of the most important example of monumental urban planning in the United States. Designed by the nationally significant architectural firm of Warren and Wetmore, in collaboration with the firm of Reed and Stem, the complex was built between 1903 and 1914 for a railroad cartel headed by the might New York Central Railroad. It included the massive Terminal itself, surrounded by raised traffic viaduct, the Post Office Annex, railroad offices on 45th street, and a vast underground network of tracks and platforms. The breadth of the project and the richness of its execution documents not only the tremendous wealth of the railroads during the period, but also their influence in shaping the image of American cities. The Annex was constructed as part of the complex to provide railroad-related office space on the upper floors while the lower stores were leased as a postal facility. The structure as built was only part of a much larger planned complex, although the intended extension to the south was never realized. In 1932, the federal government purchased the edifice from the New York Central. In 1937/38 the building underwent a major interior alteration under the direction of the United States Postal Service. Nonetheless, the classical granite and limestone building has maintained its prominence and civic character with the Lexington Avenue landscape.
Survey number: HABS NY-6302
Building/structure dates: 1914 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1938 Subsequent Work
Building/structure dates: after 1960 Subsequent Work
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