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Grand Central–42nd Street station

New York City subway station

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 20, 2026
Entity authorityQ2982151 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Grand Central–42nd Street station (also signed as 42nd Street–Grand Central) is a major station complex of the New York City Subway. Located in Midtown Manhattan at 42nd Street between Madison and Lexington Avenues, it serves trains on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, the IRT Flushing Line and the 42nd Street Shuttle. The complex is served by the 4, 6, and 7 trains at all times; the 5 and 42nd Street Shuttle (S) trains at all times except late nights; the <6> train during weekdays in the peak direction; and the <7> train during rush hours and early evenings in the peak direction.

The station is adjacent to Grand Central Terminal and Grand Central Madison, which serves all Metro-North Railroad lines east of the Hudson River and Long Island Rail Road lines east bound for another major hub Jamaica and several points east. There are multiple exits to Grand Central Terminal and to nearby buildings such as One Vanderbilt and the Chrysler Building. Numerous elevators make the station compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

The present shuttle station was constructed for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as an express station on the city's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. As part of the Dual Contracts, the Flushing Line platform opened in 1915. After the Lexington Avenue Line platforms opened in 1918, the original station became the eastern terminal of the 42nd Street Shuttle, reconfigured with three tracks and two platforms.

Editorial summary

“Grand Central–42nd Street station” enters the record as new York City subway station. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Grand, Central and 42nd can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1990, 1900, 1904, 1915—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Grand, Central and 42nd.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Grand Central–42nd Street station” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Grand, Central and 42nd provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2982151. Authority coordinates are 40.752, -73.978. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1990, 1900, 1904 and 1915.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Grand Central–42nd Street station”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Grand Central–42nd Street station primary sources, Grand Central–42nd Street station archive and Grand research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Grand Central–42nd Street station”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Grand Central–42nd Street station” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.