Buffalo Central Terminal - History - Planning and Construction

Planning and Construction

During the late 19th Century, Buffalo had several railroad stations, and there were calls for a single union station. In 1889, a Union Station was proposed to be built on the site of the future Central Terminal, but it never happened.

The New York Central (NYC) had two stations in Buffalo in the early 20th Century: the Exchange Street Station and the Terrace Station. Both of these downtown stations were old—Exchange Street dated to before the American Civil War—and were plagued with downtown congestion.

The New York Central decided to build the new Buffalo Central Terminal 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to the east, in order to relieve both rail and grade crossing congestion and to be more conveniently located for trains not terminating in Buffalo. A roomier area would also ease the transfer of sleeping cars between trains. Furthermore, Buffalo was a quickly growing city at the time, and it was believed that before long Central Terminal's area would become closer to the center of a sprawing metropolis of 1.5 million people. The City was not so sure, but planning was well underway in 1924, despite the lack of an agreement at the time.

The New York Central finalized its decision to build the terminal in 1925, and site preparation began the following year. New York Central President Patrick Crowley hired Alfred T. Fellheimer and Steward Wagner to build the actual station in 1927. The total cost of the project was 14 million USD. Prior to the building of the station, the site was bounded to the south by the New York Central main line, to the northwest by the NYC's West Shore Railroad, and to the east by the NYC's Junction Railroad. When the station was built, the West Shore was abandoned between the NYC main line and the Junction Railroad, being rerouted via the other two lines and the new station. The former West Shore right-of-way is now Memorial Drive.

A grand celebration attended by 2,200 invited guests on June 22, 1929 opened the station. Speakers included Henry Thornton and Frank X. Schwab. Although an eastbound Empire State Express departed the station at 2:10 PM, the train was not a regular one, and was really just ceremonial. The station did not open until the celebration ended at 3:30, and scheduled service began on June 23.