New York City's Grand Central Station is one of the nation's most cherished transit hubs. The station is not only architecturally stunning, but also heavily used by the region. More than 750,000 subway and train commuters pass through its halls every day.
While the city recognizes Grand Central as a historic landmark today, that wasn't true several decades ago. In the mid-1970s, developers sought to partially demolish the complex and build a 53-story office tower on top.
A group of preservationists — aided by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis — battled with the developers, and on June 26, 1978, the Supreme Court ruled that any proposal to tear down the terminal would be denied.
The decision set a precedent for other historic buildings across NYC.
"There was a real groundswell effort to protect the landmarks and legacy of historic structures in New York," Amy Hausmann, senior curator and deputy director for collections and exhibitions at the New York Transit Museum, told Business Insider.
Take a look below.
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June 26 marks the 40th anniversary of a monumental Supreme Court decision that saved and helped preserve Grand Central Station in Midtown Manhattan.
In 1913, Grand Central Terminal opened to the public, after 10 years of construction and at a cost of over $2 billion in today's dollars.
In the mid-'70s, railroad executive Stuart Saunders — whose transportation company owned Grand Central — wanted to make the station as profitable as possible.
Saunders also spearheaded the demolition of the original Penn Station in New York.
He envisioned demolishing one of Grand Central's terminals and building a 53-story skyscraper in its place. Here are a few proposed designs by architect Marcel Breuer:
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