Grand Central Was Born: Thanks Ira Place

Ira Adelbert Place
Born: May 8, 1854, New York, NY
Died: January 24, 1928, New York, NY
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grandfather In-Law

On this date 100 years ago, Grand Central Station opened. Grand Central was built by New York Central and Harlem River Railroad, where Ira Place was a vice president.

Grand Central station is proudly celebrating this anniversary with advertisements around the city, TV programs on the history, and information and history on its website. You can go through the timeline on the website here. The description of the opening says:

Grand Central Terminal officially opened to great fanfare at 12:01 am on Sunday, February 2, 1913, and more than 150,000 people visited the new terminal on its opening day. Although construction was not yet entirely complete, Grand Central Terminal had arrived and New York City would never be the same again.

The timeline further says that the new station was constructed to expand and upgrade the lines to electric (the announcement of the new station came in 1902, one week after a deadly collision between steam locomotives) and would feature a double level terminal.

Ira Place was not a vice president during the entirety of the development and construction but based on his positions would likely have been involved. According to his obituary in the Cornell Alumni News, he became General Attorney at Hudson River Railroad Company (a part of Vanderbilt's New York Central and Hudson River Railroad) in 1902. In 1906 he became a vice president of New York Central.

In addition to his titles at the railroad, we have another piece of evidence that he likely had an important role with the station's development. In 1910 Ira sent a letter to the New York Times with details about the station as it was being constructed, which led to an article in the Times describing his letter and the plans.

So while everyone is celebrating this historic and beautiful station, we can also celebrate Ira's role.

Lincoln the Movie: Cold Harbor Reference

Justice (or Justus) Cheney
Born: May 11, 1835, Hopkinton, NY
Died: June 3, 1864, Cold Harbor, VA
Relation to Author: 2nd Great Grand Uncle
Brother of 2nd great grandfather, Jesse Cheney

Two weeks ago I went with my father to see Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. During the movie, there is one scene that brings the Civil War home to me, because it mentions the battle where one of my ancestors died. As you'll remember, I wrote in a previous post that Justice* Cheney died at Cold Harbor. During the very powerful scene where the President and First Lady are fighting, Mary Todd Lincoln references Cold Harbor (here is a link to the script):

MARY: The war will take our son! A sniper, or a shrapnel shell! Or typhus, same as took Willie, it takes hundreds of boys a day! He’ll die, uselessly, and how will I ever forgive you? Most men, their firstborn is their favorite, but you, you’ve always blamed Robert for being born, for trapping you in a marriage that’s only ever given you grief and caused you regret!

LINCOLN: That’s not true -

MARY: And if the slaughter of Cold Harbor is on your hands same as Grant, God help us! We’ll pay for the oceans of spilled blood you’ve sanctioned, the uncountable corpses we’ll be made to pay with our son’s dear blood -

- Lincoln rises from the window seat, angry. -

LINCOLN: Just, just this once, Mrs. Lincoln, I demand of you to try and take the liberal and not the selfish point of view! You imagine Robert will forgive us if we continue to stifle his very natural ambition?!

MARY (with a mocking smile): And if I refuse to take the high road, if I won’t take up the rough old cross, will you threaten me again with the madhouse, as you did when I couldn’t stop crying over Willie, when I showed you what heartbreak, real heartbreak looked like, and you hadn’t the courage to countenance it, to help me -

What this highlights to me (once again) is how bloody that battle was perceived to be and how much that blood was blamed on Grant. So when Mary Lincoln talks about the blood spilled, she is talking about Justice Cheney, among many others. 


*The original version of this post incorrectly had Judson's name here.