1950: The Grand Opening of New York City’s Port Authority Bus Terminal

December 15, 1950

New York City’s Port Authority Bus Terminal — owned and operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — made its formal debut. The new facility, which the New York Times proclaimed to be “as revolutionary as it is large,” was constructed to consolidate all of the private bus terminals scattered throughout midtown Manhattan.

Those on hand for the Port Authority Bus Terminal’s grand opening included New Jersey Governor Alfred E. Driscoll (1902-1975) and New York City Mayor Vincent R. Impellitteri (1900-1987). New York Governor (and two-time Republican presidential nominee) Thomas E. Dewey (1902-1971), who was not able to attend, prepared a message for the occasion. He called it “a matter of very great pride” that the terminal was built during his time in office.

Starting at 3:00 p.m., the general public was allowed inside the terminal; by 8:00 that night, approximately 40,000 people had made their way through the building. “The terminal has an air of spaciousness achieved by keeping floor space uncluttered and by use of pale gray terrazzo flooring,” reported the New York Times. “The walls and pillars are decorated as a soft ochre tone.”

The Port Authority Bus Terminal began regular operations at the start of the following day, with the first departing bus leaving for Raleigh, North Carolina, at a minute past midnight. The first incoming bus, which had traveled all the way from Los Angeles, arrived at the terminal 14 minutes later.

The terminal holds the record as the largest facility of its kind in the United States. In addition, it is the world’s busiest bus terminal by volume of traffic. (The accompanying photo of the Port Authority Bus Terminal was taken in 2019.)

Photo Credit: ajay_suresh (https://www.flickr.com/people/83136374@N05) — licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

For more information on the Port Authority Bus Terminal, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Authority_Bus_Terminal