Grand Central Terminal
The Burger Court (1975-1981). Seated, from left to right: Justices Byron R. White and William J. Brennan, Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, and Justices Potter Stewart and Thurgood Marshall. Standing, from left to right: Justices William H. Rehnquist, Harry Blackmun, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., and John Paul Stevens
Proposed Expansion of Grand Central Station
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal
The Penn Central Transportation Company wanted to build a tower atop Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. New York City designated the train station as an historic “landmark” in order to block the redevelopment. Penn Central argued that the landmark designation was an unconstitutional “taking” of its air rights over the terminal. The Supreme Court upheld the designation in Penn Central Transportation Company v. New York (1978).
Justice Brennan wrote the majority opinion.