A concourse is a place where
pathways or
road
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation.
There are many types of ...
s meet, such as in a
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
, a
convention center, a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
, an
airport terminal
An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an aircraft.
Within the terminal, passengers purchase tickets, transfer t ...
, a
hall, or other space.
The term is not limited to places where there are literally pathways or roadways or train tracks joining. An alternate meaning now is "an open space or hall (as in a railway terminal) where crowds gather."
In this meaning as a place where crowds gather, while many persons in any crowd no doubt have followed different paths in their lives to get to the place, there need not be notable specific roadways leading to the place.
Examples
Examples of concourses include:
* Meeting halls
*
Universities
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
*
Railway stations
A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing such ...
*
Conference centres
*
Hotels
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
*
Airport terminal
An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an aircraft.
Within the terminal, passengers purchase tickets, transfer t ...
s
*
Shopping malls
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
or portions of shopping malls which are often called "shopping concourses"
* Sports
arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
s and
stadiums
Gallery
Outdoor concourses
Image:Earnley concourse West Sussex.jpg, Earnley
Earnley is a civil and ecclesiastical parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located four miles (6.4 km) south-west of Chichester, and lies on the south coast of England. The parish includes the settlements of Almod ...
Concourse, West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...
, 2009[This local village name for its common land may imply an early usage of the word, ''concourse''.]
Image:ASDA concourse Llandudno.jpg, Asda
Asda Stores Ltd. () (often styled as ASDA) is a British supermarket chain. It is headquartered in Leeds, England. The company was founded in 1949 when the Asquith family merged their retail business with the Associated Dairies company of Yorks ...
supermarket concourse, Llandudno, 2007
Image:City Hall concourse by Rob Farrow.jpg, Concourse outside City Hall, London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
Image:Wembley Arena concourse by Chris Downer.jpg, Concourse outside Wembley Arena
Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-s ...
, 2008
Public transport concourses
File:Moynihan Train Hall.jpg, The interior of the Moynihan Train Hall
Moynihan Train Hall is an expansion of Pennsylvania Station, the main intercity and commuter rail station in New York City, into the city's former main post office building, the James A. Farley Building. Located between Eighth Avenue, Nin ...
at the Pennsylvania Station in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, opening day in 2021
File:GCT in Blizzard of 2015.jpg, Grand Central Terminal's Main Concourse
The Main Concourse is the primary concourse of Grand Central Terminal, a railway station in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The space is located at the center of the terminal's station building.
The distinctive architecture and design of the ...
, Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, 2015
File:Leeds bus station concourse.jpg, Leeds City bus station
Leeds City bus station serves the city of Leeds, England. Owned and managed by West Yorkshire Metro, it is situated between the Quarry Hill and Leeds Kirkgate Markets areas of Leeds city centre. The National Express Dyer Street Coach Station ...
concourse, 2007
File:Leeds City railway station concourse.jpg, Leeds railway station
Leeds railway station (also known as Leeds City railway station) is the mainline railway station serving the city centre of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is the fourth-busiest railway station in the UK outside London (as of March 2020). I ...
concourse, 2009
File:Liverpool Street concourse by Thos Nugent.jpg, Liverpool Street concourse, 2009
File:Paddington Station The Lawn.jpg, London Paddington station
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great W ...
concourse, ''The Lawn'', 2009
File:St Pancras shopping concourse.jpg, St Pancras shopping concourse during Christmas, 2011
File:St Pancras concourse by David Lally.jpg, St Pancras entrance concourse, 2009
File:Waterloo International Station concourse.jpg, Waterloo Station
Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of t ...
former Eurostar
Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operate ...
check-in concourse, 2009
File:Heathrow Airport Terminal 2, London, England - Diliff.jpg, Terminal 2 departures area of London Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
File:JFK Terminal 5 Ticketing and Check-In.jpg, Terminal 5 of the John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Avia ...
in New York City
Image:port-authority-bus.jpg, Gates 1-85 on the lower level of the Port Authority Bus Terminal
The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving about 8,000 buse ...
in New York City
Car park concourses
Image:Braehead car park concourse.jpg, Braehead
Braehead ( sco, Braeheid, Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Ceann a' Bhruthaich'') is a commercial development located at the former site of Braehead Power Station in Renfrew on the south bank of the River Clyde in Renfrew, Renfrewshire. It is particu ...
car park concourse in Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, 2008
Contemporary usage
More recently, "concourse" is often used to refer to a situation where people come together in
online
In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" o ...
presence, even if they do not physically come together in reality. An example of such an online community is the
IEEE
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operat ...
Student Concourse, as well as various
online shopping
Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of the ...
concourses.
See also
*
Concourse Program at MIT The Concourse Program is a freshman learning community at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Concourse admits up to fifty select MIT freshmen a year who are interested in understanding the breadth of human knowledge and the larger cont ...
*
Concourse on High (Bahá'í Faith)
*
Concourse at Landmark Center
Built in phases between 1984 and 1991, the Concourse at Landmark Center is a real estate development in metro Atlanta's Perimeter Center business district, in the city of Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States. It is a 70 acre planned community ...
*
Grand Concourse (Bronx)
References
External links
{{Wiktionary, concourse
IEEE Student Concourse
Footpaths
Railway stations