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 ref ...

, a

convention center A convention center (American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a convention, where individuals and groups gather to promote and share common interests. Convention centers typica ...

, 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 pre ...

, 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 Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft. Within the terminal, passengers purchase ...

, a

hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gr ...

, 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, t ...

* Railway stations * 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 Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft. Within the terminal, passengers purchase ...

s * Shopping malls 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

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

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 ar ...

, 2009This local village name for its common land may imply an early usage of the word, ''concourse''. Image:ASDA concourse Llandudno.jpg, Asda supermarket concourse,

Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigsi ...

, 2007 Image:City Hall concourse by Rob Farrow.jpg, Concourse outside City Hall,

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. 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-sea ...

, 2008

Public transport concourses

File:Moynihan Train Hall.jpg, The interior of the Moynihan Train Hall at the Pennsylvania Station in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, opening day in 2021 File:GCT in Blizzard of 2015.jpg, Grand Central Terminal's Main Concourse,

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 concourse, 2007 File:Leeds City railway station concourse.jpg, Leeds railway station concourse, 2009 File:Liverpool Street concourse by Thos Nugent.jpg, Liverpool Street concourse, 2009 File:Paddington Station The Lawn.jpg, London Paddington station 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 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 Airports of London, London airport sys ...

File:JFK Terminal 5 Ticketing and Check-In.jpg, Terminal 5 of the John F. Kennedy International Airport 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 station, bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving abo ...

in New York City

Car park concourses

Image:Braehead car park concourse.jpg,

Braehead Braehead ( sco, Braeheid, 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 particularly notable ...

car park concourse in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, 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" or ...

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 operation ...

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 r ...

concourses.

References

External links

{{Wiktionary, concourse
IEEE Student Concourse
Footpaths Railway stations