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, 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 th ...

, 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 gre ...

, 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, the ...

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 suc ...

* 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 th ...

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 ref ...

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 spectator ...

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 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 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 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, Crai ...

, 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-sea ...

, 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, Nint ...

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 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). ...

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 We ...

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 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 operated sep ...

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 bei ...

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 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 bu ...

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 fo ...

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" 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 operatio ...

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.

References

External links

{{Wiktionary, concourse
IEEE Student Concourse
Footpaths Railway stations