Photo © cultureNOW

Grand Central Terminal

5 total, Show more

Description

With the advent of electricity to power trains, a new station was needed to accommodate the additional traffic. William L Wilgus, VP and Chief Engineer of NY Central & Hudson River held a competition between 4 firms including McKim Mead & White and Reed & Stem (relatively unknown but had done a lot of railroad terminals; Wilgus was married to Reed`s sister May). They were made to associate with Warren & Wetmore possibly because Whitney Warren was the cousin of William K Vanderbilt. After Reed died in 1909, there were a few design changes and Whitney Warren became the architect. The final design produced 44 platforms on two levels making it the largest train station in the world.It became the hub of New York for decades. Movies were filmed there. Couples proposed under the great clock. It housed an art school, a library (which still exists) and even an apartment (which is now a bar). The Terminal fell into disrepair in the late 70's prompting multiple planning studies and proposals for its restoration. This finally happened in the late 90's and the terminal was lovingly restored and brought up to date. Retail was added in the former waiting rooms.

Opened, Oct, 1871

Grand Central Terminal originated as a central hub for the Hudson River, New York and Harlem, and New York and New Haven Railroads. Cornelius Vanderbilt, after merging the Hudson River and New York Central Railroads, commissioned architect John B. Snook to design Grand Central Depot, completed in 1871. Subsequent expansions in 1895 and 1900 couldn’t handle rising traffic, and after a deadly crash in 1902, steam locomotives were banned in Manhattan.

Constructed, Feb 2, 1913

This led to William J. Wilgus’s proposal for a new electrified underground terminal, approved in 1903, and completed in 1913.

Renovation, Oct 1, 1998

The terminal's late-1990s renovation added stands and restaurants to the dining concourse, and installed escalators to link it to the main concourse level. The MTA also spent $2.2 million to install two circular terrazzo designs by David Rockwell and Beyer Blinder Belle, each 45 feet in diameter, over the concourse's original terrazzo floor. The hall was renovated and renamed Vanderbilt Hall after the family that built and owned the station.

Grand Central Madison Opened, Jan 23, 2023

In 2007 it seemed like a good idea to connect the Long Island Railroad (America's busiest commuter railroad) with Grand Central Terminal. It took $11 billion and over a decade to make East Side Access into a reality. The five block concourse is 17 stories below grade requiring nearly two minutes to descend via the MTA's longest escalator to the track level.

Designations

4 total, Show more

New York City Exterior Landmark in Aug 2, 1967

National Historic Landmark in Dec 8, 1976

National Register of Historic Places in Jan 17, 1975

Awards

Built by Women in 2015

Related Sites

6 total, Show more

Park Avenue Architectural Series

Oyster Bar

Eastern Standard Time

Related Playlist

The Art & Architecture of Park Avenue from Lever to Grand Central Compilation

Grand Central Terminal Compilation

Map View

89 E 42nd St

Nearby

21c Museum Hotel Louisville

Timeline

1869

1871

1913+ 2

1914

1918

1998+ 1

2000+ 1

2022+ 1

2023+ 1

2024

current

44 Results,Show less

current Images

44 Images,Show less

Exterior architectural detail, clock on the main facade

Feb 2, 1913 - Each of the chandeliers in Vanderbilt Hall weigh 2500 lbs. and glow with 132 bulbs surrounded by carved oak leaves

With 750,000 visitors every day, Grand Central Terminal is one of the most-visited destinations in New York City, second only to Times Square.

A retail and dining destination as well as the home of the MTA Metro-North Railroad and a subway station serving the 4, 5, 6, 7, and S subway lines.

It contains a variety of stores and food vendors, including upscale restaurants and bars, two food halls, and a grocery marketplace.

The terminal's Main Concourse is often used as a meeting place, and is especially featured in films and television.

The Main Concourse's ceiling is an elliptical barrel vault.

The four-faced opal clock, sits in the center of the Main Concourse above the Information Booth

The starry ceiling contains several astronomical inaccuracies. While the stars within some constellations appear correctly as they would from earth, other constellations are reversed left-to-right, as is the overall arrangement of the constellations on the ceiling.

By the 1980s, the new ceiling was obscured by decades of grime, restored in 1996

Original plans called for the ceiling to contain a skylight, but money and time ran out. Instead, a mural was painted directly on the ceiling.

The ceiling bears a small dark circle amid the stars above the image of Pisces.

Each of the east–west passageways runs through a different building. The northernmost is the Graybar Passage

The circulation system allows passengers to enter the Main Concourse, then leave through various passages that branch from it

Several passages run north of the terminal, which lead to exits at every street from 45th to 48th Street

Access to the lower-level tracks is provided by the Dining Concourse, located below the Main Concourse and connected to it by numerous stairs, ramps, and escalators.

Interior view of Grand Central station depot tracks, 1900

All of the terminal's light fixtures are bare light bulbs.

In 2009, the incandescent light bulbs were replaced with energy- and money-saving fluorescent lamp fixtures.

2023 - Grand Central Madison Opened

10 Results,Show less

2023 - Grand Central Madison Opened - Images

10 Images,Show less

1913 - Constructed

26 Results,Show less

1913 - Constructed - Images

25 Images,Show less

Excavations, 1908

Construction 1905

Grand Central Station and Hotel Manhattan, 1900

Beaux-Arts design incorporates numerous works of art

One of the world's ten most visited tourist attractions, with 21.6 million visitors in 2018, excluding train and subway passengers

Aerial view, 1910

Crowd at Grand Central Station, September 8, 1908

Grand Central rays of sunlight, 1930

Sunlight streaming through windows of the main concourse, 1953 August

Opened to the public on February 2, 1913

Grand Central Terminal goes by many names, including Grand Central, the Terminal, and GCT.

The main concourse windows are over 60 feet tall and 30 feet wide. Before central air conditioning they opened to allow air flow inside the terminal.

Engineers labored over plans to perfectly slope the ramps between the upper and lower levels. Commuters found the slope caused them to walk at a brisk pace down the ramps and the expression 'I'll be ramping' became popular soon after its 1913 opening.

In 1998, the hall was renovated and renamed Vanderbilt Hall after the family that built and owned the station.

At morning rush hour, a train arrives at the terminal every 58 seconds

Interior, 1900

Chuting Mail, 1910

Trucking mail, 1910

Mechanical carrier for mail, 1910

Sorting mail 1910

Mail chute, 1910

Plaque

Rotunda of the Revised Grand Central Station 1897

1913 - Constructed - Drawings and documents

1 Document,Show less

Passengers on the main concourse, 1919

1871 - Opened

1 Result,Show less

1871 - Opened - Drawings and documents

1 Document,Show less

Grand Central Depot

ASSOCIATED SITES

13 Results,Show less

Public Art

11 Results,Show less

2022 - A Message of Love, Directly from My Heart unto the Universe

Yayoi Kusama,MTA Arts and Design DUPLICATE - check

New York, New York, 89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017, USA

Mural

1869 - Cornelius Vanderbilt

Ernst Plassman

New York City, New York, 42nd Street Park Ave

Sculpture

2000 - Grand Central: Arches, Towers, Pyramids

Jackie Ferrara,MTA Arts & Design

New York City, New York, E. 42nd St. Lexington Ave.

Mosaic

2023 - About New York City - The Quote Walls

Derek Jeter,Joan Didion,Edward Irwing Koch,Georgia O'Keeffe,Claude McKay

New York, New York, 383 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10017, USA

Text

1914 - Glory of Commerce

Jules Felix Coutan,Louis Comfort Tiffany

New York, New York, 89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017, USA

Sculpture

2000 - V-Beam

Christopher Sproat,Gruzen Samton • IBI Group Architects,MTA Arts & Design

New York City, New York, E. 42nd St. Lexington Ave.

Light Art

2024 - Rockaway

Zach Horn,MTA Arts and Design DUPLICATE - check

New York, New York, 383 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10017, USA

Digital

2022 - River Light

Kiki Smith,MTA Arts & Design

New York, New York, 89 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017, USA

Mural

1998 - A Field of Wild Flowers

Roberto Juarez,MTA Arts & Design

New York City, New York, East 42nd Street Park Avenue

Installation

1998 - Sirshasana

Donald Lipski,MTA Arts & Design

New York City, New York, 78 East.43rd Street Park Avenue

Sculpture

1913 - Grand Central Clock

Henry Edward Bedford

New York, New York, 89 E 42nd St

Street Furniture

Architecture

1 Result,Show less

1913 - Oyster Bar

Rafael Gustavino,Warren & Wetmore

New York, New York, 89 E 42nd St

Retail

Events and Stories

1 Result,Show less

1918 - Eastern Standard Time

Cornelius Vanderbilt

New York, New York, 89 E 42nd St

Invention

Phone App
Membership
Add Content
FAQ
Help
Contact Us

Newsletter Sign Up

37-24, 24th St, Suite 102, Long Island City, NY 11101