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Fanfare is the word of the day as NYC celebrates the 100th Birthday of Grand Central Terminal today. We’re talking 1913 specialty cocktails, 1913 pricing in the concourse and restaurants (6¢ loaf of bread, 10¢ shoe shine, 75¢ cocktail, 5¢ coffee), the West Point band, and dancing. As a NYC resident, I still love passing through this beautiful space; not just to stand where Claudia and Jamie first arrived as runaways in one of my favorite books, or where Serena van der Woodsen was more recently “spotted”, but because it still feels majestic, romantic, and chaotic all at once.
A few weeks ago, I was lucky to be invited on an amazing behind the scenes tour of this beautiful Beaux-Arts landmark. It was so secretive, I’m not allowed to share tour photos on my blog! Though I’m dying to post some images from these special access locations, I’ll respect their wishes, so the images shown here were taken in the public part of the Terminal. But someday you should see their lost and found–which has a 99% return rate on lost items–it is truly unique. As you may know, I also teach architecture to elementary school students, and I recently developed a new program about Landmarks and Preservation. This building is always featured in our study, especially the hard fought battle to save it from alteration or destruction (thank you Jackie Kennedy Onassis, preservation groups, and the U.S Supreme Court!)
Some fun facts to impress your friends with:
- Each day 750,000 visitors pass through the terminal, which makes it the largest hub for train traffic in the world.
- The station also has the best on time percentage of any train station in the world.
- The building houses the largest Tiffany clock in the world, measuring 14 feet in diameter.
- The main concourse ceiling, which features over 2,500 stars and depicts the October-March zodiac, is actually painted in reverse. Rather than the view from the earth, it is the view from the heavens. (Painter error!)
- You can spot acorn motifs all over the building; the acorn was the Vanderbilt family’s personal symbol, stemming from the motto: “From the acorn grows the mighty oak.”
Check out some more fun facts here, as well as the cover of the New York Times on opening day in 1913. And if you’re in the area, scoot over there today with just a dollar and go wild!
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