On Thursday night, around 6:45 pm, I took the train to Grand Central Station. It was during the peak of rush hour and everyone was headed to catch their train. There was a lot of movement. Since I didn’t have anywhere to be, I was able to just stand and observe as commuters passed me by. I noticed there were just as many people walking as there were people standing still. The ones who were still, were either lost, looking for someone, waiting for their train, or conversing with their friends. I walked around and eavesdropped on some of the conversations people were having. Here are a few fragments of dialogue I transcribed:
”One of the main reasons it will be hard…”
“The night went well, talked to the other two directors. He took an uber from New York City all the way there. Holy shit why did he do that? Cause he didn’t know how to get home? It’s like a 20 minute walk, we could take the subway but it’s just so crazy right now and it’s nice out so let’s just walk Yeah that would be nice I’d like to meet him. Seriously?”
“No water, no milk, no no no no gluten isn’t in it”
“Yeah I uh, yeah that’s nice. I think I will, i just need some, need some warning, reassurance. It’ll be like, it’s always a lot of work. Not a lot of work for you. It’s nice to just sit on the couch.”
“I see him from back there and he’s like right in front of you and you’re calling him. I’m like put your hands down!!!”
“AMTRAK New York. So it’s in Boston. I guess it’s not too bad because if you’re in Laguardia that would be faster.”
“I think there’s more downstairs.”
“So I had to take my dog to the vet yesterday, it turns out he was eating food off the floor.”
“Man this soup has too much black pepper in it!”
“Hey give me that. I want a hot wheels car”
I expected most people to be dressed formally since it’s rush hour, and a lot of them would be commuters heading home from work. However, there was a good amount of people dressed casually, in sweats and other comfortable clothing. These people were probably traveling farther distances. After walking around the main concourse, I explored the other areas of the terminal. I went downstairs to the food court, walked around, got lost a few times, but always found myself back at the main concourse. As I toured the station I took pictures of a few things I had noticed:
Guastavino designed vaulted ceilings:
The Richard Lippold sculpture in the Metlife Building:
The Transit Museum:
A giant compass rose:
Eight different clocks or ways to tell the time:
Something that is original to the building but no longer used, now obsolete:
Carving of a dragon:
Mural with a bi-plane:
My Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
The best selfie spot:
…Not actually the best selfie spot. I just came across this woman who was taking photos with a vintage film camera and thought it would be funny if she posed like she was taking a selfie. Most people were taking selfies at the top of the stairs with the main concourse in the background since the large windows are what make Grand Central so unique.
Best dressed passersby:
Marks of wear and tear on the building (What kind of marks? Why? Is this a clue to anything?):
Most of the marks of wear and tear I saw around Grand Central were cracks on the floor. This could possibly be due to water damage or just overuse due to the thousands of people constantly walking through the terminals.
