Site: Grand Central

• Grand opening was on February 1st, 1913
• Before, New Yorkers complain about unhealthy smog caused by the steam locomotives crossing the city. An accident caused the change. A train crashed to another train at the station’s tunnel and killed 15 passengers. The reason for the accident was because the cloud blinded the driver. So steam engines were prohibited from operating. The Vanderbilt family constructed a new art station that would use electricity, not steam. Grand Central opened up air on the streets above, and under the ground is the business boom (rise in economy and many shops) we know of Manhattan today.
• 1940s, 40% Americans travel through Grand Central every year. During World War 2, a lot of servicemen. Hitler wanted to destroy it. At the station’s secret basement, known as M42, there are armed soldiers who monitored super secret information. It controls the New York transportation network and is never shown on maps.
• The former first lady is rightfully remembered for her efforts to prevent the planned demolition of Grand Central in the 1960s, but long before that celebrities had made the building their own. In its early years, the exclusive 20th Century Limited railroad line, which ran between New York and Chicago, was so popular with movie stars that a red carpet was laid out every time it arrived. During World War II, stars like Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney entertained the troops in the concourse, where they sold millions of dollars in war bonds to aid the war effort. Pop artist Andy Warhol once commandeered President Roosevelt’s old Track 61 for a raucous one-night only party at the height of the “Swinging Sixties.” And it was another swinger, famed French aerialist Philippe Petit who wowed the crowds with his high-wire act in 1987, when he traversed the main concourse on a tightrope. (Former first lady prevented the demolition. Celebrities would
• The glorious blue-green, concave ceiling of the Grand Concourse is the joint conception of Whitney Warren and the French artist Paul Helleu. It is studded with constellations of stars, and as a person looks up to it through space and sees other elements of the great room, he or she has a feeling of largeness and pleasure. This room shows us that in looking up to something we can feel proud, and that much oppose our narrow desire to look down on other people and things.
• At the center of the Concourse is the information booth, with its handsome golden clock. Here is where people arrange to meet, the focal point in the middle of the three-quarters of an acre of marble floor. It is a fixed point amid the democratic flow of the thousands of people who pass through the terminal each day.
• Central Park is one of the most famous sites in New York City and also one of the most popular places in the world for movie shooting.
• At the center of the Concourse is the information booth, with its handsome golden clock. Here is where people arrange to meet, the focal point in the middle of the three-quarters of an acre of marble floor. It is a fixed point amid the democratic flow of the thousands of people who pass through the terminal each day.
• The Dining Concourse, below the Main Concourse and connected to it by numerous stairs, ramps, and escalators, provides access to the lower-level tracks.
• The statue, “Transportation,” on the facade of Grand Central Terminal was designed by the French sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan, who refused to come to the United States to oversee the construction of his project.
• Outside the station, the 13-foot (4.0 m) clock in front of the Grand Central façade facing 42nd Street contains the world’s largest example of Tiffany glass. It is surrounded by the Glory of Commerce sculptural group, which includes representations of Minerva, Hercules, and Mercury. The sculptures were designed by French sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan and carved by the John Donnelly Company.
• Vanderbilt Hall, named for the family that built and owned the station, serves as the entrance area from 42nd Street at Pershing Square. It sits next to the Main Concourse. Formerly the main waiting room for the terminal, it is now used for the annual Christmas Market and special exhibitions, and is rented for private events.
• Our group is interested in the Grand Central Terminal because Vicky and Cindy are going there to draw for Drawing/Imaging class, Cindy is also designing a metro card for the terminal. This site is grand and beautiful to the eyes and contains many evidence of history. Countless passengers pass by this station every day so there are lots of possible stories and characters. Not only is the scene interesting, but there is also a big business boom down there, with many variety of shops. This is a site where we can expand our imagination as much as we want. Vicky, Cindy, Ally, Lily.