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  1. Photograph courtesy Grand Central Terminal/Jones Lang LaSalle
    Photograph courtesy Grand Central Terminal/Jones Lang LaSalle

    Grand Central Terminal opened on February 2, 1913, on the site of the old Grand Central Station (1900) and Grand Central Depot (1871), both of which had above-ground railway tracks. The terminal was designed by architectural firms Reed and Stem, and Warren and Wetmore, who moved the newly electrified train tracks below ground.


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  2. Photograph courtesy Grand Central Terminal/Jones Lang LaSalle
    Photograph courtesy Grand Central Terminal/Jones Lang LaSalle

    When Grand Central Terminal opened, it was the busiest train station in the country. In 1947, 65 million people (the equivalent of 40 percent of the population) traveled through the terminal. Today it has more working platforms than any other station in the world.

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  3. Grand Central Terminal received New York Landmark status in 1967 (and National Historic Landmark status in 1976). However, developers proposed building a 55-story tower in its place the following year, due in part to plummeting rail revenues and soaring real-estate prices.

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  4. Photograph: Jeffrey Gurwin
    Photograph: Jeffrey GurwinThe state’s Landmarks Preservation Commission blocked the project, and the resulting lawsuit eventually made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld New York’s landmark law in a 1978 decision.
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  5. Photograph: Jeffrey Gurwin
    Photograph: Jeffrey Gurwin

    The 80,000-square-foot Main Concourse at the heart of Grand Central Terminal has 60-foot windows at each end, and 125-foot vaulted ceilings. The cerulean ceiling mural was designed by French painter Paul Helleu, and portrays the October-to-March zodiac and 2,500 stars. The 60 largest stars are illuminated with fiber optics; the rest are painted in gold leaf.


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  6. Photograph: Jeffrey Gurwin
    Photograph: Jeffrey GurwinThe American flag was hung in the Main Concourse a few days after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
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  7. Photograph courtesy Grand Central Terminal/Jones Lang LaSalle
    Photograph courtesy Grand Central Terminal/Jones Lang LaSalle

    The information booth at the center of the Main Concourse features a marble-and-brass pagoda with a four-sided clock on top. The clock faces are made of opal, with an estimated value between $10 million and $20 million. The pagoda also contains a hidden staircase that leads to the lower level, but that’s not all Grand Central Terminal conceals. In the 1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt arrived and departed via “secret” track 61, whose platform featured direct elevator access to the Waldorf-Astoria hotel.

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  8. Photograph courtesy Grand Central Terminal/Jones Lang LaSalle
    Photograph courtesy Grand Central Terminal/Jones Lang LaSalleThe chandeliers in Grand Central Terminal are nickel and gold-plated, and fitted with electric lightbulbs. These imparted a sense of grandeur when the terminal opened, as electricity was not yet in regular household use.
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  9. Photograph courtesy Grand Central Terminal/Jones Lang LaSalle
    Photograph courtesy Grand Central Terminal/Jones Lang LaSalle

    After decades of neglect, Grand Central Terminal was restored between 1996 and 1998. It now houses the New York Transit Museum Annex, a tennis court, 50 shops and 25 dining outlets, including the Oyster Bar & Restaurant, which has been operational since the terminal opened.

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  10. Photograph: Patrick Cashin
    Photograph: Patrick Cashin

    Vanderbilt Hall (formerly the Main Waiting Room) hosts a number of events and exhibits...

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  11. Photograph: Robert Nguyen
    Photograph: Robert Nguyen

    ...including Grand Central Terminal’s annual Holiday Fair.

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  12. Photograph: Patrick Cashin
    Photograph: Patrick Cashin

    The Kissing Room at Grand Central Terminal is officially called the Biltmore Room, because of its location under the old Biltmore Hotel (now the Bank of America building). Passengers on the 20th Century Limited express train (1902–1967) would arrive here and greet their loved ones, earning it the popular romantic moniker.

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  13. Photograph: Patrick Cashin
    Photograph: Patrick CashinThe Whispering Gallery is one of Grand Central Terminal’s most popular attractions. Found on the dining concourse near the Oyster Bar & Restaurant, it got its name because two people facing the wall in opposite corners can hear each other whisper.
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  14. Photograph courtesy Grand Central Terminal/Jones Lang LaSalle
    Photograph courtesy Grand Central Terminal/Jones Lang LaSalle

    French sculptor Jules-Alexis Coutan designed the sculptures of Minerva (goddess of wisdom), Hercules (representing strength) and Mercury (god of speed) on Grand Central Terminal’s exterior, collectively titled “Transportation.” At 50 feet tall and 60 feet wide, it was considered the world’s largest sculptural group when unveiled in 1914.

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  15. Photograph courtesy Grand Central Terminal/Jones Lang LaSalle
    Photograph courtesy Grand Central Terminal/Jones Lang LaSalleThe clock at the center contains the world’s largest piece of Tiffany glass, with a circumference of 13 feet.
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New York attractions: Grand Central Terminal (SLIDE SHOW)

Take our photo tour of Grand Central Terminal, which is both a functioning transport hub and a landmark-designated New York attraction.

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Unlike more touristy New York attractions, locals visit Grand Central Terminal every day. The striking Beaux Arts building is simultaneously a major transportation hub and an iconic New York location, immortalized in movies such as 1978’s Superman, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Avengers. It’s also where Improv Everywhere’s 2008 “Frozen Grand Central” took place, a.k.a. the stunt that launched a thousand flash mobs. In 2013, Grand Central Terminal turns a venerable 100 years old—an exhibition and a year’s worth of special events are planned. In the meantime, click through our photo tour to learn about this grand old train station.

RECOMMENDED: 50 best New York attractions

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