Grand Central

This is the place whose very name is synonymous with busyness and crowdedness - I grew up out of the city yet always heard that popular refrain about a place being like "Grand Central Station." Not an inappropriate reference since Grand Central is the world's largest train station. Officially Grand Central Terminal, the site has seen three different incarnations of the station going back to Grand Central Depot in 1871. Amazingly, Grand Central was actually under real threat of various demolition proposals by Penn Central - a decade long legal fight with efforts of many including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and a United States Supreme Court ruling succeeded in preservation. In 1976, Grand Central was designated a National Historic Landmark. In 1998, the terminal completed a restoration, including the renowned ceiling mural with its constellations and beautiful cerulean sky, originally painted by Frenchman Paul Helleu. The large American flag was hung after 911. These are in the main concourse as seen in the photo. This is much too large a topic to do any justice to in a daily photo blog, so I would recommend various sites for more reading - click here for the official site which gives not only a complete history, but also provides links for food (including restaurants and menus), shops, tours and events. Here are three links for previous posts I have done on the terminal - the exterior sculpture, the iconic clock and the Oyster Bar ...