Recommendations

Grand Central Terminal is a massive, beautiful building steeped in history. It's impressive even to the most jaded New Yorker.

Guide: Entrepreneur (Jack)
Location: Midtown

Strengths

• It's massive. The original Grand Central Station (GCS) opened in 1871. It was replaced by the current Grand Central Terminal (GCT) in 1913. GCT cost $2 billion, adjusted for inflation. It's the largest train station in the world, measured by number of train platforms (44). It covers 49 acres and services 660 trains. After WWII, when trains were a more popular means of transportation, the equivalent of 40% of the US population visited GCT. Today, the terminal gets 500,000 visitors per day -- more than any other NYC landmark.
• It's steeped in history. Cornelius Vanderbilt built GCS. Vanderbilt started a ferry business in NYC at age 16, which flourished during the war of 1812 and earned him the nickname "the Commodore". He expanded the business to include steamships, and in the 1840s had more employees than any business in the US. In the 1860s he shifted his focus to Railroads, buying up one after another and merging them into his New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. He built GCS in 1871, and died 6 years later -- on the same day a blizzard caused the glass roof to collapse.
• It was innovative. The layout included two levels, and electrified rails that rain trains through a massive underground tunnel. As a result, the design freed up some of the most expensive real estate in the world, running from 45th -- 49th streets, above the tracks.
• It's beautiful. Two competing architectural firms designed the Beaux Arts building: Warren and Wetmore, and Reed and Stem. The floor of the main concourse consists of a half-acre of Tennessee marble. There are five massive gold-plated chandeliers, each with 144 bulbds. The clock above the information booth has four faces, is made from opal, and is worth in the neighborhood of $20 million. The sculptures surrounding the clock outside the building on the 42nd Street side were the largest in the world when they were completed in 1914. And the 125 foot-high ceiling, painted by French artist Paul Cesar Helleau, features 2,500 stars. In 1968 Penn Central planned to tear down much of Grand Central, but a preservation movement led by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis fought them all the way to the Supreme Court, and won.
• There's a lot to see and do. There are over 100 retail businesses in the terminal. The oldest is the Oyster Bar, established in 1913.

Shortcomings

• The design for the ceiling was based on ancient manuscripts. As a result, the sky is backwards, and the stars are in the wrong positions. Oops!

Insider tips

• Have drinks or Italian bar food at Cipriani Dolci.
• Have lunch at Oyster Bar & Restaurant.
• Buy sausages at Kuglin German Hams, and Cheese at Murray's Cheese.
• Immediately outside the Oyster Bar, there's a beautiful vaulted tile ceiling. Face any corner, and have a friend face an opposite corner. Whisper to each other, and you'll be able to hear loud and clear.
• When they cleaned the ceiling in 1998, they intentionally left one dark patch about Michael Jordan's Steak House. The ceiling was stained by nicotine from smokers, so the patch serves as a reminder of the dangers of smoking.

Anecdotes

• GCT is impressive even to the most seasoned New Yorker. Most of my trips through the terminal have been harried, but I recently ducked in with an out-of-town visitor, and we took the time to stroll through the building. We stood on the side of the main terminal, and admired the scale of the room. We made up stories about the people we saw streaming through, and decided GCT is one of the all-time best spots for people-watching. We had a delicious raw-bar lunch at The Oyster Bar, and showed a few kids passing by the whispering trick (See Insider Tips).