Monday, June 17, 2013
Back to Grand Central Terminal, and some of its secrets...
Let me see if I can find something lesser known about the place...this is from Gotham magazine...
Grand Central employees get a bird’s-eye view of the Main Concourse when they walk on clear passageways within the arched windows on either end of the terminal.
“Don’t dare call it a station,” warns Metro-North spokesperson Dan Brucker, of his beloved workplace. “Grand Central is the terminus of all trains that come here, so it is, and always has been, a terminal, not a station.” Brucker has good reason to be fussy about Grand Central these days. Having opened to the public on February 2, 1913, the terminal is about to celebrate its centennial, and great ceremonies to be artistically directed by opera superstar Jessye Norman are afoot in what could be one of the most epic performance spaces in the world, the Main Concourse.
Having survived bankruptcy, an attempt to replace it with a modern monstrosity akin to Pennsylvania Station (halted by, amongst other luminaries, Jackie Kennedy), and even a thwarted attack by Nazi saboteurs snuck in by U-boat, Grand Central is truly a glamorous survivor. “The enduring magic of Grand Central is obvious,” says architectural historian Justin Ferate, who has been giving tours of Grand Central for more than 30 years. “It handles four times as many people as JFK airport every day with the big difference that people actually enjoy spending time at Grand Central. Realize how much our great transportation hubs get changed; how many times JFK or LaGuardia have been rebuilt. But Grand Central hasn’t and it’s still working as well as it did 100 years ago. There’s a spiritual and energy level to the place that endures to this day.”
And it endures graciously: It’s the world’s largest train terminal with 45 track platforms and 63 tracks on which 750,000 people pass every day—plus, according to many sightings, a few ghosts. And why not? With its timeless Beaux-Arts elegance, who wouldn’t want to spend an eternity here?
Amidst all that masonry, history, and labyrinthine passages that sucks one down into some of the deepest caverns in Manhattan, Grand Central contains enough secrets and mysteries to fill several Alfred Hitchcock movies—North by Northwestwas actually filmed here. The next time you “meet under the clock,” consider these eight secrets of Grand Central Terminal.
About That Clock
The round brass clock rising above the central information booth in the Main Concourse must be one of the most iconic in the world. At least four generations of New Yorkers have known where to go when instructed to “meet under the clock.” The timepiece, manufactured by the venerable Self Winding Clock Company, is also extremely valuable. “Its four convex faces are actually made from high-grade opal,” says Brucker. “Sotheby’s and Christie’s put a $10 million to $20 million value on it.”
Not only has the clock been telling time and providing one of the most eminent meeting places in New York since 1913 when it was unveiled at the terminal’s opening, but it has also been giving direction thanks to a little noticed feature: The little bulbous point at the top isn’t decorative; it’s a compass that’s aligned to true north so the four sides of the clock line up perfectly with the four compass points of the building.
The Kissing Room
PDA was once frowned upon during the more decorous decades of Grand Central’s early history. “The bussing stopped here,” jokes Brucker. “There were regulations about how much affection you were allowed to show in the public areas, which attendants enforced.”
That is, unless you were in the Biltmore Room.
Named after the hotel (since replaced by Bank of America) whose ornate lobby was one floor above, the Biltmore Room juts discreetly off the Main Concourse across from what is now a Starbucks. The white marbled chamber is relatively quiet these days with random passengers strolling by the shoe-shine stands and a newspaper kiosk. But in earlier days, this room, also dubbed the “Romeo and Juliet Gallery” was the bustling reception area for some of the more legendary long distance trains, including the famous 20th Century Limited. During World War II, spouses and girlfriends would wait here to meet returning servicemen and the affectionate welcomes they received gave the room its nickname.
“Given the unique history of the room, I think sweethearts were often given special leeway here,” notes Brucker. “This is probably also where we get most of our reported ghost sightings. Maybe it’s spouses and girlfriends still waiting for soldiers who never made it back.”
They’re going to have more company in the near future. The Biltmore Room is slated to be one of the main thoroughfares for the new Long Island Railroad lines set to open up beneath Grant Central by 2019. Soon again long armies of commuters will tread over the marble floors where so many dramatic reunions once took place.
Where Spirits Roam With Spirits
Another corner reportedly popular with ghosts is The Campbell Apartment, now an immaculately renovated and perennially popular bar and lounge on the balcony level of the terminal. “It’s the best restoration in Grand Central,” says Ferate. Once the private office of bon vivant businessman John Campbell, it was also the best placed party pad in the city, featuring a wine cellar, fireplace, and even a pipe organ. “This was probably a place more for trysting and partying for Campbell and his friends before they took the train home,” says Ferate. After Campbell’s death in 1957, the apartment became Grand Central’s de facto police station with mug shots taken in front of the fireplace and the wine cellar becoming a holding cell.
In 1999 lounge and nightclub maestro Mark Grossich restored the apartment into its neo-Florentine glory. But apparently spirits were not just confined to glasses, as employees and customers began coming across apparitions of men and women dressed in formal clothes of a bygone era, cold gusts from nowhere, and in one case, a woman who went into the bathroom in front of a line of guests and never emerged again—requiring a locksmith to open the bathroom, which was mysteriously empty. “We had paranormal experts come in a couple of years ago to see what they could find out, and they said they got high energy measurements here,” recounts Grossich. “My staff still occasionally feels someone pushing them from behind when there’s no one there, so who knows? Maybe Mr. Campbell is still hanging around. Somewhere like Grand Central is bound to have a lot of apparitions.”
The Reverse Universe
All these lost souls might be led astray by the iconic gold leaf zodiacs floating amidst some 2,500 stars on the cerulean blue ceiling arching above the Main Concourse—namely because the constellations are all wrong, having been painted in reverse, mirror images of the actual night sky. Created by the French Post Impressionist Paul César Helleu, the backward zodiac has long been a mystery. Legend has it that the Columbia University astronomer, who sketched out the constellation for Helleu, had his maps upside down or that Helleu took his designs from medieval manuscripts that showed the heavens from a God’s-eye view beyond the spheres. “No one has ever been able to definitively find the answer to why it’s reversed,” says Brucker. “The Vanderbilts were surprised when they started getting comments and letters from commuters about the mistake. They later claimed it was painted deliberately from God’s perspective rather than having to admit to the evident error.”
Another interesting tidbit about the mural: Look carefully at the northwest corner for a small dark square. The spot was kept as a reminder of how dirty the ceiling was before the massive cleaning that took place here in the ’90s—the entire ceiling was covered in the same dark layer from commuters’ cigarette smoke.
Rats Ahoy
The Vanderbilt family, who built Grand Central, left their personal marks throughout the edifice. The acorns perched on top of the information booth clock and on the masonry throughout the building were the family’s personal symbol, derived from the motto: “From the acorn grows the mighty oak.” The anchor in the center of Grand Central’s old logo refers to the seafaring legacy of the original Vanderbilt fortune.
But perhaps the most unusual reference to Grand Central’s maritime roots is outside the terminal’s entrance at the Graybar Building, where sculpted rats cluster across the façade in rosette and freestanding form. There are even a couple of cast metal cubist-looking ones crawling up the support beams of the entrance awning while floral patterned rat packs form reliefs along the walls. “It’s a kooky, funny thing,” says Ferate. “I’ve never been able to track down exactly why they put them there. Perhaps it’s because rats are associated with travel in a port like Manhattan, so it’s only natural that they’d be scampering across its biggest transportation hub.”
The Secret Subbasement
One hundred and thirty feet below Grand Central’s street level is a secret subbasement known as M42. It’s not on any map and was even omitted from the official blueprints. According to Brucker, M42’s floor area is as large as the Main Concourse. “During World War II, troops were stationed down there with guns trained directly at the entrance,” says Brucker. “If you accidentally walked in there, you would have been in big trouble, possibly even interred for the duration of the war if not shot on sight.”
There was good reason for all this caution. The subbasement contained a dozen enormous rotary convertors that changed alternative currents into direct currents that powered the rail lines. “These were sensitive machines; a pail of sand thrown over them would have destroyed the rotors,” says Brucker. “That would have paralyzed 80 percent of troop and war material movement in the Northeast.”
This vulnerability was perhaps not unknown to the Nazis. During World War II a team of four German saboteurs were smuggled onto Long Island on a U-boat. They made a beeline to Grand Central with demolition devices but the FBI caught them before they could execute their plans.
The rotary engines have long been replaced by solid ones, but M42 is still strictly an off-limits place. “It’s not somewhere anyone can visit,” says Brucker. “Among all the machinery and cables there’s a big red button that if you push it, shuts off all the power in the terminal, and would presumably stop all rail transportation around New York.”
The Whispering Gallery
The Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant, which is also celebrating its centenary this year, is one of Manhattan’s most iconic spots for a romantic rendezvous over chilled bubbly, Blue Points, and other aphrodisiacs. But the room has a striking acoustic anomaly: the low arched ceilings with their glazed tiles carry even hushed conversation to tables at the other side of the room. “It’s a great place for love,” jokes Ferate. “Just not the illicit kind. You never know whose conversation you’re going to pick up at your table.”
For a dramatic demonstration of the Oyster Bar’s acoustics without the overlapping conversations and noise-absorbing furniture, go to the similarly shaped hall outside the restaurant, also known as the whispering gallery. Head to one corner while a friends stands at the opposite corner, and you can carry on intimate and even whispered conversation across the hall. Countless marriage proposals have been done this way (some of them on YouTube) but it’s anyone’s guess if holy matrimony has ever been undermined by misdirected conversations in the Oyster Bar next door.
The Secret Station Within the Station
Underground, Grand Central is a maze of tunnels, corridors, and shafts, but one track, Track 61, is particularly intriguing. This single line is a secret side rail that runs beneath Park Avenue to a private siding in the basement of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. This private rail line was used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt so he could securely and secretly travel. Next to the Waldorf’s underground siding is a special freight elevator that fit FDR’s Pierce Arrow automobile when it was unloaded from the train. So, thanks to Track 61, the president could get from his rail car up to street level without setting foot outside, no doubt convenient given his polio.
FDR’s ancient armored railcar with bulletproof windows is still parked besides the Waldorf’s subterranean siding, a ghostly presence in the darkened tunnel. During modern times the tunnel was once the site of a famous Andy Warhol party where the artist rented trains to serve food and drink. But perhaps the secret station has found a more modern use: According to the New York Post, during past presidential visits to the Waldorf an “escape train” has been put at the President’s disposal should he need to find an alternative route out of New York. When asked to confirm the tale, Brucker would only say: “We still have a few secrets that we can’t talk about.”
Maybe we’ll find out in another 100 years.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
AND MY NEWEST VIDEO-- Grand Central Station on Christmas Day
You'll see them in this new video, though
http://youtu.be/31GovKyrmrk
It may seem like I have a thing for Grand Central Terminal...well, I DO. It is also one of the top ten Tourist Destinations in NYC, and once you have been there, you will have no trouble in seeing why.
In fact, I am tempted to print again another posting about the secrets of Grand Central just to encourage you to go their on one one of their guided tours...
Well-- instead, I am just going to give you the website for the Grand Central Partnership
http://www.grandcentralpartnership.org/things-to-do/tours
10 Secrets of Grand Central Terminal (Photos)
Created: January 31, 2013Last Updated: February 6, 2013
Related articles: United States » New York City
A view of main concourse of the Grand Central Terminal in New York, Jan. 25. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
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Grand Central Terminal, in the heart of New York City, opened 100 years ago and it holds secrets that millions of travelers and visitors have never known. Here are 10 of the most intriguing secrets of the largest train terminal in the world.
1. The 22,000 Square Foot Mistake
Detail of the ceiling mural above the main concourse in Grand Central Terminal in New York City. (Deborah Yun/The Epoch Times)
An everyday commuter figured out this monumental error when passing through the terminal. The world famous October Zodiac mural on the ceiling is a mirror image and completely wrong. With 2,500 stars, 60 of which are illuminated, that’s no small error. The muralists that painted the ceiling looked down on the sketch instead of holding it up, accounting for the mirror image. When the commuter sent a letter to the Vanderbilts to tell them of the error, they replied that it was meant to be that way.
2. The Departure Boards Lie
People walk by the departures boards in the main concourse of the Grand Central Terminal. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
With all of the clocks in Grand Central Terminal running with atomic precision, it’s quite odd that all the times displayed on the departure boards are wrong—one solid minute wrong. Each train conductor will wait exactly 1 minute past the designated departure time. Instead of yelling for customers to hurry up, the conductors instead tell everyone to slow down. The result? The least slips, trips, and falls of any railroad in the nation, quite a feat for the largest one of them all. One minute might seem minor, but it is major when added up. If the train has a single late boarding in the itinerary its chances of being on time are slim. Nevertheless Grand Central Terminal has a 98 percent on time record.
3. The Secret Staircase
The brass cylinder in the information booth houses a spiral staircase that leads to the lower level information booth in the dining concourse. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
You can check all the corners and nooks throughout the terminal and not find this staircase. It’s made of polished brass and it’s right in the middle of the main concourse. The brass cylinder in the information booth houses a spiral staircase that leads to the lower level information booth in the dining concourse. The staircase is well-obscured and little known, but is used all the time. It allows for ease of transfer of customer service representatives.
4. A $20 Million Jewel
The clock atop Grand Central Terminal's information booth has been valued at $10 to $20 million. (Deborah Yun/The Epoch Times)
The clock atop the information booth has been valued at $10 million to $20 million. The four faces are made entirely of solid precious opal. This 1913 clock is mechanical and still runs on Swiss motors, but is also set constantly with the atomic clock in the naval observatory in Bethesda, Md. So next time you walk through Grand Central, set your watch, the clocks in the terminal are accurate within 1 second every 1.4 million years.
5. Almost Identical
Aerial view of the newer of the two staircases in Grand Central Terminal. It was built one inch smaller than the original staircase on the opposite site of the main hall. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
When the building was renovated, a lot of effort was made to keep Grand Central Terminal exactly the way it was when it was built. Except for a second staircase, which was planned opposite the original one on the east side of the main concourse. But the Landmarks Commission said the staircase could only be approved if the original blueprints contained the staircase. The original blueprints were discovered, and they did contain such a staircase. The west staircase was built to match its cousin exactly: quarries in Italy were dug up to get the same type of marble and stonemasons were brought from Italy to ensure a perfect match. But it’s not quite identical: the new staircase is exactly one inch smaller than the old.
6. Oak Leaves and Acorns
Oak leaves and acorns can be seen throughout the terminal. In this case they appear above the track door entrances. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
All of the ornamental work in Grand Central Terminal falls within the same theme: oak leaves and acorns. The Vanderbilt family built and owned the terminal. Cornelius Vanderbilt, the patriarch of the family, quit school at 11, started his own ferry service at 16, and became one of the richest men in American history. The small acorns thus represent small beginnings. The Vanderbilt family, having come from nothing, needed to adapt a symbol and motto. The acorns and oak leaves became the symbol and the motto: Great Oaks from Tiny Acorns Grow.
7. Top Secret Basement
This massive rotary converter was one of many used to transform electrical current for the trains operating out of Grand Central Terminal. Although it is no longer operational, it is still housed in the subbasement. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
If you were to sink a 10-story building through the main concourse of Grand Central, you would still not reach the very bottom of the terminal. The largest basement in New York lies at the bottom of the terminal, housing electrical transformers and breakers, which feed immense power to the trains above. During World War II, troops were stationed in the basement. If a person was to wander in there by accident the orders were that he or she would be interned there for the rest of the war. If that person happened to be holding something like a bucket of sand, the orders were to shoot that person on sight. If someone was to pour a bucket of sand into one of the rotary converters operating in the basement, the entire basement would explode, paralyzing railroad transportation across the East Coast. Adolf Hitler sent spies in two submarines to sabotage the basement during World War II, but they were caught before reaching it. Two were executed and two were imprisoned.
8. The Rocket Ship and the Black Rectangle
Just above the fish on the Grand Central’s ceiling mural is a small circle. It would probably be anyone’s last guess, but this was used to hoist a rocket ship up to the ceiling. NASA was promoting its space program in the 1950s and decided to display a rocket ship in the terminal. A second irregularity on the ceiling is on the side of the mural, where one of the meridians terminates next to the constellation Cancer. A small black rectangle can be seen. This single patch was left to show how dirty the terminal was prior to the renovation. After analyzing the sludge that covered the entire ceiling, restoration workers found that it was all cigarette tar. It took a year to wash the whole ceiling with soap and water.
9. The Express to Waldorf-Astoria
Grand Central Terminal has a secret train track that leads to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. A modified train car sits atop, which was designed to transport Franklin D. Roosevelt from the terminal to the hotel. The car has a unique suspension system that prevents side motion, something Roosevelt, who suffered from polio, was vulnerable to. One of the reasons presidents always stay at the Waldorf-Astoria is exactly this track, which can provide a means of escape in critical circumstances.
10. The Whispering Gallery
The Oyster Bar's tiled ceiling. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
Halfway between the main concourse and the dining concourse lies the Oyster Bar. Right in front of it is a tiled ceiling. Stand in one of the corners facing the wall and whatever you say will be carried across to the other corner. Several marriage proposals were made here. No one is sure whether this feature was intentional or accidental.
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