The majestic Grand Central Terminal in New York celebrates its 110th anniversary

In the heart of Manhattan, is the train station, Grand Central Terminal. In addition to being one of the most important structures in New York, the Cathedral of Transportation is one of the most visited buildings on the entire planet.

The design of this beautiful terminal began in the year 1903 (after a collision of two trains in the crowded tunnels of New York, which left 17 dead, it was decided that it was time to develop a better station in the city). Ten years later, in 1913, the first train bound for the city of Boston left its platforms.

By the late 1920s it was in full swing and later reached its peak when movie stars, wealthy travelers, and even presidents came to New York City by train. and they stayed overnight at the nearby Waldorf Astoria, which had its own railway platform.

Today, in 2023 and 110 years later, it has become the largest station in the world in terms of platforms with a total of 44. The central station transports around 120,000 passengers daily and has approximately 500,000 daily visitors who are amazed by this railway jewel and that represents elegance in architecture can be maintained through the centuries.

In the 1950s, the station fell into decline. It had ceased to be the modern terminal and the “boom” of the automobile had begun. In addition, the increase in land prices in Manhattan and the strong emergence of utility vehicles led the authorities to rethink its future and its possible demolition. To save the station from imminent closure, they sold the northern part for the construction of a skyscraper. Thus, in 1963 the Pan Am Building was born, the famous MetLife Building that still stands today at the end of Park Avenue.

By the year 1968, the Grand Central Terminal was in danger again… The measures had not been enough, and it was proposed to build a new skyscraper on top of the station. Hundreds of voices rose against it, and together with public figures such as Jackie Kennedy, they managed to have the station declared an emblematic historical monument.

As it is part of the history of New York City, there are some fun facts that are undoubtedly very interesting. Some of them are:

The painted mural on the vaulted ceiling is upside down:

The ceiling of the cathedral is covered by an impressive painting of constellations. It is painted backwards. This error was not discovered until long after the station’s inauguration, and when it was reported to the Vanderbilt family, who built the station, they indicated that the placement was entirely intentional as it had been intended in such a way that the zodiac could be seen from a heavenly perspective instead of an earthly one.

It was targeted by Hitler:

Adolf Hitler conspired to destroy this secret space, known as M42. As a massive monument to the Machine Age, the M42 featured large spinning transformers that kept Grand Central running during World War II.

Because Hitler knew about this site, he devised a plan to blast sand into the overheated transformers, thereby paralyzing the trains that carried 80 percent of the troops and war materials. The FBI thwarted two German saboteurs sent by submarine before they could carry out the attack.

There is a hidden secret train track

One of the most interesting secrets of the station is the secret pathway located in its depths. Initially built for the purpose of transporting goods, it was later converted into a private railway used to transport the rich and famous guests of the famous Waldorf Astoria hotel.

I used to have a cinema

Next to track 17 there was a place to see short films. The cinema opened its doors in 1937 with 242 seats and, in addition to short films, it screened newsreels, documentaries and cartoons. The theater operated for several decades, but it was closed and destroyed in 1967.

It has a whispering gallery in the basement

The so-called Whispering Gallery, or Whispering Gallery, is a double parabolic vault that allows sound to travel unhindered from one of its columns to its opposite, so that two people can have a column-to-column conversation. and a person who is in the center of the gallery cannot hear anything. This happens despite the fact that there is about 15 meters of distance between them. It is not clear if the resulting acoustic effect was intentional in the design or if it happened by chance.

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