One of New York City’s architectural apexes is, and has been since 1913, its Grand Central Terminal. More than 150,000 entered the aptly named “grand” structure on opening day to gaze upon its expansive spaces and French neoclassical details. Untold millions more have entered and exited its doors since.
The architectural firm of Reed and Stem won a design competition to oversee plans for Grand Central Terminal in midtown Manhattan. The firm of Warren and Wetmore, which proposed a monumental façade of three triumphal arches to solidify the structure’s grandness, collaborated on the important project. Architects incorporated glass and steel throughout Grand Central Terminal, which covers 48 acres and has 44 platforms, more than any other railroad station in the world. Its platforms, all below ground, serve 30 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower.
An average of 750,000 people per day pass through the station for transportation purposes, and have the opportunity to absorb the decorative elements of the structure.
Glory of Commerce, a sculptural group by Jules-Félix Coutan, surrounds the sunburst-design clock. The god Mercury stands in the center above the world’s largest Tiffany-style stained-glass clock, at 13 feet in diameter. It is framed in bronze and has cast-iron clock hands. Public Domain
Besides the famous exterior stained-glass clock visible from 42nd Street in Manhattan, the Ball Clock is what most first see inside Grand Central Terminal’s Main Concourse. Self Winding Clock Co. of Brooklyn, N.Y., originally crafted the brass four-sided clock with an acorn-top design, and it was installed over the information desk in 1913. The face is made of opal glass, a translucent alternative to porcelain, and made by adding bone ash and tin dioxide during the glass-firing process. Ingfbruno/CC BY-SA 3.0
At about three-fourths the size of a football field, the Main Concourse is decorated with intricate moldings and hand-crafted bronze and stone carvings. Tennessee-originated marble covers the floors, Italian Botticino marble was used for wall trim, and limestone makes up the walls. The barrel ceiling showcases a gilded celestial painting, and the space is enhanced by semi-circular ceiling windows as well as three Palladian windows covered in a theatrically ornate arch. MTA/CC BY 2.0
French artist Paul Cesar Helleu (1859-1927) conceived the design of the Concourse’s iconic ceiling, featured in many films. Painted a distinct pale turquoise hue, the vaulted plaster ceiling depicts 12 gold-leaf constellations and 2,500 stars. Courtesy of the Grand Central Terminal
The distinctive tile work in what is known as the Whispering Gallery, due to the space’s unique acoustics, is referred to as “Guastavino” tiles because the patented material and methods used to create the vaulted ceiling are attributed to Spanish tile worker Rafael Guastavino. On each side of this vaulted ceiling are wide arched entrances, a design element prevalent throughout the structure. Courtesy of Grand Central Terminal
The Vanderbilt family, prominent in New York City at the time of the station’s construction, had their signature motifs, acorns, and oak leaves, connoting strength and longevity, displayed on a frieze over a window in the Main Concourse. A sculpted wreath has overlapping letters “G,” “C”, and “T,” (Grand Central Terminal). Intertwined in the initials are elements of an anchor and a railroad spike representing Vanderbilt’s involvement in the shipping and ferry industry. (Ɱ/CC BY-SA 4.0)
On the first floor of the expansive structure, at its northernmost section, is what is referred to as the Graybar Passage. This area is distinguished by its groin-vault (edge between intersecting vaults) ceiling, seven large transverse travertine arches, and travertine floor. Besides the faux decorative columns lining the passageway, the matching ornamental bronze chandeliers are the only adornment in the neutral-tone space. Ɱ/ CC BY-SA 4.0
Would you like to see other kinds of arts and culture articles? Please email us your story ideas or feedback at [email protected]
