| Grand Central Terminal tips and photos posted by real travelers and New York City locals.
42nd St & Park Ave.
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Grand Central Station is Manhattan's main train interchange.
It was first opened in 1913, and has recently been renovated to its former glory.
It is fabulous! I have never seen such a station. There is a huge marble central hall, with atrium dining areas. There is also a large food hall below this and numerous shops and great bars.
It is certainly a whole lot more than just a train station - put it on your Must See list! Leave a Comment
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You don’t need to be catching a train to justify a visit to Grand Central Station – it’s definitely a destination in its own right! It was built in the early years of the last century, when it became apparent that New York needed a new terminus to deal with the pressures of increased train travel and the changing demands caused by the move from steam to electric engines. The plan involved sinking the tracks and platforms beneath 45th to 49th Streets, which has resulted in the striking appearance of a station terminus without any trains. Construction took ten years and necessitated carving deep into the bedrock of Manhattan Island, excavating 2.8 million cubic yards of earth and rock. The new station eventually opened in February 1913 and was a catalyst for regeneration of this part of the city, with many of the great skyscrapers (such as the Chrysler Building) dating back to that period.
The building declined in the 1950s and 1960s, but in 1976 was designated a National Historic Landmark, saving it from further decline and possible demolition. Urgent repairs undertaken during the 1980s, and a full restoration during the 1990s, have restored the terminal to its former glory. The famous Sky Ceiling has been cleaned, waiting rooms refurbished for use as exhibition areas, and the building is once more a hive of activity and a focus for life in this part of the city.
As with many of the buildings in midtown Manhattan, it’s the Art Deco details that caught my eye as much as the main architectural features. I loved the ornate ticket windows, the lights and signs, for instance. We also had to smile at the way the young woman, captured by Chris in photo 4, was studiously ignoring the sign stood right in front of her! But although you aren’t allowed to sit on these stairs, do go up them for the very best view of the station’s great hall (photo 2).
You can also come here for a good meal. In addition to the standard railway station fare you might expect (there are 35 places to eat in total), there are five “fine dining” establishments, including the famous Oyster Bar. We never got round to coming here however, but if you want to know more about this I recommend you check out sue_stone’s helpful (and not entirely complimentary) restaurant tip.
Whatever you do here though, you’ll soon discover that this is indeed much more than a railway station. Phone: (212) 340-2347Directions: Occupies the blocks between E 42nd and 45th Streets, where Park Avenue divides around it. Served by several subway linesWebsite: http://grandcentralterminal.com/
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Cant for the life of me remember which film I saw it in, but Im sure its one with Al Pacino running away from the 'baddies' and hes trying to get on the train with his girlfriend and just as he gets to the carriage they shoot him down.....it was very tear jerking. But Grand Central Station looks magnificent...really cool! This first time we were there it was just for a quick look round before heading off to Times Square, but the second time was when we had loads of bags and wanted to leave them somewhere for the day so we could enjoy our last 24 hours looking round the city. But now it seems that very few places have lockers, so it wasnt to be. I'll talk about lockers in another section!
I thought the whole place looked like it was taken straight out of a movie...it was all too perfect looking with it gold decorations and its United States of America flag flying and cute little shops inside...very patriotic! From here you can take trains to other cities in the country, buses and of course the subway. From here to Times Square there is a shuttle train..its the grey line on the map. Leave a Comment
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 by madamx
The main concourse has three large, curved windows that are 75 ft high. For me, the highlight of the building is the painted ceiling, designed by French artist Paul Helleu. He used a medieval manuscript to create the zodiac constellation design that consists of 2500 stars. Leave a Comment
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 Meet at for - and i'll whisk
you away ! by sourbugger
The imposing station has been refurbished over the last few years, and the dramatic central hall has lost none of its impact and sense of occasion.
Despite the fact that much of the place is more shopping mall than train station, the central hall has been kept mercifully empty of the commercial clutter of kiosks, shops, cafes and the like.
One of my favourite feature is the romantic meeting point of the hanging clock. In fact because of the countless TV programmes and Films that station has featured in (Such as North by northwest, the Cotton Club, The French Connection, the Godfather, Superman, and Men in Black to name a few) when you enter the building for the first time you almost get a feeling of deja-vu, because it just feels so recognisable. Leave a Comment
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 Grand Central Station by bct341Leave a Comment
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Since I stayed one night at the Grand Hyatt which is in the Grand Central building, I had to check out the terminal. Tourist stop or not, I liked Grand Central.
Turns out I was lucky. Grand Central has just completed a full renovation, and that may explain why I found it not only fascinating in architecture but more so how clean and beautiful it was.
The outside clock and sculptures are stunning to look at, and the marble passages look like a movie set. Look up, and directly over your head across the street is the Chrysler building, one of my alltime faves.
Terminal is surrounded on the outside all the way around the block by cafes and restaurants that, while still loud from the close NYC hustle & traffic, look like little oases in the city much like cafes on the main boulevards in Paris. The inside, along with all the great looking passages to the trains is filled with good shopping much like an upscale mall.
My hotel for the last night was Hyatt Grand Central right in the complex, so I got more than a few chances to check it out and enjoyed it very much.
As luck would have it the NYTimes just published a video tour of the updated complex you can find here:
goto NY Times and search for "Video: More Than a Train Station" or click at this link here: More than a train station
Sounds boring: I don't think it is. Leave a Comment Directions: The big subway intersection/stop at 42nd and Park for the 6 Uptown / Downtown eastside metro.
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 Grand Central. by weewatty
Not to be missed is the food hall at Grand Central, head for the 2 Boots Pizza outlet and grab a slice of mighty fine tasting Pizza with mad toppings.
What more do you want in a 'Train Station'?? Leave a Comment Directions: Not a hard one to find this.
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 Grand Central Terminal by spgood301
The main terminal is for commuter trains to the northern suburbs. There's a subway station underneath.
GCT is also a great place to meet people, espcially around the ticket kiosk. If you plan to meet someone while in New York, you may have them come to Grand Central. I've done it a couple of times...yeah, okay, they were blind dates-GCT can be romantic too ;-) Leave a Comment Directions: The 4, 5, 6, & 7 subway lines go through GCT, along with the Times Square Shuttle (S line)
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 Main concourse of Grand
Central Terminal by Christophe_Ons,
4 more photos
The outside is just as stunning, with its colonnaded facade and clock/statuary atop the building on the side facing 42nd St, depicting the mythological deities Mercury, Hercules and Minerva.
Tips :
Grand Central is practically next to the Chrysler Building, Home Savings Bank of America, and the Chanin and Helmsley Buildings. Tons of opportunities for shooting some great pictures, e.g. walk to the north along Park Ave for a few blocks and then look south toward Grand Central for a stunning view of the traffic "disappearing" into the Helmsley building - a sight which will look familiar because you've probably seen it in dozens of movies, series or documentaries taking place in New York.
Check the official website for guided tours, and a listing of the shops in Grand Central, too. Leave a Comment
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