MoMA

Grand Central Station

Grand Central is one of the most historical and astonishing creations New York City has to offer, and many commuters and tourist are in awe within seeing the building. At first, Grand Central was just a railroad which was built and funded by philanthropist, Cornelius Vanderbilt. The railroads were built from Vanderbilt noticing flaws within the railroad industry and saw an opportunity to buy stocks in local railroads. Opening Grand Central in 1871, Vanderbilt made railroads run throughout the city to carry commuters from station to station. The railroads were originally built due to the complain of pollution build up. Steam engines created massive amounts of soot and polluted most of the railroads. The soot and smog build up got worse that two trains collided, causing a crash that killing 15 people because the conductor was blinded by the extreme haze. Therefore, steam engines were prohibited during 1854, and residents wanted to stay away from them as far as possible from New York City. During 1899, the railroads were demolished and replaced with a larger building, which became Grand Central Station. Construction alone for the station was 2 million dollars, and when finished the project alone ended up costing 43 million dollars. The main concourse contains a 88,000 ft ceiling, 12 stories high and has marble adorning the whole building. The celestial ceiling contains 2,500 stars and a constellation mural covering the ceiling. Less than two months after Grand Central Station opened a commuter noticed the design of the constellation was backwards. There is still no certainty as to how the constellation was flipped, but many believed that the architect laid out the diagram wrong, which resulted in a backwards mural. Grand Central Station is New York City's heart and has a big role within the city. Without the fascinating structure of Grand Central, commuters and tourists wouldn’t be able to reach this astonishing city that everyone should witness once in their lifetime.

By: Sierra Joyce