GRAND CENTENNIAL: GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL'S 100TH BIRTHDAY

Grand Central Terminal beats like a beautiful heart in the middle of New York City. It is alive, pumping travelers in and out of the city, morning and night, like blood through arteries. Beyond the millions of commuters coursing through its corridors and great rooms, 21 million visitors pass through annually, gazing at the sunlight as it streams through the 75 foot windows and dances across the cavernous marble floors.

We love to visit Grand Central Terminal and stand on the outskirts of the gridlock. Grand Central is like a church, Our Lady of ETA and ETD, ushering our arrivals and departures, strictly binding us to hours, minutes, and seconds. When you arrive, you are both grand and central at the same time. It warrants a deep, lung-stretching breath as you arch your neck upwards to behold the bespoke aquamarine and gold celestial painted ceiling that dazzles overhead.

(Photo: Monica Arellano-Ongpin)

Construction for Grand Central began in 1903. It took a laborious ten years of excavation and construction (during which railroad service continued, uninterrupted). In celebration of Grand Central Terminal’s centennial birthday, the Metropolitan Transit Authority Arts for Transit and Urban Design program has constructed a yearlong calendar of events. Over a dozen contemporary artists will “capture and remagine moments in Grand Central Terminal.” The festivities begin on March 25th through March 31st in Grand Central’s majestic Vanderbilt Hall, with Nick Caves’ Herd of Horses, an installation and performance art piece, commissioned by Creative Time, featuring colorful “dancing” horses, that celebrates the color and movement of Grand Central Terminal. For the full list of events, visit Grand Central Terminal’s calendar.

(Photo: Travis Magee for Grand Central Terminal)