This was no easy task because, in the heyday of Grand Central, there were over 550 departures every weekday. On it, you will see a chalkboard, a relic from the early days of Grand Central.īefore automated boards, it was someone's job to sit there and hand-write the arrivals and departures on the chalkboard. While you are in here, check out the back wall. There was much hugging and kissing, hence the nickname "The Kissing Room."
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Passengers, sometimes including movie stars and politicians, would exit the train and reunite with their loved ones in the Biltmore Room. In the height of train travel for long-distance trips, the famous 20th Century Limited train from the west coast arrived at the tracks next to the Biltmore Room. The Biltmore Room is also known as "The Kissing Room." The easiest to spot are on the bottoms of the beautiful 24-carat gold-plated chandeliers, which have 110 light bulbs each! The Biltmore Room There are carvings all over the Terminal some large, some small. Vanderbilt was a self-made man and that symbolism resonated with him. The family motto was “Great oaks from tiny acorns grow”. That is because Cornelius Vanderbilt chose them as a family symbol. Keep an eye out all throughout the station for carvings of acorns and oak leaves. It was left as a testament to all of the different eras of history that Grand Central has seen. The missile was very big, so in order to not disturb pedestrian traffic flows, a hole was made in the ceiling so that the rocket could be suspended above the floor. The one spot was left as a reminder of how much work was done. Workers got up on the scaffolding with buckets of soap and water and paintbrushes and cleaned away the years of build-up. Over time the ceiling became coated with thick grime which was finally removed in 1998 when the terminal underwent a massive restoration spearheaded by Jackie Kenndey and other preservationists. There were a great many smokers among the nearly half-million people who passed through the terminal every day since its opening. That is just how filthy the original beautiful sky-blue ceiling had become after decades of accumulated tar and nicotine smoke. Just past that, where the blue and white meet, there is a small blackish rectangle. Look all the way over to Cancer the Crab in the northwest corner of the ceiling. Some fun trivia: In the movie Madagascar, Melman the giraffe breaks the clock while the animals are in the station trying to catch a train to Connecticut. The clock helps people to not be late for their trains and prevents safety hazards with people running for trains that are about to pull out of the station.
This is on purpose and is consistent with every clock inside the station. The clock is made of brass and it is said that the clock faces are made out of precious opals and that the value of the clock is well over $10 million!Īlso, if you take a look at the clock and then a quick peek at your phone or watch, you will notice that the time on the Grand Central clock is a minute or so ahead. The clock has been a long-standing meeting spot for New Yorkers. The four-sided clock is possibly the most iconic feature of Grand Central.
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