View source for Grand Central Terminal

{{short description|Railway terminal in Manhattan, New York}}
{{Redirect|Grand Central Station||Grand Central Station (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox station
| name               = Grand Central Terminal
| style              = MNRR
| type               = [[File:Grand Central Terminal logo 2.svg|140px|center|alt=Logo of Grand Central Terminal, with interlocking letters "G", "C", and "T"]]
| image              = {{Photomontage
| photo1a                     = Image-Grand central Station Outside Night 2.jpg{{!}}Exterior of the terminal building
| photo1b                     = Grand Central Terminal, New York 2017 45.jpg{{!}}Train shed platform and tracks
| photo2a                     = USA-NYC-Grand Central Terminal Clock.jpg{{!}}Central Main Concourse clock
| photo2b                     = GCT in Blizzard of 2015.jpg{{!}}Main Concourse, facing east
| spacing = 2 | position = center | color_border = white | color = white | size = 300
}}
| image_caption      = Clockwise from top left: 42nd Street facade; underground Metro-North platform and tracks; [[Main Concourse]]; iconic clock atop the information booth
| alt                = The Main Concourse, a large open room of marble and stone with a central information booth and ticket windows to the sides
| address            = 89 [[42nd Street (Manhattan)|East 42nd Street]]<br />[[Manhattan]], [[New York City]]
| owned              = {{unbulleted list
| [[New York Central & Hudson River Railroad]] (1913–1914)
| [[New York Central Railroad]] (1914–1968)
| [[Penn Central Transportation Company]] (1968–1994)
| [[American Premier Underwriters]] (1994–2006)
| [[Midtown Trackage Ventures]] (2006–2020)
| [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]] (2020–present)
}}<hr/>
| operator           = {{unbulleted list
| New York Central & Hudson River (1913–1914)
| New York Central (1914–1968)
| [[New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad]] (1913–1968)
| Penn Central (1968–1976)
| [[Amtrak]] (1971–1991)
| [[Conrail]] (1976–1983)
| [[Metro-North Railroad]] (1983–present)
}}
| manager            = George Monasterio (director)
| line               = [[Park Avenue main line]]
| platform           = 44: 43 [[island platform]]s, 1 [[side platform]]<br />(6 tracks with [[Spanish solution]])
| tracks             = 67: 56 passenger tracks (30 on upper level, 26 on lower level)<br />43 in use for passenger service<br />11 sidings
| connections        = [[File:BSicon BAHN.svg|12px|alt=Railway transportation]] [[Long Island Rail Road]]<br />at [[Grand Central Madison]]<br />{{rint|newyork|subway}} [[New York City Subway]]:<br />{{NYCS Grand Central|time=bullets}}<br />at {{stn|Grand Central–42nd Street}}<hr/>{{bus icon}} [[NYCT Bus]]: {{NYC bus link|M1|M2|M3|M4|M42|M101|M102|M103|Q32}}<hr/>{{bus icon}} NYCT Bus, [[MTA Bus]], [[Academy Bus]]: [[#Connecting services|express services]]
| depth              =
| levels             = 2
| parking            =
| bicycle            =
| accessible         = Accessible{{refn|Grand Central Terminal meets Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. However, not all features are fully ADA-accessible.<ref name="MTA-GCT" />|group=N}}
| years              = Construction
| events             = 1903–1913<br />{{small|Opened {{start date and age|February 2, 1913}}}}
| mpassengers        = {{rail pass box|system=Metro-North|passengers=67 million annually, based on weekly estimate<!--1,291,200 * (365/7) = about 67,326,857 per year--><ref name="ridership" />|pass_year=FY 2018|pass_percent=0.6}}
| passengers         =
| pass_year          =
| pass_percent       =
| website            = {{official website}}
| services           = {{Adjacent stations
| system=Metro-North Railroad
| line1=Harlem|right1=Harlem–125th Street|to-right1=North White Plains, Southeast or Wassaic
| line2=Hudson main|right2=Harlem–125th Street
| line3=New Haven|right3=Harlem–125th Street|to-right3=Stamford or New Haven
| line4=New Canaan Branch outer|right4=Harlem–125th Street|note-mid4=weekday service
| line5=Danbury Branch outer|right5=Harlem–125th Street|note-mid5=weekday service}}
| other_services_header = Former services
| other_services_collapsible = yes
| other_services     = {{Adjacent stations|system1=New York Central Railroad
| line1=main|left1=125th Street
| line2=Hudson Division|left2=125th Street
| line3=Harlem Division|left3=125th Street|to-left3=Chatham
| system4=New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
| line4=main|right4=Harlem–125th Street
| system5=Amtrak
| line5=Lake Shore|left5=Croton-Harmon
| line6=Niagara Rainbow|left6=Croton-Harmon
| line7=Adirondack|left7=Yonkers
| line8=Empire Service|left8=Yonkers
| line9=Maple Leaf|left9=Yonkers
}}
| other_services2_header = Former services ([[History of Grand Central Terminal#Grand Central Station|pre-1913]])
| other_services2_collapsible = yes
| other_services2    = {{Adjacent stations|system=New York Central and Hudson River Railroad
| line1=Hudson Division|left1=110th Street|note-left1=Until 1906
| line2=Harlem Division|left2=86th Street|to-left2=Chatham|note-left2=Until 1901
| line3=Harlem Division|left3=72nd Street|to-left3=Chatham|note-left3=Limited}}
| embedded           = {{Infobox historic site
| embed                       = yes
| name                        =
| other_name                  = '''Interactive map'''
| coordinates                 = {{WikidataCoord|Q11290|region:US-NY_type:railwaystation_scale:5000|display=inline,title}}
| architect                   = [[Reed and Stem]];<br />[[Warren and Wetmore]]
| architecture                = [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]]
| visitors_num                = 21.6 million
| visitors_year               = 2018
| visitors_ref                = <ref name="tourists" />
| website                     =
| designation1                = NHL
| designation1_date           = December 8, 1976
| designation1_number         = [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75315840 75001206]
| designation2                = NRHP
| designation2_date           = January 17, 1975<br />August 11, 1983 (increase)
| designation2_number         = [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319560 75001206], [https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75319562 83001726]
| designation3                = NYSRHP
| designation3_date           = June 23, 1980<ref name="Cultural Resource Information System">{{cite web | title=Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS) | publisher=New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation | date=November 7, 2014 | url=https://cris.parks.ny.gov/ | access-date=July 20, 2023 | archive-date=April 4, 2019 | archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20190404141934/https://cris.parks.ny.gov/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
| designation3_number         = 06101.000365
| designation4                = New York City Landmark
| designation4_date           = August 2, 1967 (facade)<br />September 23, 1980 (interior)
| designation4_number         = [http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0266.pdf 0266] (facade)<br />[http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1099.pdf 1099] (interior)
| image_map                   = {{Maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=300|frame-height=180|zoom=10|type=point|marker=rail|title=Grand Central Terminal|description=[[File:Image-Grand central Station Outside Night 2.jpg|alt=Grand Central's facade at night|145px]]}}
| image_map_caption           =
}}
}}

'''Grand Central Terminal''' ('''GCT'''; also referred to as '''Grand Central Station''' or simply as '''Grand Central''') is a [[commuter rail]] [[terminal station|terminal]] located at [[42nd Street (Manhattan)|42nd Street]] and [[Park Avenue]] in [[Midtown Manhattan]], New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus of the [[Metro-North Railroad]]'s [[Harlem Line|Harlem]], [[Hudson Line (Metro-North)|Hudson]] and [[New Haven Line]]s, serving the northern parts of the [[New York metropolitan area]]. It also contains a connection to the [[Long Island Rail Road]] through the [[Grand Central Madison]] station, a {{convert|16|acre|m2|adj=on}} rail terminal underneath the Metro-North station, built from 2007 to 2023. The terminal also connects to the [[New York City Subway]] at [[Grand Central–42nd Street station]]. The terminal is the [[List of busiest railway stations in North America|third-busiest train station in North America]], after [[New York Penn Station]] and [[Toronto Union Station]].

The distinctive architecture and interior design of Grand Central Terminal's [[station building|station house]] have earned it several landmark designations, including as a [[National Historic Landmark]]. Its [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] design incorporates numerous [[Grand Central Terminal art|works of art]]. Grand Central Terminal is one of the world's ten most-visited tourist attractions,<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|url=http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/worlds-most-visited-tourist-attractions/2|title=The World's 50 Most Visited Tourist Attractions – No. 3: Times Square, New York City – Annual Visitors: 50,000,000|last=Shields|first=Ann|date=November 10, 2014|publisher=Travel+Leisure|access-date=November 14, 2018|quote=No. 3 Times Square,...No. 4 (tie) Central Park,...No. 10 Grand Central Terminal, New York City|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417131907/https://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/worlds-most-visited-tourist-attractions#2|archive-date=April 17, 2019}}</ref> with 21.6 million visitors in 2018, excluding train and subway passengers.<ref name="tourists" /> The terminal's [[Main Concourse]] is often used as a meeting place, and is especially featured in films and television. Grand Central Terminal contains a variety of stores and food vendors, including upscale restaurants and bars, a food hall, and a grocery marketplace. The building is also noted for its library, event hall, tennis club, control center and offices for the railroad, and sub-basement power station.

Grand Central Terminal was built by and named for the [[New York Central Railroad]]; it also served the [[New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad]] and, later, successors to the New York Central. Opened in 1913, the terminal was built on the site of two similarly named predecessor stations, the first of which dated to 1871. Grand Central Terminal served [[intercity train]]s until 1991, when [[Amtrak]] consolidated its New York operations at nearby Penn Station.{{refn|group=N|Prior to the consolidation, the track layout of the railroads meant that some Amtrak trains could only stop at Penn Station while others could only stop at Grand Central. Once the [[Empire Connection]] was ready to use, Penn Station became accessible from all approaches to New York, so Amtrak moved all of its trains there.}}

Grand Central covers {{convert|48|acre|0}} and has 44 [[Railway platform|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. In total, there are 67 tracks, including a [[rail yard]] and [[Siding (rail)|sidings]]; of these, 43 tracks are in use for passenger service, while the remaining two dozen are used to store trains.{{refn|group=N|The 24 non-passenger tracks include 11 sidings that are not adjacent to any platform, and 13 tracks that are adjacent to platforms but not used in passenger service.}}

{{TOC limit|2}}

== Name ==
Grand Central Terminal was named by and for the [[New York Central Railroad]], which built the station and its two predecessors on the site. It has "always been more colloquially and affectionately known as Grand Central Station", the name of its immediate predecessor<ref>{{cite book|title=Grand Central: The World's Greatest Railway Terminal|last=Middleton|first=William D.|author-link=William D. Middleton|date=1977|publisher=Golden West Books|page=7}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21353825|title=A Point of View: Grand Central, the world's loveliest station|last=Cannadine|first=David|date=February 8, 2013|publisher=BBC|access-date=May 8, 2014|archive-date=May 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512220544/http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21353825|url-status=live}}</ref> that operated from 1900 to 1910.<ref name="nyt19001018" /><ref name="Schlichting pp. 106-107" /> The name "Grand Central Station" is also shared with the nearby [[U.S. Post Office]] station at [[450 Lexington Avenue]]<ref name="usps" /> and, colloquially, with the [[Grand Central–42nd Street]] subway station next to the terminal.<ref name="submap" />

The station has been named "Grand Central Terminal" since before its completion in 1913; the full title is inscribed on its 42nd Street facade.<ref>{{cite book|last=Holland|first=Kevin J.|title=Classic American Railroad Terminals|publisher=MBI Publishing|page=20|date=2001|isbn=9780760308325|access-date=June 18, 2023|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WI2XXKt_zncC|archive-date=January 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124054731/https://books.google.com/books?id=WI2XXKt_zncC|url-status=live}}</ref> According to 21st-century sources, it is designated a "terminal" because trains originate and terminate there.<ref>{{cite web|title=Touring Grand Central Terminal: So Much More Than Trains|work=Forbes|date=January 6, 2023|access-date=June 17, 2023|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/margiegoldsmith/2023/01/06/touring-grand-central-terminal-so-much-more-than--trains/?sh=16f35e291dcc|archive-date=June 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230617162058/https://www.forbes.com/sites/margiegoldsmith/2023/01/06/touring-grand-central-terminal-so-much-more-than--trains/?sh=16f35e291dcc|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Carlson 2015"/> The [[CSX Corporation]] Railroad Dictionary also considers "terminals" as facilities "for the breaking up, making up, forwarding, and servicing of trains" or "where one or more rail yards exist".<ref>{{cite web|title=Railroad Dictionary|work=CSX Corporation|access-date=June 17, 2023|url=https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/about-us/company-overview/railroad-dictionary/?i=T|archive-date=June 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230617162100/https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/about-us/company-overview/railroad-dictionary/?i=T|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Services ==
=== Commuter rail ===
Grand Central Terminal serves some 67 million passengers a year, more than any other Metro-North station.<ref name="ridership" /><ref>{{cite web| title=State-of-Art Renewal Project Begins at White Plains Station| publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority| date=March 30, 2018| url=http://www.mta.info/news/2018/03/30/state-art-renewal-project-begins-white-plains-station| access-date=February 4, 2019| archive-date=February 1, 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201164809/https://www.mta.info/news/2018/03/30/state-art-renewal-project-begins-white-plains-station| url-status=dead}}</ref> During morning [[rush hour]], a train arrives at the terminal every 58 seconds.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lunden|first=Jeff|title=Grand Central, A Cathedral For Commuters, Celebrates 100|publisher=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2013/02/01/170692025/grand-central-a-cathedral-for-commuters-celebrates-100|date=February 1, 2013|access-date=February 3, 2019|archive-date=December 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228200939/https://www.npr.org/2013/02/01/170692025/grand-central-a-cathedral-for-commuters-celebrates-100|url-status=live}}</ref>

Three of Metro-North's five main lines terminate at Grand Central:<ref name="mnrmap" />

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Commuter rail services
|-
! width=10%| Line !! width=10%| Branch !!  width=30%| Destination !! width=50%| Notes
|-
|colspan=2| [[Harlem Line]] || [[Wassaic, New York]] ||
|-
|colspan=2| [[Hudson Line (Metro-North)|Hudson Line]] || [[Poughkeepsie, New York]] || Amtrak connection to [[Albany, New York|Albany]]
|-
| rowspan=4| [[New Haven Line]]  || Main Line || [[New Haven, Connecticut]] || Amtrak connection to [[Hartford]], [[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]], [[Boston]]; [[Shore Line East]] to [[New London, Connecticut|New London]]
|-
| [[New Canaan Branch]] || [[New Canaan, Connecticut]] ||
|-
| [[Danbury Branch]] || [[Danbury, Connecticut]] ||
|-
| [[Waterbury Branch]] || [[Waterbury, Connecticut]] ||
|}

Through these lines, the terminal serves Metro-North commuters traveling to and from [[the Bronx]] in New York City; [[Westchester County, New York|Westchester]], [[Putnam County, New York|Putnam]], and [[Dutchess County, New York|Dutchess]] counties in [[New York (state)|New York]]; and [[Fairfield County, Connecticut|Fairfield]] and [[New Haven County, Connecticut|New Haven]] counties in [[Connecticut]].<ref name="mnrmap" />

=== Connecting services ===
==== Long Island Rail Road ====
The MTA's [[Long Island Rail Road]] operates commuter trains to the [[Grand Central Madison station]] beneath Grand Central, completed in 2023 in the [[East Side Access]] project.<ref>{{cite web | title=In "Caves" Below Grand Central, East Side Access Project on Track | website=The Villager | date=November 5, 2015 | url=https://www.thevillager.com/2015/11/caves-grand-central-east-side-access-project-track/ | access-date=January 25, 2019 | archive-date=January 25, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125073413/https://www.thevillager.com/2015/11/caves-grand-central-east-side-access-project-track/ | url-status=live }}</ref> The project connects the terminal to all of the railroad's branches via its [[Main Line (Long Island Rail Road)|Main Line]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://new.mta.info/project/east-side-access|title=East Side Access|website=MTA.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|language=en|access-date=February 13, 2023|archive-date=January 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126201904/https://new.mta.info/project/east-side-access|url-status=live}}</ref> linking Grand Central Madison to almost every LIRR station.<ref>{{cite web|title=Long Island Rail Road|website=MTA.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|url=https://new.mta.info/map/5361|access-date=February 13, 2023|archive-date=February 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214011611/https://new.mta.info/map/5361|url-status=live}}</ref> Partial service to [[Jamaica, Queens|Jamaica]] began on January 25, 2023.<ref name=nyt-2023-01-25>{{Cite news |last=Ley |first=Ana |date=2023-01-25 |title=L.I.R.R. Service to Grand Central Begins Today at Long Last |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/nyregion/lirr-grand-central.html |access-date=2023-01-25  |archive-date=January 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126011811/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/nyregion/lirr-grand-central.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Local services====
The [[New York City Subway]]'s adjacent [[Grand Central–42nd Street station]] serves the following routes:<ref name="MTA-GCT" /><ref name="submap" />

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Subway services
|-
! width=10% | Routes !! width=30% | Line !! width=60% | Location
|-
| {{NYCS trains|Lexington}} || [[IRT Lexington Avenue Line]] || Diagonally under the [[Pershing Square Building]], [[110 East 42nd Street]], [[42nd Street (Manhattan)|42nd Street]], and [[Grand Hyatt New York]]
|-
| {{NYCS trains|Flushing}} || [[IRT Flushing Line]] || Under 42nd Street between [[Park Avenue]] and west of [[Third Avenue]]
|-
| {{NYCS trains|42nd}} || [[42nd Street Shuttle]] || Under 42nd Street between [[Madison Avenue]] and [[Vanderbilt Avenue (Manhattan)|Vanderbilt Avenue]]
|}

These [[MTA Regional Bus Operations]] buses stop near Grand Central:<ref name="MTA-GCT" /><ref>{{Cite NYC bus map|M}}<br>{{Cite NYC bus map|B2}}<br>{{Cite NYC bus map|Bx2}}<br>{{Cite NYC bus map|Q2}}<br>{{Cite NYC bus map|S}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Bus services
|-
! width=10%| Operator !! width=40%| Routes !! width=10%| Type !! width=40%| Location
|-
| rowspan=8 | [[NYCT Bus]] || {{NYC bus link|M1|M2|M3|M4|Q32}} || Local || rowspan="2" | Madison Avenue (northbound)<br />[[Fifth Avenue]] (southbound)
|-
| [[List of express bus routes in New York City|SIM23 and SIM24]]|| rowspan="3" | Express
|-
| {{NYC bus link|X27|X28|X37|X38|SIM4C|SIM6|SIM8|SIM8X|SIM11|SIM22|SIM25|SIM26|SIM30|SIM31|SIM33C}} || Madison Avenue (northbound)
|-
| {{NYC bus link|X27|X28|X37|X38|SIM4C|SIM8|SIM8X|SIM25|SIM31|SIM33C}} || Fifth Avenue (southbound)
|-
| {{NYC bus link|M42}}|| rowspan="2" | Local || 42nd Street
|-
| {{NYC bus link|M101|M102|M103}} ||Third Avenue (northbound)<br />Lexington Avenue (southbound)
|-
| {{NYC bus link|X27|X28|X63|X64|X68}} || rowspan="5" | Express || Third Avenue (northbound)
|-
| {{NYC bus link|SIM6|SIM11|SIM22|SIM26}} || Lexington Avenue (southbound)
|-
| rowspan=3 | [[MTA Bus]] || {{NYC bus link|BxM3|BxM4|BxM6|BxM7|BxM8|BxM9|BxM10|BxM11|BxM18|BM1|BM2|BM3|BM4|BM5}} || Madison Avenue (northbound)<br />Fifth Avenue (southbound)
|-
| {{NYC bus link|BxM1}} || Lexington Avenue (southbound)
|-
| {{NYC bus link|BxM1|QM21|QM31|QM32|QM34|QM35|QM36|QM40|QM42|QM44}} || Third Avenue (northbound)
|}

=== Former services ===
{{see also|List of Amtrak routes#Empire Corridor|label1=Amtrak services to Grand Central Terminal}}
[[File:20th CL 50th anniversary at Grand Central Terminal.png|thumb|left|upright=0.9|alt=Passengers boarding the streamline ''20th Century'' train|The ''[[20th Century Limited]]'' at Grand Central Terminal, {{circa|1952}}]]
The terminal and its predecessors were designed for intercity service, which operated from the first station building's completion in 1871 until Amtrak ceased operations in the terminal in 1991. Through transfers, passengers could connect to all major lines in the United States, including the ''[[Canadian (train)|Canadian]]'', the ''[[Empire Builder]]'', the ''[[San Francisco Zephyr]]'', the ''[[Southwest Chief|Southwest Limited]]'', the ''[[Crescent (train)|Crescent]]'', and the ''[[Sunset Limited]]'' under Amtrak. Destinations included [[San Francisco]], [[Los Angeles]], [[Vancouver]], [[New Orleans]], [[Chicago]], and [[Montreal]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Albright|first=John Brannon|title=How to Go Coast to Coast By Train|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/27/travel/how-to-go-coast-to-coast-by-train.html|date=December 27, 1981|access-date=February 2, 2019|archive-date=February 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203085128/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/27/travel/how-to-go-coast-to-coast-by-train.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Another notable former train was New York Central's ''[[20th Century Limited]]'', a luxury service that operated to Chicago's [[LaSalle Street Station]] between 1902 and 1967 and was among the most famous trains of its time.<ref>{{cite news | last=Browne | first=Malcolm W. | title=The 20th Century Makes Final Run; Economics Force Central to End Luxury Service Curtain Is Stolen 'Everything Changes' Service Was Luxurious | website=The New York Times | issn=0362-4331 | date=December 3, 1967 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/12/03/archives/the-20th-century-makes-final-run-economics-force-central-to-end.html | access-date=February 3, 2019 | archive-date=February 4, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204065717/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/12/03/archives/the-20th-century-makes-final-run-economics-force-central-to-end.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last=Cameron | first=Jim | title=Getting There: Historic 20th Century Limited train service remains unmatched | website=Connecticut Post | date=December 3, 2018 | url=https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Getting-There-Historic-20th-Century-Limited-13424954.php | access-date=February 3, 2019 | archive-date=February 4, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204014715/https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Getting-There-Historic-20th-Century-Limited-13424954.php | url-status=live }}</ref>

From 1971 to 1991, all Amtrak trains using the intrastate [[Empire Corridor]] to [[Niagara Falls, New York|Niagara Falls]] terminated at Grand Central; interstate [[Northeast Corridor]] trains used Penn Station.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2017/05/16-grand-central-amtrak|title=Amtrak may return to Grand Central temporarily this summer|work=Trains Magazine|date=May 16, 2017|access-date=June 12, 2019|archive-date=April 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422213820/https://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2017/05/16-grand-central-amtrak|url-status=dead}}</ref> Notable Amtrak services at Grand Central included the ''[[Lake Shore Limited|Lake Shore]]'', ''[[Empire Service]]'', ''[[Adirondack (train)|Adirondack]]'', ''[[Niagara Rainbow]]'', ''[[Maple Leaf (train)|Maple Leaf]]'', and ''[[Empire State Express]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Amtrak-announces-summer-construction-plans-12821170.php|title=Repairs will shift Amtrak's Rensselaer trains to Grand Central Terminal|last1=Rulison|first1=Larry|last2=Anderson|first2=Eric|date=April 10, 2018|website=Times Union|access-date=June 12, 2019|archive-date=September 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907075037/https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Amtrak-announces-summer-construction-plans-12821170.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19711114&item=0061|title=Amtrak Timetable|website=timetables.org|publisher=The Museum of Railway Timetables|date=November 14, 1971|access-date=June 12, 2019|archive-date=October 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025191338/http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19711114&item=0061|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19750515&item=0036|title=Amtrak Timetable|website=timetables.org|publisher=The Museum of Railway Timetables|year=1975|access-date=June 12, 2019|archive-date=October 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025193528/http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19750515&item=0036|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Interior ==
[[File:Historical Photos of Grand Central Terminal (52663238267).jpg|thumb|alt=Wide view of the station's Main Concourse in bright daylight|Morning pedestrian traffic in the Main Concourse]]
Grand Central Terminal was designed and built with two main levels for passengers: an upper for intercity trains and a lower for commuter trains. This configuration, devised by New York Central vice president [[William J. Wilgus]], separated intercity and commuter-rail passengers, smoothing the flow of people in and through the station.<ref name="Schlichting pp. 62-63" />
The original plan for Grand Central's interior was designed by [[Reed and Stem]], with some work by [[Whitney Warren]] of [[Warren and Wetmore]].<ref name="Schlichting p. 125" /><ref name="Langmead p. 174" />

=== Main Concourse ===
{{main|Main Concourse}}

The Main Concourse is located on the upper platform level of Grand Central, in the geographical center of the station building. The {{convert|35000|sqft|adj=on}} concourse<ref name="Susman" /> leads directly to most of the terminal's upper-level tracks, although some are accessed from passageways near the concourse.<ref name="directory" /> The Main Concourse is usually filled with bustling crowds and is often used as a meeting place.<ref name="latimes 19851124" /> At the center of the concourse is an information booth topped with a four-sided brass clock, one of Grand Central's most recognizable icons.<ref name="RN p. 84" /> The terminal's main departure boards are located at the south end of the space. The boards have been replaced numerous times since their initial installation in 1967.<ref name="nyt19670113"/><ref>{{cite web | last=Alexa | first=Alexandra | title=Grand Central Terminal's departure boards are going digital | website=6sqft | date=April 30, 2019 | url=https://www.6sqft.com/grand-central-terminals-departure-boards-are-going-digital/ | access-date=April 30, 2019 | archive-date=April 30, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430183343/https://www.6sqft.com/grand-central-terminals-departure-boards-are-going-digital/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Eye on the Future|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/capital/pdf/eotf_1216_1117.pdf|date=February 2, 2017|access-date=September 26, 2019|archive-date=September 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926150954/http://web.mta.info/mta/capital/pdf/eotf_1216_1117.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{clear}}
[[File:Grand Central map.png|center|thumb|upright=2.75|alt=A diagram of the terminal's main level rooms|Floor plan of the main level of the terminal]]

=== Passageways and ramps ===
[[File:Graybar Passage.jpg|thumb|left|The Graybar Passage|alt=Wide interior corridor with a vaulted ceiling]]

In their design for the station's interior, Reed & Stem created a circulation system that allowed passengers alighting from trains to enter the Main Concourse, then leave through various passages that branch from it.<ref name="Langmead p. 175" /> Among these are the north–south 42nd Street Passage and Shuttle Passage, which run south to 42nd Street; and three east–west passageways—the Grand Central Market, the Graybar Passage, and the Lexington Passage—that run about {{Convert|240|feet|meters|abbr=}} east to Lexington Avenue by 43rd Street.<ref name="directory" /><ref name="nyt19980802" /> Several passages run north of the terminal, including the north–south 45th Street Passage, which leads to 45th Street and Madison Avenue,<ref>{{cite web |last=Goldberg |first=Betsy |url=https://www.timeout.com/new-york-kids/things-to-do/grand-central-terminal-tour |title=Grand Central Terminal tour |work=Time Out |date=January 14, 2010 |access-date=February 14, 2019 |archive-date=February 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207020009/https://www.timeout.com/new-york-kids/things-to-do/grand-central-terminal-tour |url-status=live }}</ref> and the network of tunnels in Grand Central North, which lead to exits at every street from 45th to 48th Street.<ref name="directory" />

Each of the east–west passageways runs through a different building. The northernmost is the Graybar Passage,<ref name="directory" /> built on the [[Storey#North American schemes|first floor]] of the [[Graybar Building]] in 1926.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 19, 1926 |title=New Passageway into Terminal is Part of Building |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-eagle-new-passageway-into-termi/161350150/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241222070301/https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-eagle-new-passageway-into-termi/161350150/ |archive-date=December 22, 2024 |access-date=December 22, 2024 |work=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |page=8B |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> Its walls and seven large [[transverse arch]]es are made of coursed ashlar [[travertine]], and the floor is [[terrazzo]]. [[Main Concourse#Ceiling|The ceiling]] is composed of seven [[groin vault]]s, each of which has an ornamental bronze chandelier. The first two vaults, as viewed from leaving Grand Central, are painted with [[cumulus cloud]]s, while the third contains a [[Grand Central Terminal art#Graybar Passage mural|1927 mural]] by Edward Trumbull depicting American transportation.<ref name="Restore" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://bookwormhistory.com/2017/04/23/the-story-of-grand-centrals-other-ceiling-mural/|title=The Story of Grand Central's Other Ceiling Mural|last=Thurber|first=Dan|date=April 23, 2017|publisher=Bookworm History|access-date=December 15, 2018|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215222402/https://bookwormhistory.com/2017/04/23/the-story-of-grand-centrals-other-ceiling-mural/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{multiple image|footer=Grand Central Market's interior and its Lexington Avenue facade between the [[Grand Hyatt New York]] and [[Graybar Building]]|total_width=400
|image1=GCM 2019.jpg|alt1=A long hall with food vendors on either side
|image2=GCT Market 3.jpg|alt2=Exterior of the market building from the street
}}

The middle passageway houses Grand Central Market, a cluster of food shops.<ref name="directory" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.grandcentralterminal.com/grand-central-market/|title=Grand Central Market|website=Grand Central Terminal|access-date=December 11, 2018|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215070039/https://www.grandcentralterminal.com/grand-central-market/|url-status=live}}</ref> The site was originally a segment of 43rd Street which became the terminal's first service dock in 1913.<ref name="BL p. 155">{{harvnb|ps=.|Belle|Leighton|2000|p=155}}</ref> In 1975, a [[Greenwich Savings Bank]] branch was built in the space,<ref>{{cite web|title=152 A.D.2d 216 – Greenwich Assocs. v. MTA., Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, First Department.|url=https://www.leagle.com/decision/1989368152ad2d2161332|access-date=February 1, 2019|archive-date=February 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202042120/https://www.leagle.com/decision/1989368152ad2d2161332|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Changes Among Operating Banks and Branches|publisher=Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9JullTrIbFYC&pg=RA2-PA189|date=1973|access-date=December 12, 2020|archive-date=January 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124054807/https://books.google.com/books?id=9JullTrIbFYC&pg=RA2-PA189#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> which was converted into the marketplace in 1998, and involved installing a new limestone façade on the building.<ref name="nyt19950129" /> The building's second story, whose balcony overlooks the market and 43rd Street, was to house a restaurant, but is instead used for storage.<ref name="nyt19980802" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20120520/REAL_ESTATE/305209981/the-dish-on-grand-central|title=The dish on Grand Central|date=May 20, 2012|work=Crain's New York Business|access-date=December 24, 2018|archive-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225030848/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20120520/REAL_ESTATE/305209981/the-dish-on-grand-central|url-status=live}}</ref>

The southernmost of the three, the Lexington Passage, was originally known as the Commodore Passage after the [[Grand Hyatt New York#Commodore Hotel|Commodore Hotel]], which it ran through.<ref name="nyt19980802" /> When the hotel was renamed the Grand Hyatt, the passage was likewise renamed. The passage acquired its current name during the terminal's renovation in the 1990s.<ref name="nyt19950129" />

The Shuttle Passage, on the west side of the terminal, connects the Main Concourse to Grand Central's subway station. The terminal was originally configured with two parallel passages, later simplified into one wide passageway.<ref name="BL p. 155" />

[[File:Incline from subway to suburban concourse, Grand Central Terminal.jpg|thumb|alt=Wide ramps in the terminal, seen empty c. 1913|The Oyster Bar ramps shown {{circa|1913}}. They were completely restored in 1998 with one change {{ndash}} lower walls on the pedestrian overpass.]]
Ramps include the Vanderbilt Avenue ramp and the Oyster Bar ramps. The Vanderbilt Avenue or Kitty Kelly ramp leads from the corner of Vanderbilt Avenue and 42nd Street down into the Shuttle Passage. Most of the space above the ramp was built upon in the 20th century, becoming the Kitty Kelly women's shoe store, and later operating as Federal Express. The ramp was returned to its original two-story volume during the terminal's 1998 restoration.<ref name="BL p. 150-154">{{harvnb|ps=.|Belle|Leighton|2000|pp=150–154}}</ref>

The Oyster Bar ramps lead down from the Main Concourse to the [[Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant|Oyster Bar]] and Dining Concourse.<ref name="directory" /> They span a total of {{cvt|302|ft|m}} from east to west under an {{cvt|84|ft|m||adj=mid}} ceiling.<ref name="nyt20150716" /> A pedestrian bridge passes over the ramps, connecting Vanderbilt Hall and the Main Concourse. In 1927, the ramps were partially covered over by expanded main-floor ticket offices; these were removed in the 1998 renovation, which restored the ramps' original appearance with one minor change: the bridge now has a low balustrade, replacing an eight-foot-high solid wall that blocked views between the two levels.<ref name="BL p. 150-154" /> The underside of the bridge is covered with [[Guastavino tile|Guastavino tiling]].<ref name="RN p. 89" /> The bridge's arches create a [[whispering gallery]] in the landing beneath it: a person standing in one corner can hear another speaking softly in the diagonally opposite corner.<ref name="Roberts2013" /><ref name="CBS New York 2013" />

==== Grand Central North ====
{{mapframe
|text=Interactive map: Grand Central North tunnels and entrances<br /><div align="left" style="font-size:88%;">{{colorbull|#f00}} Northwest Passage<br />{{colorbull|#ffb732}} Northeast Passage<br />{{colorbull|#0c0}} 45th Street Cross-Passage<br />{{colorbull|#00c}} 47th Street Cross-Passage<br />{{colorbull|#454545}} Headhouse and train shed</div>
|type=line|frame=y|zoom=15
|frame-align=right
|frame-width=230|frame-height=230|frame-lat=40.7552|frame-long=-73.9754
|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Grand Central Terminal}}
}}
Grand Central North is a network of four tunnels that allow people to walk between the station building (which sits between 42nd and 44th Street) and exits at 45th, 46th, 47th, and 48th Street.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/19/nyregion/passageway-easing-exit-is-opened-at-terminal.html|title=Passageway Easing Exit Is Opened At Terminal|last=Finkelstein|first=Katherine E.|date=August 19, 1999|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=July 2, 2011|archive-date=May 1, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501033206/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/19/nyregion/passageway-easing-exit-is-opened-at-terminal.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The {{convert|1000|ft|adj=on}} Northwest Passage and {{convert|1200|ft|adj=on}} Northeast Passage run parallel to the tracks on the upper level, while two shorter cross-passages run perpendicular to the tracks.<ref name="Shorter"/><ref name="Ames 1999" /> The 47th Street cross-passage runs between the upper and lower tracks, {{convert|30|ft|m}} below street level; it provides access to upper-level tracks. The 45th Street cross-passage runs under the lower tracks, {{convert|50|ft|m}} below street level. Converted from a corridor built to transport luggage and mail,<ref name="Ames 1999" /> it provides access to lower-level tracks. The cross-passages are connected to the platforms via 37 stairs, six elevators, and five escalators.<ref name=n80839684/>

[[File:Grand Central 45th St.jpg|thumb|45th Street cross-passage]]
The tunnels' street-level entrances, each enclosed by a freestanding glass structure,<ref name="Ames 1999" /> sit at the northeast corner of East 47th Street and [[Madison Avenue]] (Northwest Passage), the northeast corner of East 48th Street and [[Park Avenue]] (Northeast Passage), in the two pedestrian walkways underneath the [[Helmsley Building]] between 45th and 46th streets, and (since 2012) on the south side of 47th Street between Park and Lexington avenues.<ref>{{cite press release|title=New Entrance to the Grand Central North Being Built On 47th Street Between Park and Lexington Avenues|date=January 11, 2010|publisher=Metro-North Railroad|url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/metro-north/new-entrance-grand-central-north-being-built-47th-street-between-park-and|access-date=June 29, 2010|archive-date=October 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020202938/http://www.mta.info/press-release/metro-north/new-entrance-grand-central-north-being-built-47th-street-between-park-and|url-status=live}}</ref> Pedestrians can also take an elevator to the 47th Street passage from the north side of East 47th Street, between Madison and Vanderbilt avenues; this entrance adjoined the former [[270 Park Avenue (1960–2021)|270 Park Avenue]].<ref>{{cite sign|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/brianweinberg/8902049267/|title=Map of Grand Central North|date=December 6, 2018|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 6, 2018|medium=brochure (scan)|via=Brian Weinberg, from Flickr|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802090902/https://www.flickr.com/photos/brianweinberg/8902049267/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Proposals for these tunnels had been discussed since at least the 1970s. The MTA approved preliminary plans in 1983,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/30/nyregion/more-exits-at-grand-central-planned-to-ease-bottleneck.html|title=More Exits at Grand Central Planned to Ease Bottleneck|last=Joyce|first=Fay S.|date=April 30, 1983|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 24, 2018|archive-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225125953/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/04/30/nyregion/more-exits-at-grand-central-planned-to-ease-bottleneck.html|url-status=live}}</ref> gave final approval in 1991,<ref name="WPJournalNews-NoLight-1999" /> and began construction in 1994.<ref name="Shorter"/> Dubbed the North End Access Project, the work was to be completed in 1997 at a cost of $64.5 million,<ref name="WPJournalNews-NoLight-1999" /> but it was slowed by the incomplete nature of the building's original blueprints and by previously undiscovered groundwater beneath East 45th Street.<ref name="Shorter"/> During construction, [[MTA Arts & Design]] mosaics were installed; each work was part of ''[[Grand Central Terminal art#As Above, So Below|As Above, So Below]]'', by Brooklyn artist [[Ellen Driscoll]].<ref name="Shorter"/> The passageways opened on August 18, 1999, at a final cost of $75 million.<ref name="Shorter"/>

In spring 2000, construction began on a project to enclose the Northeast and Northwest passages with ceilings and walls. Work on each passage was expected to take 7.5 months, with the entire project wrapping up by summer 2001. As part of the project, the walls of the passages were covered with glazed [[terrazzo]]; the Northeast Passage's walls have blue-green accents while the Northwest Passage's walls have red ones. The ceilings are {{convert|8|to|10|ft}} high; the cross-passages' ceilings are blue-green, the same color as the Main Concourse, and have recessed lights arranged to resemble the Main Concourse's constellations. The passages were to be heated in winter and ventilated.<ref>{{cite web | title=MTA Metro-North Railroad Service Updates | publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority | url=http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us:80/mnr/html/serviceupdates.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000510224520/http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/mnr/html/serviceupdates.htm | archive-date=May 10, 2000 | url-status=dead | access-date=July 5, 2021 }}</ref> Originally, Grand Central North had no restrooms or air-conditioning.<ref name=n80839684/>

The entrances to Grand Central North were originally open from 6:30&nbsp;a.m. to 9:30&nbsp;p.m. Monday through Friday. During weekends and holidays, the 47th and 48th Street entrances were open from 9:00&nbsp;a.m. to 9:30&nbsp;p.m., while the two entrances to the Helmsley Building were closed.<ref name=n80839684>{{Cite news|date=August 19, 1999|title=Grand Central tunnels ease commuting|pages=4A|work=Poughkeepsie Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80839684/grand-central-tunnels-ease-commuting/|access-date=July 5, 2021|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182942/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80839684/grand-central-tunnels-ease-commuting/|url-status=live}}</ref> Five years after they opened, the passageways were used by about 30,000 people on a typical weekday.<ref name="mta-budget-2005" /> But they served only about 6,000 people on a typical weekend, so the MTA proposed to close them on weekends to save money as part of the 2005–2008 Financial Plan<!-- starting in January 2005-->.<ref name=mta-budget-2005>{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/budget/pdf/2-mnr.pdf|title=MTA 2005 Preliminary Budget (7–29–04) – Volume 2 – MNR|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=February 3, 2014|page=43|archive-date=September 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140926003905/http://web.mta.info/mta/budget/pdf/2-mnr.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=December 17, 2004|title=Drivers, riders to pay more in '05|pages=1A, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80840163/railroad-fares/ 2A]|work=The Journal News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80840047/drivers-riders-to-pay-more-in-05/|access-date=July 5, 2021|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183702/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80840047/drivers-riders-to-pay-more-in-05/|url-status=live}}</ref> Since summer 2006, Grand Central North has been closed on weekends.<ref name="AutoVN-40">{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mnr/html/serviceupdates.htm#322|title=MTA Metro-North Railroad|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=February 3, 2014|archive-date=February 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212210257/http://web.mta.info/mnr/html/serviceupdates.htm?#322|url-status=live}}</ref>

As a precaution during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Grand Central North closed on March 26, 2020.<ref>{{cite web | last=Shay | first=Jim | title=Metro-North announces details of reduced service | website=Connecticut Post | date=March 26, 2020 | url=https://www.ctpost.com/news/coronavirus/article/Metro-North-announces-details-of-reduced-service-15158070.php | access-date=December 22, 2024}}</ref> It reopened in September of that year with hours from 6:30 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2020 |title=Grand Central Terminal North End Access: Adjusted Hours, Effective Monday, Sept. 28 |url=http://web.mta.info/mnr/html/GCT_NorthEndAccess.htm |access-date=January 24, 2022 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority |archive-date=January 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220130033009/http://web.mta.info/mnr/html/GCT_NorthEndAccess.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2021, its original hours were restored.<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 2021 |title=Mileposts |url=https://new.mta.info/document/55311 |access-date=January 24, 2022 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority |archive-date=October 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211014125706/https://new.mta.info/document/55311 |url-status=live }}</ref> On November 1, 2021, the entrance to the northeastern corner of Madison Avenue and 47th Street was "closed long-term to accommodate the construction of [[270 Park Avenue (2021–present)|270 Park Avenue]]".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-10-28 |title=Grand Central Terminal Entrance Closing Nov. 1 |url=https://new2stg.mta.info/article/grand-central-terminal-entrance-closed-47th-st-madison-ave |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority |language=en |archive-date=January 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230124204107/https://new2stg.mta.info/article/grand-central-terminal-entrance-closed-47th-st-madison-ave |url-status=live }}</ref> After Grand Central Madison begins full service, Grand Central North will be open from 5:30&nbsp;a.m. until 2 a.m., seven days a week.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 24, 2023 |title=Everything you need to know about Grand Central Madison |url=https://new.mta.info/agency/long-island-rail-road/grand-central-madison-guide |access-date=January 24, 2023 |website=mta.info |publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority |language=en |archive-date=January 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126202112/https://new.mta.info/agency/long-island-rail-road/grand-central-madison-guide |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Other spaces on the main floor ===
====Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Foyer====
The main entrance into the terminal, underneath the Park Avenue Viaduct, opens into the [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]] Foyer.<ref name="Press 2014">{{cite web | last=Associated Press | title=Grand Central entrance named for ex-first lady | work=The Journal News | date=June 30, 2014 | url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/2014/06/30/grand-central-entrance-named-jacqueline-kennedy-onassis/11750701/ | access-date=July 25, 2022 | archive-date=July 25, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725224000/https://www.lohud.com/story/news/2014/06/30/grand-central-entrance-named-jacqueline-kennedy-onassis/11750701/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Johnson 2014">{{cite web | last=Johnson | first=Victoria | title=Jackie Kennedy Onassis Foyer opens in Grand Central Terminal | website=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 | date=July 1, 2014 | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/jackie-kennedy-onassis-foyer-opens-grand-central-terminal-article-1.1850628 | access-date=July 25, 2022 | archive-date=July 25, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725224042/https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/jackie-kennedy-onassis-foyer-opens-grand-central-terminal-article-1.1850628 | url-status=live }}</ref> The room is a short passage with a sloped floor and arched shop windows along its side walls. It is adorned with glass and bronze chandeliers, a classical cornice, and a decorative [[Tympanum (architecture)|tympanum]] above the doors leading to Vanderbilt Hall. The tympanum has sculpted bronze garlands and a [[caduceus]] below an inscripted panel that reads: "To all those with head, heart, and hand{{•}}Toiled in the construction of this monument to the public service{{•}}This is inscribed." Above the panel is a clock framed by a pair of carved cornucopias.<ref name="Interior10"/> In 2014, the foyer was named for Onassis, former [[First Lady of the United States]], who in the 1970s helped ward off the demolition of the Main Concourse and the construction of [[Grand Central Tower]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Grand Central Entrance Named For Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|work=CBS New York|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/grand-central-entrance-to-be-named-for-jacqueline-kennedy-onassis/|date=June 30, 2014|access-date=February 15, 2023|archive-date=February 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215154149/https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/grand-central-entrance-to-be-named-for-jacqueline-kennedy-onassis/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=40 Years Rescued, 20 Years Renewed |url=https://www.grandcentralterminal.com/celebrates/ |access-date=2023-02-15 |website=Grand Central Terminal |language=en-US |archive-date=February 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215155209/https://www.grandcentralterminal.com/celebrates/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cassidy |first=Tina |date=2013-02-05 |title=The Surprising Role Jackie Kennedy Onassis Played in Saving Grand Central |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-02-05/the-surprising-role-jackie-kennedy-onassis-played-in-saving-grand-central |access-date=2023-02-15 |archive-date=February 15, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215155139/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-02-05/the-surprising-role-jackie-kennedy-onassis-played-in-saving-grand-central |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Vanderbilt Hall ====
{{multiple image|align=left|direction=vertical
|image1=Main waiting room, Grand Central Terminal.jpg|alt1=Old image of the ornate Vanderbilt Hall|caption1=Vanderbilt Hall, {{circa|}} 1913
|image2=Tournament of Champions Squash 2012.jpg|alt2=Glassed-in squash court in the Beaux-Arts-style hall|caption2=The [[Tournament of Champions (squash)|Tournament of Champions]] [[Squash (sport)|squash]] championship in 2012}}

Vanderbilt Hall is an event space on the south side of the terminal, between the main entrance and the Main Concourse to its north.<ref name="directory" /> The rectangular room measures {{convert|65|x|205|ft}}. The north and south walls are divided into five bays, each with large rectangular windows, screened with heavy bronze grills.<ref name="Interior10">{{harvnb|ps=.|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1980|page=10}}</ref> The room is lit by Beaux-Arts chandeliers, each with 132 bulbs on four tiers.<ref name="RN p. 96" /> Vanderbilt Hall was formerly the main waiting room for the terminal, used particularly by intercity travelers. The space featured double-sided oak benches and could seat 700 people.<ref>{{cite web|title=Attention Railroad Buffs and Architecture Aficionados: Artifacts Sought for Grand Central Terminal Centennial Exhibition|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/metro-north/attention-railroad-buffs-and-architecture-aficionados-artifacts-sought|date=August 2, 2010|access-date=March 25, 2019|archive-date=March 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325190912/http://www.mta.info/press-release/metro-north/attention-railroad-buffs-and-architecture-aficionados-artifacts-sought|url-status=dead}}</ref> As long-distance passenger service waned, the space became favored by the homeless, who began regularly living there in the 1980s. In 1989, the room was boarded up in preparation for its restoration in 1991. During the process, a temporary waiting room was established on an upper level of the terminal.<ref>{{cite news |last=Durkin |first=Barbara J. |date=August 17, 1990 |title=Restoration of Grand Central Waiting Room to Begin Next Year |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-dispatch-restoration-of-gra/161349872/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241222064906/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-reporter-dispatch-restoration-of-gra/161349872/ |archive-date=December 22, 2024 |access-date=December 22, 2024 |newspaper=The Reporter Dispatch |page=20 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>{{refn|Several of the hall's benches were moved to a smaller waiting room in the Station Master's Office. In 2018, two of the benches were sent on a long-term loan to [[Springfield, Massachusetts]]'s [[Springfield Union Station (Massachusetts)|Union Station]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Goonan|first=Peter|title='A work of art': Springfield unveils restored Grand Central benches at Union Station|newspaper=Mass Live|url=https://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/07/springfield_union_station_unveils_restored_grand_central_terminal_benches.html|date=July 16, 2018|access-date=December 14, 2018|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215121355/https://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/07/springfield_union_station_unveils_restored_grand_central_terminal_benches.html|url-status=live}}</ref>|group=N}}

Around 1998, the renovated hall was renamed in honor of the [[Vanderbilt family]], which built and owned the station.<ref name="nyt19980802" /> It is used for the annual Christmas Market,<ref>{{cite web | title=Grand Central Holiday Fair | website=The official website of the City of New York | date=December 20, 2017 | url=http://www1.nyc.gov/events/grand-central-holiday-fair/160627/37 | access-date=January 1, 2019 | archive-date=February 2, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202095417/https://www1.nyc.gov/events/grand-central-holiday-fair/160627/37 | url-status=live }}</ref> as well as for special exhibitions and private events.<ref>{{cite web | title=Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal | website=NYC & Company | date=January 26, 2018 | url=https://business.nycgo.com/listing/vanderbilt-hall-at-grand-central-terminal/46656/ | access-date=January 1, 2019 | archive-date=February 2, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202041658/https://business.nycgo.com/listing/vanderbilt-hall-at-grand-central-terminal/46656/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> From 2016 to 2020, the west half of the hall held the Great Northern Food Hall, an upscale Nordic-themed food court with five pavilions. The food hall was the first long-term tenant of the space; the terminal's landmark status prevents permanent installations.<ref name="nyt20160407"/><ref name="closed">{{cite news|last=Passy|first=Charles|title=Grand Central Oyster Bar Closes After Briefly Opening at Limited Capacity|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/grand-central-oyster-bar-closes-after-briefly-opening-at-limited-capacity-11602538446|date=October 12, 2020|access-date=October 4, 2021|archive-date=October 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211004154229/https://www.wsj.com/articles/grand-central-oyster-bar-closes-after-briefly-opening-at-limited-capacity-11602538446|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since 1999, Vanderbilt Hall has hosted the annual [[Tournament of Champions (squash)|Tournament of Champions]] [[Squash (sport)|squash]] championship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tocsquash.com/toc-history/|title=ToC History|website=Tournament of Champions|access-date=December 24, 2018|archive-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225030706/http://tocsquash.com/toc-history/|url-status=live}}</ref> Each January, tournament officials construct a free-standing glass-enclosed {{convert|21|by|32|ft|adj=on}} squash court. Like a [[theatre in the round]], spectators sit on three sides of the court.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/lynndouglass/2013/01/23/grand-central-stations-glass-box-amazes-again/|title=Grand Central Station's Glass Box Amazes Again|last=Douglass|first=Lynn|date=January 23, 2013|work=Forbes|access-date=December 24, 2018|archive-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225080841/https://www.forbes.com/sites/lynndouglass/2013/01/23/grand-central-stations-glass-box-amazes-again/#5837a5777467|url-status=live}}</ref>

A men's smoking room and women's waiting room were formerly located on the west and east sides of Vanderbilt Hall, respectively.<ref name="nyt20160407" /> In 2016, the men's room was renovated into [[Agern]], an 85-seat Nordic-themed fine dining and [[Michelin star|Michelin-starred]] restaurant operated by [[Noma (restaurant)|Noma]] co-founder [[Claus Meyer]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Restaurant/New_York-10017-Agern-504291-41102|title=Agern – New York : a Michelin Guide restaurant|website=ViaMichelin|access-date=December 15, 2018|archive-date=August 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808153528/https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Restaurant/New_York-10017-Agern-504291-41102|url-status=dead}}</ref> who also ran the food hall.<ref name="nyt20160407" /> Both venues permanently closed in 2020 during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in New York City|COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name="closed"/> City Winery signed a lease for both the food hall and the Agern space in 2022.<ref name="Orlow 2022">{{cite web | last=Orlow | first=Emma | title=City Winery Is Taking Over the Former Great Northern Food Hall in Grand Central | website=Eater NY | date=April 27, 2022 | url=https://ny.eater.com/2022/4/27/23043515/city-winery-opening-grand-central-terminal | access-date=April 28, 2022 | archive-date=April 28, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428003144/https://ny.eater.com/2022/4/27/23043515/city-winery-opening-grand-central-terminal | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Yakas 2022">{{cite web | last=Yakas | first=Ben | title=City Winery opening new venue inside Grand Central Terminal | website=Gothamist | date=April 26, 2022 | url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/city-winery-opening-new-venue-grand-central | access-date=April 28, 2022 | archive-date=April 28, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428003144/https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/city-winery-opening-new-venue-grand-central | url-status=live }}</ref> The firm opened a wine bar, a quick-service restaurant named City Jams, and a [[farm-to-table]] restaurant named Cornelius in these spaces that November.<ref name="Food & Wine 2022">{{cite web | title=Grand Central Station Is Getting a Cool New Wine Bar | website=Food & Wine | date=November 9, 2022 | url=https://www.foodandwine.com/city-winery-opens-grand-central-6827240 | access-date=November 16, 2022 | archive-date=November 16, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116140321/https://www.foodandwine.com/city-winery-opens-grand-central-6827240 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Sutherland-Namako 2022">{{cite web | last=Sutherland-Namako | first=Amber | title=Get $5 off wine with City Winery's reusable bottle program | website=Time Out New York | date=September 28, 2022 | url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/city-winerys-latest-location-is-launching-a-reusable-bottle-program-092822 | access-date=November 16, 2022 | archive-date=November 16, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116140313/https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/city-winerys-latest-location-is-launching-a-reusable-bottle-program-092822 | url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Biltmore Room ====
[[File:Biltmore Room at Grand Central Terminal.jpg|thumb|alt=The square marble-clad Biltmore Room|The Biltmore Room at its reopening in 2023]]
The Biltmore Room, originally known simply as the incoming train room, is a {{convert|64|by|80|ft|m|adj=on}} marble hall<ref name="Biltmore2" /> that serves as an entrance to tracks 39 through 42, and connects to Grand Central Madison.<ref name="directory" /> The hall is northwest of the Main Concourse and directly beneath [[New York Biltmore Hotel|22 Vanderbilt]], the former Biltmore Hotel building.<ref name="Biltmore2" /> The room was completed in 1915 as a waiting room for intercity trains, which led to its colloquial name of the "Kissing Room", in reference to the greetings that would take place there.<ref name="Mann 2012" />

As the station's passenger traffic declined in mid-century, the room fell into neglect. In 1982 and 1983, the room was damaged during the construction that converted the Biltmore Hotel into the Bank of America Plaza. In 1985, [[Giorgio Cavaglieri]] was hired to restore the room, which at the time had cracked marble and makeshift lighting. During that era, a series of lockers was still located within the Biltmore Room.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/04/21/nyregion/waiting-room-at-grand-central-regains-sense-of-grandeur.html|title=Waiting Room at Grand Central Regains Sense of Grandeur|last=Tomasson|first=Robert E.|date=April 21, 1985|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 14, 2018|archive-date=November 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109230122/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/04/21/nyregion/waiting-room-at-grand-central-regains-sense-of-grandeur.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Later, the room held a newsstand, flower stand, and shoe shine booths.<ref name="Mann 2012" /><ref name="Biltmore1" /> In 2015, the MTA awarded a contract to refurbish the Biltmore Room into an arrival area for Long Island Rail Road passengers as part of the [[East Side Access]] project.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/news-east-side-access-lirr-long-island-rail-road-grand-central-terminal/2015/02/05/mta-awards|title=news – MTA Awards Contract to Build Long Island Rail Road's Future Terminal Under Grand Central Terminal|date=February 5, 2015|website=MTA|access-date=December 15, 2018|archive-date=December 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216031708/http://www.mta.info/news-east-side-access-lirr-long-island-rail-road-grand-central-terminal/2015/02/05/mta-awards|url-status=dead}}</ref> As part of the project, the room's booths and stands were replaced by a pair of escalators and an elevator to Grand Central Madison's deep-level concourse,<ref name="Mann 2012" /><ref name="Biltmore1" /> which opened in May 2023.<ref name="City Life Org 2023 e384">{{cite web | title=MTA Announces Opening of Grand Central Madison Escalators and Elevator at 43rd Street into Historic Biltmore Room | website=City Life Org | date=May 8, 2023 | url=https://thecitylife.org/2023/05/08/mta-announces-opening-of-grand-central-madison-escalators-and-elevator-at-43rd-street-into-historic-biltmore-room/ | access-date=July 17, 2023 | archive-date=July 17, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230717204908/https://thecitylife.org/2023/05/08/mta-announces-opening-of-grand-central-madison-escalators-and-elevator-at-43rd-street-into-historic-biltmore-room/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

The room's blackboard displayed the arrival and departure times of New York Central trains until 1967,<ref name="nyt19670113" /> when a mechanical board was installed in the Main Concourse.<ref name="Biltmore2" />

==== Station Master's Office ====
{{multiple images|total_width=450px|float=right
|image1=GCT SMO 3.jpg|alt1=Glass door entrance into the office|caption1=Doorway and front desk
|image2=GCT SMO.jpg|alt2=Wood benches in the small square waiting room|caption2=Ticketed waiting area
}}
The Station Master's Office, located near Track 36, has Grand Central's only dedicated waiting room. The space has benches, restrooms, and a floral mixed-media mural on three of its walls. The room's benches were previously located in the former waiting room, now known as Vanderbilt Hall. Since 2008, the area has offered free Wi-Fi.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/metro-north/grand-central-terminals-station-masters-offices-goes-wireless|title=Grand Central Terminal's Station Master's Offices Goes Wireless|date=May 27, 2008|access-date=December 15, 2018|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215222514/http://www.mta.info/press-release/metro-north/grand-central-terminals-station-masters-offices-goes-wireless|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==== Former theatre ====
[[File:GCT Central Cellars 3.jpg|thumb|alt=Crowded room of a wine and liquor store|Central Cellars interior; the theater projection window is at the top left]]
One of the retail areas of the Graybar Passage, currently occupied by wine-and-liquor store Central Cellars, was formerly the Grand Central Theatre or Terminal Newsreel Theatre.<ref name="Diehl" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://untappedcities.com/2015/04/24/the-lost-movie-theater-of-grand-central-terminal/|title=The Lost Movie Theater of Grand Central Terminal|last=Young|first=Michelle|date=April 24, 2015|website=Untapped Cities|access-date=December 20, 2018|archive-date=December 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220230857/https://untappedcities.com/2015/04/24/the-lost-movie-theater-of-grand-central-terminal/|url-status=live}}</ref> Opened in 1937 with 25-cent admission, the theater showed short films, cartoons, and [[newsreel]]s<ref name="learn" /> from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.<ref name="RN pp. 177-178" /><ref name="McManus 1937" /> Designed by [[Tony Sarg]], it had 242 stadium-style seats and a standing-room section with armchairs. A small bar sat near the entrance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gothamist.com/2015/04/22/gct_theater.php|title=Did You Know There Used To Be A Movie Theater In Grand Central Terminal?|last=Carlson|first=Jen|date=April 22, 2015|website=Gothamist|access-date=December 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150428195629/http://gothamist.com/2015/04/22/gct_theater.php|archive-date=April 28, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> The theater's interior had simple pine walls spaced out to eliminate echos, along with an [[inglenook]], a fireplace, and an illuminated clock for the convenience of travelers. The walls of the lobby, dubbed the "appointment lounge", were covered with world maps; the ceiling had an astronomical mural painted by Sarg.<ref name="Diehl" /> ''The New York Times'' reported a cost of $125,000 for the theater's construction, which was attributed to construction of an elevator between the theater and the suburban concourse as well as air conditioning and apparatuses for people hard of hearing.<ref name="McManus 1937" />

The theater stopped showing newsreels by 1968<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|pp=179–180}}</ref> but continued operating until around 1979, when it was gutted for retail space.<ref name="RN pp. 177-178" /> A renovation in the early 2000s removed a false ceiling, revealing the theater's projection window and its astronomical mural, which proved similar in colors and style to the Main Concourse ceiling.<ref name="learn" />

=== Dining Concourse ===
{{multiple image|align=left|total_width=420
|image1=GCT Dining.jpg|alt1=A long hallway with track entrances and food vendors|caption1=Dining Concourse food stalls and track entrances
|image2=Landmark City Photography Exhibit in Grand Central.jpg|alt2=Train car-like public dining area|caption2=One of several public seating areas
}}
Access to the lower-level tracks is provided by the Dining Concourse, located below the Main Concourse and connected to it by numerous stairs, ramps, and escalators. For decades, it was called the Suburban Concourse because it handled commuter rail trains.<ref name="nyt19041224" /> Today, it has central seating and lounge areas, surrounded by restaurants and food vendors.<ref name="directory" /> The shared public seating in the concourse was designed resembling [[Pullman (car or coach)|Pullman traincars]].<ref name="nyt19980802" /> These areas are frequented by the homeless, and as a result, in the mid-2010s the MTA created two areas with private seating for dining customers.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Deffenbaugh |first1=Ryan |title=MTA says homeless, stale décor are cutting into Grand Central food sales |url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/mta-says-homeless-stale-decor-are-cutting-grand-central-food-sales |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 24, 2024 |newspaper=[[Crain Communications|Crain's New York]] |date=July 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725185137/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/real-estate/mta-says-homeless-stale-decor-are-cutting-grand-central-food-sales |archive-date=July 25, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/mta-blames-decor-homeless-for-dip-in-grand-central-terminal-dining-11563912103|title=MTA Blames Décor, Homeless for Dip in Grand Central Terminal Dining|last1=Berger|first1=Paul|last2=St. John|first2=Alexa|date=July 24, 2019|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=July 24, 2019|archive-date=July 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724002844/https://www.wsj.com/articles/mta-blames-decor-homeless-for-dip-in-grand-central-terminal-dining-11563912103|url-status=live}}</ref>

The terminal's late-1990s renovation added stands and restaurants to the concourse, and installed escalators to link it to the main concourse level.<ref name="nyt19980802" /> The MTA also spent $2.2 million to install two circular terrazzo designs by [[David Rockwell]] and [[Beyer Blinder Belle]], each 45 feet in diameter, over the concourse's original terrazzo floor.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rohde |first=David S.|author-link=David S. Rohde |title=A Grand Design Takes Shape On the Floor of Grand Central |newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331  |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/28/nyregion/a-grand-design-takes-shape-on-the-floor-of-grand-central.html |url-access=subscription |date=December 28, 1997 |access-date=February 2, 2019 |archive-date=May 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527070521/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/12/28/nyregion/a-grand-design-takes-shape-on-the-floor-of-grand-central.html}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Since 2015, part of the Dining Concourse has been closed for the construction of stairways and escalators to the new LIRR terminal being built as part of [[East Side Access]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/news-grand-central-east-side-access/2015/10/26/milestone-east-side-access-workers-break-through|title=Milestone for East Side Access: Workers to Break Through Lower Level Floor To Build Housing for Escalators and Stairways to Future LIRR Concourse|website=mta.info|access-date=February 17, 2016|archive-date=February 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224155456/http://www.mta.info/news-grand-central-east-side-access/2015/10/26/milestone-east-side-access-workers-break-through|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A small square-framed clock is installed in the ceiling near Tracks 108 and 109. It was manufactured at an unknown time by the [[Self Winding Clock Company]], which made several others in the terminal. The clock hung inside the gate at Track 19 until 2011, when it was moved so it would not be blocked by lights added during upper-level platform improvements.<ref name="clocks" />

==== Lost-and-found bureau ====
[[File:GCT Police-LaF.jpg|thumb|alt=Doorways into the offices in the terminal|MTA Police and lost-and-found offices]]
Metro-North's lost-and-found bureau sits near Track 100 at the far east end of the Dining Concourse. Incoming items are sorted according to function and date: for instance, there are separate bins for hats, gloves, belts, and ties.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/04/archives/new-jersey-pages-parcel-room-lost-found-grand-central-finds.html|title=Parcel Room Lost & Found; Grand Central 'Finds Treasure And Trash Left By Commuters; 'What Was In the Bag?'; False Teeth and Crutches; Systematized Cartons; Commuter Goes Hungry|last=Wald|first=Matthew L.|date=April 4, 1978|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=January 5, 2019|archive-date=January 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106010615/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/04/04/archives/new-jersey-pages-parcel-room-lost-found-grand-central-finds.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Lombardi 1996" /> The sorting system was computerized in the 1990s.<ref name="Santora 2002" /> Lost items are kept for up to 90 days before being donated or auctioned off.<ref name="CBS New York 2013" /><ref name="Belson 2007" />

As early as 1920, the bureau received between 15,000 and 18,000 items a year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1920/09/19/archives/strange-finds-on-trains-more-than-15000-articles-turned-in-annually.html|title=Strange Finds on Trains – More Than 15,000 Articles Turned in Annually at Grand Central|date=September 19, 1920|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=January 5, 2019|archive-date=January 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106010354/https://www.nytimes.com/1920/09/19/archives/strange-finds-on-trains-more-than-15000-articles-turned-in-annually.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By 2002, the bureau was collecting "3,000 coats and jackets; 2,500 cellphones; 2,000 sets of keys; 1,500 wallets, purses and ID's {{sic|expected=IDs}}; and 1,100 umbrellas" a year.<ref name="Santora 2002" /> By 2007, it was collecting 20,000 items a year, 60% of which were eventually claimed.<ref name="Belson 2007" /> In 2013, the bureau reported an 80% return rate, among the highest in the world for a transit agency.<ref name="Carlson 2015" /><ref name="CBS New York 2013" />

Some of the more unusual items collected by the bureau include fake teeth, prosthetic body parts, legal documents, diamond pouches, live animals, and a $100,000 violin.<ref name="Lombardi 1996" /><ref name="Belson 2007" /> One story has it that a woman purposely left her unfaithful husband's ashes on a Metro-North train before collecting them three weeks later.<ref name="CBS New York 2013" /><ref name="Belson 2007" /> In 1996, some of the lost-and-found items were displayed at an art exhibition.<ref name="RN p. 128" />

[[File:Grand Central dining map.png|center|thumb|upright=2.75|alt=A diagram of the terminal's dining level rooms|Floor plan of the Dining Level]]

=== Other food service and retail spaces ===
{{multiple image|align=left|direction=horizontal|total_width=450
|image1=GCT OB 2.jpg|alt1=Restaurant entrance with a vaulted tile ceiling|caption1=Entrance to the [[Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant|Oyster Bar]]
|image2=GCT Campbell 1.jpg|alt2=Interior of the Campbell Bar|caption2=The Campbell Bar
}}
Grand Central Terminal contains restaurants such as the [[Grand Central Oyster Bar & Restaurant]] and various fast food outlets surrounding the Dining Concourse. There are also delis, bakeries, a gourmet and fresh food market, and [[New York Transit Museum#Grand Central Gallery Annex and Store|an annex]] of the [[New York Transit Museum]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/more-crowded-crowds-grand-central-to-welcome-apple-and-shake-shack/|title=More Crowded Crowds: Grand Central to Welcome Apple and Shake Shack|last=Haughney|first=Christine|date=July 25, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=July 30, 2011|archive-date=January 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121195539/http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/more-crowded-crowds-grand-central-to-welcome-apple-and-shake-shack/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grubstreet.com/2013/10/shake-shack-grand-central-terminal.html|title=7 Things You Should Know About Shake Shack Grand Central, Opening Saturday|author=Hugh Merwin|date=October 2, 2013|work=GrubStreet|access-date=October 3, 2014|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006174736/http://www.grubstreet.com/2013/10/shake-shack-grand-central-terminal.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The 40-plus retail stores include newsstands and chain stores, including a [[Starbucks]] coffee shop, a [[Rite Aid]] pharmacy, and an [[Apple Store]].<ref name="directory" /><ref>{{cite press release|title=Apple Store Grand Central Opens Friday, December 9|date=December 7, 2011|publisher=Apple|url=https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2011/12/07Apple-Store-Grand-Central-Opens-Friday-December-9/|access-date=December 19, 2018|archive-date=November 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116075709/https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2011/12/07Apple-Store-Grand-Central-Opens-Friday-December-9/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Oyster Bar, the oldest business in the terminal, sits next to the Dining Concourse and below Vanderbilt Hall.<ref name="directory" /><ref name="nyt20160407" />

An elegantly restored cocktail lounge, the [[Campbell Apartment|Campbell]], sits just south of the 43rd Street/Vanderbilt Avenue entrance. A mix of commuters and tourists access it from the street or the balcony level.<ref name="directory" /> The space was once the office of 1920s tycoon [[John W. Campbell (financier)|John W. Campbell]], who decorated it to resemble the galleried hall of a 13th-century [[Florence|Florentine]] palace.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldsbestbars.com/city/new-york/campbell-apartment-new-york.htm|title=Campbell Apartment Bar in New York|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203134225/http://www.worldsbestbars.com/city/new-york/campbell-apartment-new-york.htm|archive-date=February 3, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/09/realestate/streetscapes-grand-central-terminal-forgotten-corner-curious-office-20-s.html|title=Grand Central Terminal; In a Forgotten Corner, a Curious Office of the 20's|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=January 9, 1994|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=July 4, 2011|author-link=Christopher Gray (architectural historian)|archive-date=March 2, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302161410/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/09/realestate/streetscapes-grand-central-terminal-forgotten-corner-curious-office-20-s.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1999, it opened as a bar, the Campbell Apartment; a new owner renovated and renamed it the Campbell in 2017.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/dining/campbell-apartment-grand-central-terminal-bar.html|title=Return of the Campbell, an Ornate Grand Central Bar|last=Simonson|first=Robert|date=May 15, 2017|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 7, 2018|archive-date=December 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209165240/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/dining/campbell-apartment-grand-central-terminal-bar.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Vanderbilt Tennis Club and former studios ===
[[File:GCT Tennis.jpg|thumb|alt=Tennis players using the terminal's court|The Vanderbilt Tennis Club's court]]

<!--before that, home to the terminal's Federal Credit Union office - needs source-->From 1939 to 1964, [[CBS]] Television occupied a large portion of the terminal building, particularly in a third-floor space above Vanderbilt Hall.<ref name="nydn20090319" /><ref name="wsj20101123" /> The CBS offices, called "The Annex",<ref name="wsj20101123" /> contained two "program control" facilities (43 and 44); network master control; facilities for local station [[WCBS-TV]];<ref name="nydn20090319" /><ref name="wsj20101123" /><ref name="Wolters 1937" /> and, after World War II, two {{convert|700,000|ft2|m2|adj=on}} production studios (41 and 42).<ref name="RN p. 174" /> The total space measured {{cvt|225 x 60 x 40|ft}}.<ref>{{cite news|title=Seldes Picked As Television Director|newspaper=The Knoxville Journal|page=20|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61375894/the-knoxville-journal/|date=August 29, 1937|access-date=October 18, 2020|archive-date=October 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022010050/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/61375894/the-knoxville-journal/|url-status=live}}</ref> Broadcasts were transmitted from an antenna atop the nearby [[Chrysler Building]] installed by order of CBS chief executive [[William S. Paley]],<ref name="Wolters 1937" /><ref name="RN p. 174" /> and were also shown on a large screen in the Main Concourse.<ref name="RN p. 174" /> In 1958, CBS opened the world's first major videotape operations facility in Grand Central. Located in a former rehearsal room on the seventh floor, the facility used 14 [[Ampex]] VR-1000 videotape recorders.<ref name="nydn20090319" /><ref name="wsj20101123" />

''[[CBS Evening News|Douglas Edwards with the News]]'' broadcast from Grand Central for several years, covering [[John Glenn]]'s 1962 [[Mercury-Atlas 6]] space flight and other events. [[Edward R. Murrow]]'s ''[[See It Now]]'' originated there, including his famous broadcasts on Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]], which were recreated in [[George Clooney]]'s movie ''[[Good Night, and Good Luck]]'', although the film incorrectly implies that CBS News and corporate offices were in the same building. The long-running panel show ''[[What's My Line?]]'' was first broadcast from Grand Central, as were ''[[The Goldbergs (broadcast series)|The Goldbergs]]'' and ''[[Mama (American TV series)|Mama]]''. CBS eventually moved its operations to the [[CBS Broadcast Center]] on [[57th Street (Manhattan)|57th Street]].<ref name="nydn20090319" /><ref name="wsj20101123" /><ref name="RN p. 174" />

In 1966, the vacated studio space was converted into the Vanderbilt Athletic Club, a sports club named for the hall just below.<ref name="nydn20090319" /><ref name="wsj20101123" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://untappedcities.com/2017/02/09/a-look-at-the-hidden-tennis-courts-of-grand-central-terminal-once-leased-by-trump/|title=A Look at the Hidden Tennis Courts of Grand Central Terminal, Once Leased by Trump|date=February 9, 2017|work=Untapped Cities|access-date=February 10, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=February 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211072150/https://untappedcities.com/2017/02/09/a-look-at-the-hidden-tennis-courts-of-grand-central-terminal-once-leased-by-trump/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="RN p. 164" /> Founded by Geza A. Gazdag, an athlete and Olympic coach who fled Hungary amid [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956|its 1956 revolution]],<ref name="nyt-1978-01-26">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/01/26/archives/most-expensive-tennis-club-sheds-status-symbol-tennis-club-sheds.html|title=Most Expensive Tennis Club Sheds Status Symbol|last=Friedman|first=Charles|date=January 26, 1978|work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=April 25, 2019|archive-date=July 2, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702215010/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/01/26/archives/most-expensive-tennis-club-sheds-status-symbol-tennis-club-sheds.html|url-status=live}}</ref> its two tennis courts were once deemed the most expensive place to play the game—$58 an hour—until financial recessions forced the club to lower the hourly fee to $40.<ref name="nyt-1978-01-26"/> Club amenities included a {{convert|65 x 30|ft|adj=on}} [[Dry ski slope|nylon ski slope]], a health club facility and sauna, and spaces for golf, fencing, gymnastics, and ballet practice.<ref name="ski1">{{cite news|title=Hungarian Creates Ski Slope in Heart Of New York City|newspaper=The Post-Crescent|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60688873/the-post-crescent/|date=November 8, 2020|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-date=May 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514082325/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60688873/the-post-crescent/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ski2">{{cite news |last=Hanson |first=Kitty |date=January 16, 1967 |title=Now Skiers Train at Grand Central |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-now-skiers-train-at-grand-cen/161349967/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241222065328/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-now-skiers-train-at-grand-cen/161349967/ |archive-date=December 22, 2024 |access-date=December 22, 2024 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> Gazdag's business was evicted from Grand Central in 1976, amid a lease dispute.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=John |date=1976-05-14 |title=Evicted Tennis Pro Bounces on Conrail |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-evicted-tennis-pro-bounces-on/161350063/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241222065842/https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-evicted-tennis-pro-bounces-on/161350063/ |archive-date=2024-12-22 |access-date=2024-12-22 |work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251 |page=7 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> In 1984, the club was purchased by real estate magnate [[Donald Trump]], who discovered it while renovating the terminal's exterior.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/31/sports/tennis/31courts.html|title=Game, Set, Match Above the Roar of the City|last=Schmidt|first=Michael S.|date=August 31, 2006|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=February 12, 2018|archive-date=February 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213022229/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/31/sports/tennis/31courts.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2009, the MTA planned a new conductor lounge in the space, and terminated Trump's lease that year. It divided the space into three floors, with the lounge on the original third floor. A single tennis court was added on the new fourth floor in 2010, along with two practice alleys on the new fifth floor. Trump found the new space too small to release, and so the current Vanderbilt Tennis Club operates independent of Trump.<ref name="wsj20101123" />

=== Basement spaces ===
Grand Central Terminal's {{convert|48|acre|ha|adj=on}} basements are among the largest in the city.<ref name="untapped 20130313" /> Basement spaces include M42, which has [[Rectifier|AC-to-DC converters]] to power the track's [[third rail]]s,<ref name="IEEE-PES" /><ref name="RN p. 157" /> as well as Carey's Hole, a former retail storage space and present-day employee lounge and dormitory.<ref name=Careys-Hole-2010/>

==== Power and heating plants ====
[[File:GCT M42 Basement-Rotary-Untapped New York-Michelle Young.jpg|thumb|alt=A large piece of electrical equipment in the terminal basement|[[Rotary converter]] relics in the [[M42 (sub-basement)|M42 basement]]]]
Grand Central Terminal contains an underground [[sub-basement]] known as [[M42 (sub-basement)|M42]]. Its [[electrical substation]] is divided into substation 1T, which provides {{Convert|16,500|kW|}} for third-rail power, and substation 1L, which provides {{Convert|8000|kW|}} for other lighting and power.<ref name="IEEE-PES" /> The substation—the world's largest at the time—was built about {{Convert|100|ft|m}} under the Graybar Building at a cost of $3 million, and opened February 16, 1930.<ref name="IEEE-PES" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/02/16/archives/huge-power-plant-100-feet-under-city-biggest-substation-in-world.html|title=Huge Power Plant 100 Feet Under City – Biggest Substation in World Moved Into Bedrock Under Grand Central Terminal – Service Never Cut Off – $3,000,000 System Ran Trains While Being Moved to Make Way for New Waldorf|date=February 16, 1930|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-date=December 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227084742/https://www.nytimes.com/1930/02/16/archives/huge-power-plant-100-feet-under-city-biggest-substation-in-world.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It occupies a four-story space with an area of {{Convert|250|by|50|ft|m}}.<ref name="IEEE-PES" /><ref name="RN p. 157" />

====Carey's Hole====
[[File:Carey's Hole.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt=Diagram showing rooms and track in the terminal|1913 map showing the space beneath Carey's barbershop]]
Another part of the basement is known as Carey's Hole. The two-story section is directly beneath the Shuttle Passage and adjacent spaces. In 1913, when the terminal opened, J. P. Carey opened a barbershop adjacent to and one level below the terminal's waiting room (now Vanderbilt Hall). Carey's business expanded to include a laundry service, shoe store, and [[haberdashery]]. In 1921, Carey also ran a limousine service using [[Packard]] cars, and in the 1930s, he added regular car and bus service to the city's airports as they opened. Carey would store his merchandise in an unfinished, underground area of the terminal, which railroad employees and maintenance staff began calling "Carey's Hole". The name has remained even as the space has been used for different purposes, including currently as a lounge and dormitory for railroad employees.<ref name=Careys-Hole-2010>{{cite web|title=General Engineering Consulting Feasibility Study for Redevelopment of Carey's Hole: Section 1: History of Carey's Hole|work=Beyer Blinder Belle|url=https://grandcentralterminal.app.box.com/s/z2mlivbdgn/file/750852164|date=November 29, 2010|access-date=January 20, 2018|archive-date=April 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422165247/https://grandcentralterminal.app.box.com/s/z2mlivbdgn/file/750852164|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Platforms and tracks ===
{{multiple image| align = left| total_width = 320| direction = vertical
| footer = {{Circa|}} 1909 layout of the upper-level mainline tracks (''top'') and lower-level suburban tracks (''bottom''), showing [[balloon loop]]s
| image1 = RailUS GCT-upperTracksPlan.gif| alt1 = A diagram of the upper-level tracks and streets above
| image2 = RailUS GCT-lowerTracksPlan.gif| alt2 = A diagram of the lower-level tracks and streets above
}}
The terminal holds a [[Guinness World Records|Guinness World Record]] as the railroad station with the most platforms: 28, which support 44 platform numbers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Largest railway station (no. of platforms) |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-railway-station-(no-of-platforms) |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304083103/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-railway-station-(no-of-platforms) |archive-date=March 4, 2021 |access-date=December 11, 2018 |website=Guinness World Records}}</ref> All are [[island platform]]s except one [[side platform]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nyctourist.com/grandcentral1.htm|title=Grand Central Terminal|work=nyctourist.com|access-date=March 3, 2015|archive-date=February 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225180856/http://www.nyctourist.com/grandcentral1.htm|url-status=usurped}}</ref> Odd-numbered tracks are usually on the east side of the platform; even-numbered tracks on the west side. {{As of|2016}}, there are 67 tracks, of which 43 are in regular passenger use, serving Metro-North.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.interestingamerica.com/2010-12-08_Grand_Central_Terminal_by_Grigonis.html|title=Unknown Grand Central Terminal, New York City, New York|work=Interesting America|access-date=March 3, 2015|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801063327/http://www.interestingamerica.com/2010-12-08_Grand_Central_Terminal_by_Grigonis.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="RN p. 136" /> At its opening, the train shed contained 123 tracks, including duplicate track numbers and storage tracks,<ref name="RN p. 136" /> with a combined length of {{Convert|19.5|mi|km|abbr=}}.<ref name="RN p. 138" />

The tracks slope down as they exit the station to the north, to help departing trains accelerate and arriving ones slow down.<ref name="Fitch Waite p. 4" /> Because of the size of the rail yards, Park Avenue and its side streets from 43rd to 59th Streets are raised on viaducts, and the surrounding blocks were covered over by various buildings.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=63}}</ref>

At its busiest, the terminal is served by an arriving train every 58 seconds.<ref name="Carlson 2015" />

{{clear left}}

==== Track distribution ====
{{GCT track map}}
The upper Metro-North level has 42 numbered tracks.<!-- viewed cross-sectionally at platform level, --> Twenty-nine serve passenger platforms; these are numbered 11 to 42, east to west.<ref name="RN p. 138" /><ref name=":42"/> Tracks 12, 22, and 31 do not exist, and appear to have been removed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Metro-North Railroad Track Charts, Maintenance Program, Interlocking Diagrams, & Yard Diagrams|publisher=Metro-North Railroad|page=84|url=https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2647944/Operations-Metro-North-Railroad-Track-Charts.pdf|year=2015|access-date=May 12, 2019|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108132506/https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2647944/Operations-Metro-North-Railroad-Track-Charts.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> To the east of the upper platforms sits the East Yard: ten storage tracks numbered 1 through 10 from east to west.<ref name="RN p. 136" /><ref name=":42"/> A [[balloon loop]] runs from Tracks 38–42 on the far west side of the station, around the other tracks, and back to storage Tracks 1–3 at the far east side of the station;<ref name=":42"/> this allows trains to turn around more easily.<ref>{{Cite AV media|url=http://www.gricer.com/gct/1-line-a.pdf|title=Grand Central Terminal, Upper Level|year=2004|first=Peter R.|last=Samson|access-date=March 3, 2015|archive-date=April 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417084350/http://www.gricer.com/gct/1-line-a.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Fitch Waite p. 5" />

North of the East Yard is the Lex Yard, a secondary storage yard under the [[Waldorf Astoria New York|Waldorf Astoria Hotel]].<ref name=":42"/> The yard formerly served the power plant for Grand Central Terminal.<ref name="RN p. 150" /> Its twelve tracks are numbered 51 through 65 from east to west (track numbers 57, 58, and 62 do not exist). Two private loading platforms, which cannot be used for passenger service, sit between tracks 53 and 54 and between [[Track 61 (New York City)|tracks 61]] and 63.<ref name=":42"/> Track 61 is known for being a private track for United States President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]; part of the original design of the Waldorf Astoria,<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Belle|Leighton|2000|p=67}}</ref> it was mentioned in ''The New York Times'' in 1929 and first used in 1938 by [[John J. Pershing]], a top U.S. general during World War I.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/gct61.html|title=Grand Central Terminal, Waldorf-Astoria platform|access-date=November 18, 2009|archive-date=November 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106232528/http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/gct61.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Roosevelt would travel into the city using his personal train, pull into Track 61, and take a specially designed elevator to the surface.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7830369.stm|title=The secret below Grand Central Station|date=January 16, 2009|access-date=January 17, 2009|work=BBC News|archive-date=August 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813054154/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7830369.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> It has been used occasionally since Roosevelt's death.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/gct61.html|title=Grand Central Terminal, Waldorf-Astoria platform|author=Joseph Brennan|year=2002|access-date=May 2, 2014|archive-date=November 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106232528/http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/gct61.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/05/01/fdr_secret_subway_in_the_amazing_spider_man_2_the_hidden_train_station_used.html|title=Is the Secret Subway in the New Spider-Man Real? Explained.|author=Forrest Wickman|date=May 1, 2014|magazine=Slate|access-date=May 7, 2015|archive-date=February 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216121850/http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/05/01/fdr_secret_subway_in_the_amazing_spider_man_2_the_hidden_train_station_used.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The upper level also contains 22 more storage sidings.<ref name="RN p. 138" /><ref name=":42"/>

[[File:GCT FDR Train Car-Untapped New York-Michelle Young.jpg|thumb|alt=An old windowless baggage car with rusting blue paint|Baggage car mistakenly identified as [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s personal car, on display at the [[Danbury Railway Museum]]]]
Track 63 held MNCW #002, a [[baggage car]], for about 20 to 30 years. The railcar's location near Roosevelt's Track 61 led former tour guide Dan Brucker and others to claim, erroneously, that this was the president's personal train car used for transporting his limousine. The baggage car was moved to the [[Danbury Railway Museum]] in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 12, 2019|title=Secret 'FDR Train Car' No Longer Beneath Grand Central (And Was Never His!)|url=https://untappedcities.com/2019/12/12/secret-fdr-train-car-no-longer-beneath-grand-central-and-was-never-his/|access-date=September 19, 2020|website=Untapped New York|language=en-US|archive-date=October 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030192205/https://untappedcities.com/2019/12/12/secret-fdr-train-car-no-longer-beneath-grand-central-and-was-never-his/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The 'FDR Car' Track 61 Myth|url=https://www.nycurbanism.com/blog/2019/9/27/track-61|access-date=October 1, 2020|website=NYC URBANISM|date=September 27, 2019|language=en-US|archive-date=May 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514082758/https://www.nycurbanism.com/blog/2019/9/27/track-61|url-status=live}}</ref>

The lower Metro-North level has 27 tracks numbered 100 to 126, east to west.<ref name="RN p. 136" /><ref name=":42"/><ref>{{Cite AV media|url=http://www.gricer.com/gct/1-line-b.pdf|title=Grand Central Terminal, Lower Level|year=2004|first=Peter R.|last=Samson|access-date=March 3, 2015|archive-date=December 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161207004341/http://www.gricer.com/gct/1-line-b.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Two were originally intended for mail trains and two were for baggage handling.<ref name="Schlichting pp. 62-63" /><ref name="nyt19041224" /> Today, only Tracks 102–112 and 114–115 are used for passenger service. The lower-level balloon loop, whose curve was much sharper than that of the upper-level loop and could only handle [[electric multiple units]] used on commuter lines<ref name="ENR1920 p. 501" /> was removed at an unknown date.<ref name="RN p. 136" /> Tracks 116–125 were demolished to make room for the [[Long Island Rail Road]] (LIRR) [[Grand Central Madison station|concourse constructed underneath the Metro-North station]] as part of the [[East Side Access]] project.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/esa_docs/eafiles06/01%20Purpose%20and%20Need.pdf|chapter=Chapter 1: Purpose and Need|title=Environmental Impact Statement|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|date=2006|access-date=December 12, 2019|at=PDF p. 3|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001445/http://web.mta.info/capital/esa_docs/eafiles06/01%20Purpose%20and%20Need.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The upper and lower levels have different track layouts and, as such, are supported by different sets of columns. The upper level is supported by ultra-strong columns, some of which can carry over {{Convert|7|e6ftlbf|J|lk=on}}.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|pp=77–78}}</ref>

The LIRR terminal constructed as part of East Side Access has four platforms and eight tracks numbered 201–204 and 301–304 in two {{Convert|100|ft|m|-deep|adj=mid}} double-decked caverns below the Metro-North station.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2016/6/access_2016_02_05_q.html|title=MTA OK's contract for East Side Access|website=TimesLedger|date=February 10, 2016 |access-date=February 17, 2016|archive-date=February 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214030830/http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2016/6/access_2016_02_05_q.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It has four tracks and two platforms in each of the two caverns, with each cavern containing two tracks and an island platform on each level. A mezzanine is located on a center level between the LIRR's two track levels.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/MTA-East-Side-Access-Project-Grand-Central-Terminal-Long-Island-Rail-Road-Tour-340356972.html|title=Massive East Side Access Project Rolling On Under Grand Central|last=Dobnik|first=Verena|date=November 4, 2015|access-date=January 19, 2016|website=NBC New York|archive-date=December 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191201005016/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/MTA-East-Side-Access-Project-Grand-Central-Terminal-Long-Island-Rail-Road-Tour-340356972.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://liherald.com/stories/east-side-access-transforming-the-long-island-rail-road,106293|title=East Side Access transforming the LIRR|date=August 21, 2018|website=Herald Community Newspapers|access-date=September 23, 2018|archive-date=August 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813054155/https://www.liherald.com/stories/east-side-access-transforming-the-long-island-rail-road,106293|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Office spaces and control center ===
Upper floors of the terminal primarily hold MTA offices. These spaces and most others in the terminal are not open to the public, requiring key cards to access.<ref name="Ekstein">{{cite news|last=Ekstein|first=Nikki|title=The Untold Secrets of Grand Central Terminal|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-23/the-untold-secrets-of-grand-central-terminal|date=February 23, 2017|access-date=February 14, 2023|archive-date=March 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306212123/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-23/the-untold-secrets-of-grand-central-terminal|url-status=live}}</ref> The fifth floor holds the office of the terminal's director, overlooking the Main Concourse.<ref name="Tkaczyk">{{cite news|url=https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/landmarks-monuments/grand-central-terminal#catwalk|title=Take a Look Inside Grand Central Terminal Where Most People Never Get to Go|last=Tkaczyk|first=Christopher|date=December 20, 2016|work=Travel and Leisure|access-date=December 21, 2018|archive-date=December 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220230338/https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/landmarks-monuments/grand-central-terminal#catwalk|url-status=live}}</ref> The seventh floor contains Metro-North's situation room (a board room for police and terminal directors to handle emergencies), as well as the offices of the Fleet Department.<ref name="Roberts2013"/><ref name="Ekstein"/>

Grand Central Terminal has an Operations Control Center on its sixth floor,<ref name="Ekstein"/> where controllers monitor the track [[interlocking]]s with computers. Completed in 1993,<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=147}}</ref> the center is operated by a crew of about 24 people.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/nyregion/26gct.html|title=The Zoo That Is Grand Central, at Full Gallop|last=Grynbaum|first=Michael M.|date=November 25, 2009|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=January 6, 2019|archive-date=January 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107021516/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/nyregion/26gct.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The terminal was originally built with five [[Signalling control|signal control centers]], labeled A, B, C, F, and U, that collectively controlled all of the track [[interlocking]]s around the terminal. The interlockings used to be of [[Interlocking#Electro-mechanical interlocking|electro-mechanical type]], supplied by [[General Railway Signal]] (GRS). Each switch was electrically controlled by a lever in one of the signal towers, where lights illuminated on track maps to show which switches were in use.<ref name="ENR1920 p. 501" /><ref name="RN p. 143" /> As trains passed a given tower, the signal controllers reported the train's engine and timetable numbers, direction, track number, and the exact time.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1939/09/10/archives/article-9-no-title.html|title=Taming of the Iron Horse|date=September 10, 1939|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=January 6, 2019|archive-date=January 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107015929/https://www.nytimes.com/1939/09/10/archives/article-9-no-title.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1993, the original interlockings machines were replaced with 17 GRS VPI [[Interlocking#Electronic interlocking|microprocessors]].<ref>{{cite web|title=A Centennial History of Signaling Inc. Formerly General Railway Signal Company)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002122301/http://www.alstomsignalingsolutions.com/Data/Documents/History.pdf|archive-date=2011-10-02|url-status=dead|url=http://www.alstomsignalingsolutions.com/Data/Documents/History.pdf|accessdate=2024-04-09|publisher=Alstom|page=19}}</ref>

Tower U controlled the interlocking between 48th and 58th streets; Tower C, the storage spurs; and Tower F, the turning loops. A four-story underground tower at 49th Street housed the largest of the signal towers: Tower A, which handled the upper-level interlockings via 400 levers, and Tower B, which handled the lower-level interlockings with 362 levers.<ref name="nyt19130202-1" /><ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|pp=140, 143}}</ref><ref name="RA1910 p. 620" /><ref name="ENR1920 p. 501" /><ref name="ASCE Metropolitan Section 1902" /> The towers housed offices for the stationmaster, yardmaster, car-maintenance crew, electrical crew, and track-maintenance crew. There were also break rooms for conductors, train engineers, and engine men.<ref name="RN p. 143" /><ref name="RA1910 p. 620" /> After Tower B was destroyed in a fire in 1986, the signal towers were consolidated into the modern control center.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/23/nyregion/grand-central-blaze-damage-to-mean-delays-till-weekend.html|title=Grand Central Blaze Damage to Mean Delays Till Weekend|last=Boorstin|first=Robert O.|date=September 23, 1986|work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=January 5, 2019|archive-date=January 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106110003/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/23/nyregion/grand-central-blaze-damage-to-mean-delays-till-weekend.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Hospital ===
[[File:Grand Central hospital.jpg|thumb|alt=Old photograph of a hospital room with medical equipment|Hospital room in the terminal, 1915]]
During the terminal's construction, an "accident room" was set up to treat worker injuries in a wrecking car in the terminal's rail yard. Later on, a small hospital was established in the temporary station building on Lexington Avenue to care for injured workers. The arrangement was satisfactory, leading to the creation of a permanent hospital, the Grand Central Emergency Hospital, in Grand Central Terminal in 1911. The hospital was used for every employee injury as well as for passengers. In 1915, it had two physicians who treated a monthly average of 125 new cases per month and 450 dressings.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Developments at the Grand Central Terminal in New York|magazine=Railway Review|volume=57|number=8|page=231|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jAVCAQAAIAAJ|date=August 21, 1915|access-date=February 9, 2019|archive-date=January 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124054717/https://books.google.com/books?id=jAVCAQAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> The space had four rooms: Room A (the waiting room), Room B (the operating room), Room C (a private office), and Room D (for resting patients).<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Grand Central Emergency Hospital|magazine=Railroad Men|volume=25|number=9|pages=268–9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cyc0e1whX1QC|date=June 1912|access-date=February 9, 2019|archive-date=January 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124054732/https://books.google.com/books?id=Cyc0e1whX1QC|url-status=live}}</ref> The hospital was open at least until 1963; a ''[[The Journal News|Journal News]]'' article that year noted that the hospital treated minor to moderate ailments and was open every day between 8&nbsp;a.m. and 5&nbsp;p.m.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Journal News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/28344493/|title=Grand Central Terminal Builds Legend During its 50 Years|date=November 13, 1963|access-date=February 9, 2019|page=21|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=January 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124055231/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-journal-news-grand-central-terminal/28344493/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Libraries ===
Located on an upper floor above the Apple Store, the Williamson Library is a meeting space and research center for the New York Railroad Enthusiasts.<ref name="BTU-NYC-Library-1937" /><ref name="Moser 2012" /> Upon its founding in 1937, the association was granted use of the space in perpetuity by Frederick Ely Williamson, once president of the New York Central Railroad as well as a rail enthusiast and member of the association.<ref name="BTU-NYC-Library-1937" /> Today, it contains about 3,000 books, newspapers, films, photographs, and other documents about railroads, along with artifacts, including part of a ''[[20th Century Limited]]'' red carpet.<ref name="Moser 2012" /> The library is only accessible through secure areas, making it little known to the public and not included in tours of the terminal's hidden attributes.<ref name="Moser 2012" /> The association holds monthly meetings in the space, open to new visitors for free, and allows research visits by appointment.<ref>{{cite web|title=Meeting Information|work=The New York Railroad Enthusiasts|url=http://www.nyrre.org/|access-date=January 29, 2020|archive-date=January 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130004829/http://www.nyrre.org/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="nyt19940417" />

Another library, the [[Frank Julian Sprague]] Memorial Library of the Electric Railroaders Association, existed on the terminal's fourth floor from 1979 to 2014. The library had about 500,000 publications and slides, focusing on electric rail and trolley lines.<ref name="nyt19940417" /> A large amount of these works were donated to the New York Transit Museum in 2013,<ref>{{cite web|title=Friends of the New York Transit Museum 2013 Annual Report|publisher=New York Transit Museum|url=https://www.nytransitmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2013.AnnualReportforWeb.pdf|year=2013|access-date=January 29, 2020|archive-date=January 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124055218/https://www.nytransitmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2013.AnnualReportforWeb.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> or placed in storage. The now-8,000-volume library was moved to the [[Shore Line Trolley Museum]] in Connecticut in 2014, where it could operate with more staff attention and public access.<ref>{{cite web|title=Meeting Notice|work=Electric Railroaders' Association|url=https://erausa.org/pdf/meeting-notices/2014/2014-01-17-meeting-notice.pdf|date=January 17, 2014|access-date=February 24, 2023|archive-date=May 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511195255/https://erausa.org/pdf/meeting-notices/2014/2014-01-17-meeting-notice.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Architecture ==
{{see also|Grand Central Terminal art}}
[[File:Glory of Commerce Highsmith.jpg|thumb|alt=A large clock and stone sculptural group adorning the building's facade|''Glory of Commerce'', a sculptural group by [[Jules-Félix Coutan]]]]
[[File:GCT Aerial-Untapped New York-Michelle Young.jpg|thumb|alt=View down from above the terminal|View of the station house looking northwest; the Main Concourse roof is visible in the building's center]]

Grand Central Terminal was designed in the [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] style by [[Reed and Stem]], which handled the overall design of the terminal,<ref name="Langmead p. 175" /> and [[Warren and Wetmore]], which mainly made cosmetic alterations to the exterior and interior.<ref name="BL pp. 49-50" /><ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|pp=118–120}}</ref><ref name="RN p. 66" /> Various elements inside the terminal were designed by French architects and artists [[Jules-Félix Coutan]], [[Sylvain Salières]], and [[Paul César Helleu]].<ref name="RN p. 66" /> Grand Central has monumental spaces as well as meticulously crafted detail, especially on its [[facade]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/nyregion/at-trade-center-transit-hub-vision-gives-way-to-reality.html|title=At Trade Center Transit Hub, Vision Gives Way to Reality|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|author-link=David W. Dunlap|date=March 5, 2014|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 21, 2018|archive-date=November 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107003717/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/nyregion/at-trade-center-transit-hub-vision-gives-way-to-reality.html|url-status=live}}</ref> which is based on an overall exterior design by Whitney Warren.<ref name="Schlichting p. 124" />

The terminal is widely recognized and favorably viewed by the American public. In [[America's Favorite Architecture]], a 2006–07 public survey by the American Institute of Architects, respondents ranked it their 13th-favorite work of architecture in the country, and their fourth-favorite in the city and state after the [[Empire State Building]], [[Chrysler Building]], and [[St. Patrick's Cathedral (Manhattan)|St. Patrick's Cathedral]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Agnese|first=Braulio|title=The People's Architecture|magazine=[[Architect Magazine|Architect]]|url=https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/the-peoples-architecture_o|date=March 12, 2007|access-date=June 27, 2019|archive-date=June 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627162731/https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/the-peoples-architecture_o|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2012, the [[American Society of Civil Engineers]] designated it a [[Historic Civil Engineering Landmark]];<ref>{{cite web|title=Grand Central Terminal|work=American Society of Civil Engineers|url=https://www.ascemetsection.org/committees/history-and-heritage/landmarks/grand-central-terminal|access-date=July 1, 2023|archive-date=March 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200314081609/http://www.ascemetsection.org/committees/history-and-heritage/landmarks/grand-central-terminal|url-status=live}}</ref> one year later, historian [[David Cannadine]] described it as one of the most majestic buildings of the twentieth century.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21353825|title=A Point of View: Grand Central, the world's loveliest station|last=Cannadine|first=David|date=February 8, 2013|access-date=February 8, 2013|work=BBC News|archive-date=February 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210121224/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21353825|url-status=live}}</ref>

As proposed in 1904, Grand Central Terminal was bounded by [[Vanderbilt Avenue#Manhattan|Vanderbilt Avenue]] to the west, [[Lexington Avenue]] to the east, [[42nd Street (Manhattan)|42nd Street]] to the south, and [[45th Street (Manhattan)|45th Street]] to the north. It included a post office on its east side.<ref name="nyt19041224" /> The east side of the station house proper is an alley called Depew Place, which was built along with the Grand Central Depot annex in the 1880s and mostly decommissioned in the 1900s when the new terminal was built.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K-MKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA747|title=The New York Supplement|author=National Reporter System|author2=New York (State). Court of Appeals|author3=West Publishing Company|author4=New York (State). Supreme Court|publisher=West Publishing Company|year=1907|series=2 years transportation progress|page=747|access-date=December 6, 2018|archive-date=January 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124055239/https://books.google.com/books?id=K-MKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA747#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=98}}</ref>

As first built, the station house measured about {{Convert|722|ft|m}} along Vanderbilt Avenue (120 feet longer than originally planned) and {{Convert|300|ft|m}} on 42nd Street. Floors above the first story are set back about 50 feet, making the rest of the station house originally measure 290 by 670 feet. The station is about {{Convert|125|ft|m}} tall.<ref name="nyt19041224" /><ref name="nyt19100626" /><ref name="ConstructionNews">{{cite journal|title=Grand Central Terminal-New York: A Modern Type of Electrical Railway|journal=The Construction News|volume=36|number=6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BuBaAAAAYAAJ|date=August 9, 1913|access-date=November 7, 2022}}</ref>{{rp|10}}

===Structure and materials===
The station and its rail yard have steel frames. The building also uses large steel columns designed to hold the weight of a 20-story office building, which was to be built when additional room was required.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|New York Central|1912|p=8}}</ref><ref name="Schlichting pp. 126-127" />

The facade and structure of the terminal building primarily use [[granite]]. Because granite emits radiation,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/radiation-and-health/nuclear-radiation-and-health-effects.aspx|title=Nuclear Radiation and Health Effects|date=December 2013|publisher=World Nuclear Association|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-date=September 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906102948/http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/radiation-and-health/nuclear-radiation-and-health-effects.aspx#.UhSw15LIVoY|url-status=live}}</ref> people who work full-time in the station receive an average dose of 525 [[mrem]]/year, more than permitted in nuclear power facilities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fusrapmaywood.com/projmain.html|title=Radiation in the Environment|last=Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program|date=August 1998|publisher=US Army Corps of Engineers|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-date=May 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509194124/http://fusrapmaywood.com/projmain.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aQ2Lw-FqDXAC|title=Radiation: What It Is, What You Need to Know|last1=Gale|first1=Robert Peter|last2=Lax|first2=Eric|date=2013|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|location=New York|page=190|access-date=September 10, 2017|isbn=9780307959706}}</ref> The base of the exterior is [[Stony Creek (Branford)|Stony Creek]] granite, while the upper portion is of [[Indiana limestone]], from [[Bedford, Indiana]].<ref name="NYCRR p. 12" />

The interiors use several varieties of stone, including imitation [[Caen stone]] for the Main Concourse; cream-colored [[Botticino]] marble for the interior decorations; and pink [[Tennessee marble]] for the floors of the Main Concourse, Biltmore Room,<ref name="Restore" /> and Vanderbilt Hall,<ref name="nyt20160407" /> as well as the two staircases in the Main Concourse.<ref name="RN p. 84" /><ref name="Langmead p. 175" /><ref name="nydn19980930" /> Real Caen stone was judged too expensive, so the builders mixed plaster, sand, lime, and [[Portland cement]].<ref name="RN p. 84" /> Most of the remaining masonry is made from concrete.<ref name="NYCRR p. 12" /> [[Guastavino tile|Guastavino tiling]], a fireproof tile-and-cement vault pattern patented by [[Rafael Guastavino]], is used in various spaces.<ref name="Langmead p. 174" /><ref name="RN p. 89" />

===Facade===
{{for|further information about art on the facade|Grand Central Terminal art#Facade}}
[[File:GCT exterior.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|alt=The south facade of Grand Central Terminal, as seen from 42nd Street|The south facade features a set of three arched windows, with the ''Glory of Commerce'' sculpture at the top-center and the Vanderbilt statue at the bottom-center.]]

The terminal's main facade is situated on the building's southern side, facing 42nd Street. It includes a low first story supporting the main portion of the facade,<ref name="Golden">{{cite book|last=Reed|first=Henry Hope|title=The Golden City: An Argument for Classical Architecture|publisher=W. W. Norton|page=18|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3kfFslzS50YC|date=1971|access-date=June 25, 2023|isbn=9780393005479}}</ref> which was key to the architects' vision of the building as a gateway to the city.<ref name="NYCRR p. 4" /> Its trio of 60-by-30-foot arched windows are interspersed with ten fluted [[Doric order|Doric]] columns<ref>{{cite book |title=The architectural guidebook to New York City |last=Morrone |first=Francis |page=152 |publisher=Gibbs Smith |url-access=registration |year=2002 |isbn=9781586852115 |url=https://archive.org/details/architecturalgui0000morr_y8d3/page/152/mode/2up |access-date=November 8, 2022}}</ref><ref name="ConstructionNews"/>{{rp|11}} that are partially attached to the granite walls behind them, though they are detached from one another.<ref name="Langmead p. 176" /> Each window bay is separated by a double pair of these columns, which are in turn separated by a smaller bay with narrow windows.<ref name="Golden"/> The set of windows resembles an ancient Roman [[triumphal arch]],<ref name="NYCRR p. 4" /><ref name="nyt19120512" /><ref name="Interior6">{{harvnb|ps=.|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1980|page=6}}</ref> while the column placement is reminiscent of the [[Louvre Colonnade]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Gromort|first=Georges|title=The Elements of Classical Architecture|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|page=220|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4qp61EfFbzEC|date=2001|isbn=9780393730517 |access-date=June 26, 2023}}</ref> The facade was also designed to complement that of the [[New York Public Library Main Branch]], another Beaux-Arts edifice on nearby Fifth Avenue.<ref name="nyt19120512" />

The facade includes several large works of art. At the top of the south facade is an elaborate [[entablature]] featuring a {{convert|13|ft|m|-wide|adj=mid}} clock<ref>{{cite news|url=https://blog.timesunion.com/travelgal/secrets-of-nycs-grand-central-terminal-tiffany-clock-upclose/7441/|title=Secrets of NYC's Grand Central Terminal: Outdoor Tiffany Clock Up Close|last1=Swidler|first1=Kim Stuart|date=August 29, 2012|access-date=December 3, 2018|publisher=Times Union|archive-date=October 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026222415/https://blog.timesunion.com/travelgal/secrets-of-nycs-grand-central-terminal-tiffany-clock-upclose/7441/|url-status=dead}}</ref> set in the middle of a round [[broken pediment]],<ref name="Golden"/> flanked by overflowing [[cornucopia]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Transportation, (sculpture).|website=Art Inventories Catalog|publisher=Smithsonian American Art Museum|url=https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1677R2440IO75.655&profile=ariall&uri=link=3100006~!270666~!3100001~!3100002|access-date=June 25, 2023|archive-date=June 25, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625165914/https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=1677R2440IO75.655&profile=ariall&uri=link=3100006~!270666~!3100001~!3100002|url-status=live}}</ref> Above the clock is the ''Glory of Commerce'' sculptural group, a {{convert|48|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} work by [[Jules-Félix Coutan]], which includes representations of [[Minerva]], [[Hercules]], and [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]].<ref name="Schlichting p. 124" /><ref name="Roberts p. 89; BD p. 2" /> At its unveiling in 1914, the work was considered the largest sculptural group in the world.<ref name="Roberts p. 89; BD p. 2" /> Below these works, facing the [[Park Avenue Viaduct]], is an 1869 [[statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt]], longtime owner of New York Central. Sculpted by [[Ernst Plassmann]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1nMnB-2HgbwC|title=Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide|last=Durante|first=Dianne L.|date=2007|publisher=NYU Press|access-date=December 19, 2018|isbn=9780814719862|archive-date=February 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217154850/https://books.google.com/books?id=1nMnB-2HgbwC|url-status=live}}</ref> the {{convert|8.5|ft||abbr=|adj=on}} bronze is the last remnant<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/realestate/the-curious-travels-of-the-commodore.html|title=The Curious Travels of the Commodore|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=March 19, 2006|work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=January 22, 2019|archive-date=April 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422112618/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/realestate/the-curious-travels-of-the-commodore.html|url-status=live}}</ref> of a 150-foot bronze relief installed at the [[Hudson River Railroad]] depot at [[St. John's Park]];<ref name="RN p. 6" /> it was moved to Grand Central Terminal in 1929.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/02/24/archives/grand-central-terminal-to-have-vanderbilt-statue.html|title=Grand Central Terminal to Have Vanderbilt Statue|date=February 24, 1929|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 15, 2018|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215221951/https://www.nytimes.com/1929/02/24/archives/grand-central-terminal-to-have-vanderbilt-statue.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Interior===
==== Main Concourse ====
{{main|Main Concourse|Grand Central Terminal art#Ceiling}}

The Main Concourse, on the terminal's upper platform level, is located in the geographical center of the station building. The cavernous concourse measures {{convert|275|ft|m|abbr=on}} long by {{convert|120|ft|m|abbr=on}} wide by {{convert|125|ft|m|abbr=on}} high;<ref name="Roberts2013" /><ref name="Roberts" /><ref>{{Solomon-New York Central}}</ref>{{rp|74}} a total of about {{convert|35000|sqft}}.<ref name="Susman" /> Its vastness was meant to evoke the terminal's "grand" status.<ref name="Schlichting p. 125" />

==== Iconography ====
[[File:GCT Main Concourse 3.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Decorative sculptured panel in the terminal's Main Concourse wall|Frieze displaying the terminal's original logo]]
Many parts of the terminal are adorned with sculpted oak leaves and acorns, nuts of the oak tree. Cornelius Vanderbilt chose the acorn as the symbol of the [[Vanderbilt family]], and adopted the saying "Great oaks from little acorns grow" as the family motto.<ref name="nyt20160407" /><ref name="Roberts" /> Among these decorations is a brass acorn [[finial]] atop the four-sided clock in the center of the Main Concourse.<ref name="Carlson 2015" /><ref name="learn" /> Other acorn or oak leaf decorations include carved wreaths under the Main Concourse's west stairs; sculptures above the [[lunette]]s in the Main Concourse; metalwork above the elevators; reliefs above the train gates; and the electric chandeliers in the Main Waiting Room and Main Concourse.<ref name="RN p. 93" /> These decorations were designed by Salières.<ref name="RN p. 93" />

The overlapping letters "G", "C", and "T" are sculpted into multiple places in the terminal, including in [[frieze]]s atop several windows above the terminal's ticket office. The symbol was designed with the "T" resembling an upside-down anchor, intended as a reference to Cornelius Vanderbilt's commercial beginnings in shipping and ferry businesses.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/nyregion/what-happened-to-the-big-armchairs-in-grand-central-terminal.html|title=What Happened to the Big Armchairs in Grand Central Terminal?|last=Pollak|first=Michael|date=February 13, 2015|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-date=December 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227040830/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/nyregion/what-happened-to-the-big-armchairs-in-grand-central-terminal.html?_r=0|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2017, the MTA based its new logo for the terminal on the engraved design; MTA officials said its black and gold colors have long been associated with the terminal. The [[Typeface anatomy#Terminals|spur]] of the letter "G" has a depiction of a [[railroad spike]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.grandcentralterminal.com/2017/09/28/grand-centrals-new-logo/|title=Iconic Grand Central Terminal Unveils New Iconic Mark|date=September 28, 2017|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 15, 2018|archive-date=December 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216031046/https://www.grandcentralterminal.com/2017/09/28/grand-centrals-new-logo/|url-status=live}}</ref> The 2017 logo succeeded one created by the firm [[Pentagram (design firm)|Pentagram]] for the terminal's centennial in 2013. It depicted the Main Concourse's ball clock set to 7:13, or 19:13 using a [[24-hour clock]], referencing the terminal's completion in 1913. Both logos omit the word "terminal" in its name, in recognition to how most people refer to the building.<ref>{{cite web|title=New Work: Grand Central|publisher=Pentagram|url=https://new.pentagram.com/2012/03/new-work-grand-central/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223205043/https://new.pentagram.com/2012/03/new-work-grand-central/|archive-date=February 23, 2015|date=March 20, 2012|access-date=February 12, 2019}}</ref>

=== Influence ===
Some of the buildings most closely modeled on Grand Central's design were designed by its two architecture firms. Warren and Wetmore went on to design many notable train stations, including the [[Poughkeepsie station]] in Poughkeepsie, New York;<ref>{{cite book|last=Howe|first=Patricia|author2=Katherine Moore|title=National Register of Historic Places nomination, Poughkeepsie Railroad station|date=February 25, 1976}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Flad|first1=Harvey K.|last2=Griffen|first2=Clyde|title=Main Street to Mainframes|publisher=State University of New York Press, Albany|page=70|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BCXXlztlWUUC|date=2009|access-date=February 14, 2019|isbn=9781438426365|archive-date=January 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124055239/https://books.google.com/books?id=BCXXlztlWUUC|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Union Station (Winnipeg)|Union Station]] in Winnipeg, Manitoba; the [[Yonkers station]] in Yonkers, New York; [[Union Station (Houston)|Union Station]] in Houston; and [[Michigan Central Station]] in Detroit (also co-designed by Reed & Stem).<ref>{{cite web|title=Madison Belmont Building|publisher=Landmarks Preservation Commission|page=4|url=https://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2425.pdf|date=September 20, 2011|access-date=February 15, 2023|archive-date=February 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216032501/https://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2425.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Reed & Stem's successor firm [[Stem & Fellheimer]] designed [[Union Station (Utica)|Union Station]] in Utica, New York, which also has resemblances to Grand Central Terminal.<ref>{{cite news|last=Chan|first=Sewell|title=On the Road: A Gem of the Railroad Era|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/01/on-the-road-a-gem-of-the-railroad-era/|date=January 1, 2010|access-date=February 15, 2023|archive-date=February 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215204123/https://archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/01/on-the-road-a-gem-of-the-railroad-era/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Related structures ==
=== Park Avenue Viaduct ===
[[File:The New York Grand Central Terminal.jpg|thumb|alt=Elevated view of the terminal from the south, showing Park Avenue wrapping around it|The viaduct as it approaches and wraps around Grand Central, 1944]]

The [[Park Avenue Viaduct]] is an elevated road that carries Park Avenue around the terminal building and the MetLife Building and through the Helmsley Building—three buildings that lie across the line of the avenue. The viaduct rises from street level on 40th Street south of Grand Central, splits into eastern (northbound) and western (southbound) legs above the terminal building's main entrance,<ref name="nycl2" /> and continues north around the station building, directly above portions of its main level. The legs of the viaduct pass around the MetLife Building, into the Helmsley Building, and return to street level at 46th Street.<ref>{{cite web|date=March 31, 1987|title=Helmsley Building|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1297.pdf|publisher=New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission|page=19|access-date=June 8, 2020|archive-date=October 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211003115031/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1297.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

The viaduct was built to facilitate traffic along 42nd Street<ref name="nyt19280902" /> and along Park Avenue, which at the time was New York City's only discontinuous major north–south avenue.<ref name="RN p. 103" /> When the western leg of the viaduct was completed in 1919,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1919/04/17/archives/link-up-park-av-to-ease-congestion-civic-bodies-celebrate-opening.html|title=Link Up Park Av. to Ease Congestion|date=April 17, 1919|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 7, 2018|archive-date=August 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818094806/https://www.nytimes.com/1919/04/17/archives/link-up-park-av-to-ease-congestion-civic-bodies-celebrate-opening.html|url-status=live}}</ref> it served both directions of traffic, and also served as a second level for picking up and dropping off passengers. After an eastern leg for northbound traffic was added in 1928, the western leg was used for southbound traffic only.<ref name="nyt19280902" /> A sidewalk, accessible from the Grand Hyatt hotel, runs along the section of the viaduct that is parallel to 42nd Street.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1nMnB-2HgbwC|title=Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan: A Historical Guide|last=Durante|first=Dianne L.|date=2007|publisher=NYU Press|access-date=February 1, 2019|isbn=9780814719862|archive-date=February 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217154850/https://books.google.com/books?id=1nMnB-2HgbwC|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Post office and baggage buildings ===
[[File:Grand Central Post Office 1988.jpg|thumb|alt=Exterior of the Beaux-Arts post office building resembling Grand Central|[[450 Lexington Avenue|Grand Central Post Office Annex]] in 1988]]
Grand Central Terminal has a post office at [[450 Lexington Avenue]]. Built from 1906 to 1909,<ref name="usps" /><ref name="Schlichting pp. 62-63" /> it was topped with a high-rise tower in 1992.<ref>{{cite news|last=Garbarine|first=Rachelle|title=Not Bargain, But Building Is Renting|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/02/business/real-estate-not-bargain-but-building-is-renting.html|date=December 2, 1992|access-date=September 18, 2020|archive-date=May 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514082940/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/02/business/real-estate-not-bargain-but-building-is-renting.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The original architecture matches that of the terminal, which was designed by the same architects.<ref name="RN p. 111" /> In 1915, postal operations expanded into a second building, also built by Warren & Wetmore, directly north of the original structure.<ref name="RN p. 111" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/08/15/archives/electric-marvels-in-new-post-office-belts-lifts-and-chutes-do-all.html|title=Electric Marvels in New Post Office – Belts, Lifts, and Chutes Do All but the Thinking in Building That Opens Today – Covers N.Y. Central Yard – Built to Handle 800,000 Pounds of Mail a Day – Room for 33 Cars of Sacks at Once|date=August 15, 1915|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 28, 2018|archive-date=December 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181228223354/https://www.nytimes.com/1915/08/15/archives/electric-marvels-in-new-post-office-belts-lifts-and-chutes-do-all.html|url-status=live}}</ref> This second building, erected as the Railroad Mail Service Building and today known as 237 Park Avenue, has been extensively renovated.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Horsley|first=Carter B.|date=August 19, 1981|title=Real Estate; An Atrium For Public In Midtown|language=en-US|work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/19/business/real-estate-an-atrium-for-public-in-midtown.html|access-date=September 19, 2020|archive-date=April 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403205408/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/19/business/real-estate-an-atrium-for-public-in-midtown.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Grand Central's post office buildings were designed to handle massive volumes of mail, though they were not as large as the [[James A. Farley Building]], the post office that was built with the original [[Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963)|Penn Station]].<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=181}}</ref>

The terminal complex also originally included a six-story building for baggage handling just north of the main station building. Departing passengers unloaded their luggage from taxis or personal vehicles on the Park Avenue Viaduct, and elevators brought it to the baggage passageways (now part of [[#Grand Central North|Grand Central North]]), where trucks brought the luggage to the platforms. The process was reversed for arriving passengers.<ref name="Schlichting pp. 62-63" /><ref name="RN p. 128" /> Biltmore Hotel guests arriving at Grand Central could get baggage delivered to their rooms.<ref name="Schlichting pp. 62-63" /> The baggage building was later converted to an office building, and was demolished in 1961<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Belle|Leighton|2000|p=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Grand Old Central Sprouts a Skyscraper|last=Lee|first=Henry|date=October 16, 1960|work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251|pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26483927/ 52], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26483952/ 53]|via=newspapers.com}}</ref> to make way for the [[MetLife Building]].<ref name="Schlichting pp. 62-63" />

=== Subway station ===
{{Main|Grand Central–42nd Street station}}
[[File:Shuttle Passage.jpg|thumb|left|alt=People standing around Grand Central's Shuttle Passage|View of the Shuttle Passage facing the subway station entrance; the ramp at right leads to street level]]

The terminal's subway station, Grand Central–42nd Street, serves three lines: the [[IRT Lexington Avenue Line]] (serving the {{NYCS trains|Lexington}}), the [[IRT Flushing Line]] (serving the {{NYCS trains|Flushing}}), and the IRT [[42nd Street Shuttle]] to [[Times Square]].<ref name="submap" /> Originally built by the [[Interborough Rapid Transit Company]] (IRT),<ref name="nyt19041028" /><ref name="RN p. 100" /> the lines are operated by the MTA as part of the [[New York City Subway]].<ref name="GC42 S map" /><ref name="GC42 456 map" />

The Main Concourse is connected to the subway platforms' mezzanine via the Shuttle Passage.<ref name="directory" /><ref name="GC42 S map" /> The platforms can also be reached from the 42nd Street Passage via stairs, escalators, and an elevator to the fare control area for the Lexington Avenue and Flushing Lines.<ref name="GC42 456 map" />

The 42nd Street Shuttle platforms, located just below ground level, opened in 1904 as an express stop on the [[Early history of the IRT subway|original IRT subway]].<ref name="nyt19041028" /> The Lexington Avenue Line's platforms, which were opened in 1918 when the original IRT subway platforms were converted to shuttle use,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pudl.princeton.edu/sheetreader.php?obj=7e1011bd-d756-4cde-9fa8-fdda2ce8d6e3|title=Shuttle Service In Operation|date=September 27, 1918|website=pudl.princeton.edu|publisher=Interborough Rapid Transit Company|access-date=September 19, 2016|archive-date=September 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924061609/http://pudl.princeton.edu/sheetreader.php?obj=7e1011bd-d756-4cde-9fa8-fdda2ce8d6e3|url-status=live}}</ref> run underneath the southeastern corner of the station building at a 45-degree angle, to the east of and at a lower level than the shuttle platforms.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1918/07/17/archives/lexington-av-line-to-be-opened-today-subway-service-to-east-side-of.html|title=Lexington Av. Line To Be Opened Today; Subway Service to East Side of Harlem and the Bronx Expected to Relieve Congestion. Begins With Local Trains Running of Express Trains to Await Opening of Seventh AvenueLine of H System.|date=July 17, 1918|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=April 14, 2018|archive-date=October 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020000103/https://www.nytimes.com/1918/07/17/archives/lexington-av-line-to-be-opened-today-subway-service-to-east-side-of.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Flushing Line platform opened in 1915;<ref name="nyt19150622" /> it is deeper than the Lexington Avenue Line's platforms because it is part of the [[Steinway Tunnel]], a former streetcar tunnel that descends under the [[East River]] to the east of Grand Central.<ref name="RN p. 100" /><ref name="nyt19150622" /> There was also a fourth line connected to Grand Central Terminal: a spur of the [[IRT Third Avenue Line|IRT Third Avenue elevated]],<ref name="RN p. 100" /> which stopped at [[Grand Central station (IRT 42nd Street Branch)|Grand Central]] starting in 1878;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1878/08/26/archives/rapid-transit-on-the-bowery-opening-of-the-east-side-elevated.html|title=Rapid Transit on the Bowery – Opening of the East Side Elevated Railroad To-Day – Time-Table and Fares|date=August 26, 1878|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 28, 2018|archive-date=December 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229031230/https://www.nytimes.com/1878/08/26/archives/rapid-transit-on-the-bowery-opening-of-the-east-side-elevated.html|url-status=live}}</ref> it was made obsolete by the subway's opening, and closed in 1923.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/12/07/archives/42d-st-elevated-stops-service-on-spur-to-grand-central-discontinued.html|title=42d St. Elevated Stops – Service on Spur to Grand Central Discontinued Last Midnight|date=December 7, 1923|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 28, 2018|archive-date=March 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302000821/https://www.nytimes.com/1923/12/07/archives/42d-st-elevated-stops-service-on-spur-to-grand-central-discontinued.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the terminal's construction, there were proposals to allow commuter trains to pass through Grand Central and continue into the subway tracks. However, these plans were deemed impractical because commuter trains would have been too large to fit within the subway tunnels.<ref name="RN p. 100" />

== History ==
{{main|History of Grand Central Terminal}}
{{For timeline}}
Three buildings serving essentially the same function have stood on the current Grand Central Terminal's site.<ref name="nyt19980621" />

=== Predecessors ===
[[File:Grand Central Depot (NYPL b13476047-421000).jpg|thumb|alt=An ornate railroad terminal|Grand Central Depot]]
Grand Central Terminal arose from a need to build a central station for the [[New York Central and Hudson River Railroad|Hudson River Railroad]], the [[New York and Harlem Railroad]], and the [[New York and New Haven Railroad]] in modern-day Midtown Manhattan.<ref name="nyt19980621" /><ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Fitch|Waite|1974|p=2}}</ref><ref name="Langmead p. 167" /> The Harlem Railroad originally ran as a steam railroad on street level along Fourth Avenue (now [[Park Avenue]]),<ref name="Schlichting pp. 8-9" /><ref name="Fitch Waite p. 3" /><ref name="NYCL p. 2" /><ref name="Langmead p. 168" /> while the New Haven Railroad ran along the Harlem's tracks in Manhattan per a trackage agreement.<ref name="Schlichting pp. 8-9" /><ref name="Fitch Waite p. 3" /><ref name="NYCL p. 2" /> The business magnate [[Cornelius Vanderbilt]] bought the Hudson River and New York Central Railroads in 1867, and merged them two years later.<ref name="NYCL p. 2" /><ref name="Langmead p. 168" /><ref>{{cite book|title=Mid-Harlem Line Third Track Project, Section 4(f) Report: Environmental Impact Statement|publisher=US Department of Transportation and Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company|issue=v. 1|page=8.5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qh03AQAAMAAJ&pg=SA8-PA5|year=2000|access-date=December 6, 2018|archive-date=January 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124055232/https://books.google.com/books?id=qh03AQAAMAAJ&pg=SA8-PA5#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Vanderbilt developed a proposal to unite the three separate railroads at a single central station, replacing the separate and adjacent stations that created chaos in baggage transfer.<ref name="nyt19980621" />

Vanderbilt commissioned [[John B. Snook]] to design his new station, dubbed Grand Central Depot, on the site of the 42nd Street depot.<ref>{{cite aia5|page=313}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Belle|Leighton|2000|p=34}}</ref>  Construction ran from September 1, 1869, to October 1871.<ref name="Fitch Waite p. 3" /> Designed in the [[Second Empire architecture|Second Empire]] style,<ref name="Fitch Waite p. 3" /><ref name="Langmead p. 169" /> the station was considered the country's first to measure up to those in Europe.<ref name="Meeks">{{cite book |last=Meeks |first=Carroll L. V. |url=https://archive.org/details/railroadstation00meek |title=The Railroad Station: An Architectural History |date=1956 |publisher=Yale University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/railroadstation00meek/page/49 49] |url-access=registration}}</ref>

[[File:Grand Central Station, New York c. 1902.jpg|left|thumb|alt=Postcard of Grand Central Station, c. 1902|Grand Central Station, {{circa|1902}}]]

Expansions in 1895 and 1900—the latter coinciding with a renaming to Grand Central Station<ref name="Roberts2013" />—could not keep up with the growth in passenger traffic,<ref name="Schlichting p. 50" /><ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=87}}</ref> nor could they alleviate the problems of smoke and soot produced by [[steam locomotive]]s in the Park Avenue Tunnel, the only approach to the station.<ref name="Fitch Waite p. 4" /> After a deadly 1902 crash in the smoky tunnel,<ref name="Langmead p. 170" /><ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref name="Schlichting pp. 55-56" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grandcentral-parkave/|title=WGBH American Experience . Grand Central|publisher=PBS|date=January 8, 1902|access-date=November 8, 2015|archive-date=October 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023113600/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/grandcentral-parkave/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1902/01/09/archives/fifteen-killed-in-rear-end-collision-trains-crash-in-darkness-of.html|title=Fifteen Killed in Rear End Collision; Trains Crash in Darkness of Park Avenue Tunnel|date=January 9, 1902|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 10, 2018|archive-date=December 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210202815/https://www.nytimes.com/1902/01/09/archives/fifteen-killed-in-rear-end-collision-trains-crash-in-darkness-of.html|url-status=live}}</ref> the New York state legislature enacted a ban on steam trains in Manhattan, to begin in 1908.<ref name="Bilotto pp. 8-9" /> [[William J. Wilgus]], the New York Central's vice president, proposed to tear down Grand Central Station and build a new, larger station with two levels of tracks, all electrified and underground.<ref name="Roberts" /><ref name="Roberts p. 72" /><ref name="Fitch Waite p. 4" /><ref name="Langmead p. 170" /><ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref name="Schlichting pp. 60-62" /> The railroad's board of directors approved the $35 million project in June 1903.<ref name="NYCL p. 4" /><ref name="Schlichting pp. 60-62" />

=== Replacement ===
[[File:Grand Central plan, 1905.jpg|thumb|alt=Sketch of a large Beaux-Arts building|Proposal of the associated architects of Grand Central during its construction, 1905]]
The new Grand Central Terminal was to be the biggest terminal in the world, both in the size of the building and in the number of tracks.<ref name="Roberts2013" /><ref name="Roberts" />{{Refn|The projects included:<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|pp=64–65}}</ref>
# excavation of Grand Central Yard
# construction of Grand Central's station building
# electrification of the Harlem, Hudson, and New Haven divisions
# lowering the [[Port Morris Branch]] tracks in the Bronx
# building tunnels along the Hudson Division around the [[Harlem River Ship Canal]] in [[Marble Hill, Manhattan]] (ultimately never built, as the Harlem River Ship Canal was relocated)
# eliminating grade crossings
# adding tracks on the Harlem and New Haven divisions|group=N}} It was meant to compete with [[Pennsylvania Station (1910–1963)|Pennsylvania Station]], a majestic electric-train hub being built on Manhattan's west side for arch-rival [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] by [[McKim, Mead & White]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/penn/|title=The Rise and Fall of Penn Station – American Experience|last=McLowery|first=Randall|date=February 18, 2014|publisher=PBS|access-date=December 10, 2018|archive-date=May 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505231352/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/penn/|url-status=live}}</ref> New York Central picked the firm of [[Reed and Stem]] to handle the overall design of the station, and [[Warren and Wetmore]] for the station's [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] exterior.<ref name="Langmead p. 171" /><ref name="Schlichting pp. 121-122" /><ref name="Interior6" />

[[File:Grand Central construction.jpg|thumb|alt=A large excavated area beside the station while under construction|Terminal and baggage building construction {{circa|1912}}]]
Construction on Grand Central Terminal started on June 19, 1903.<ref name="NYCL p. 5" /> and proceeded in phases to prevent railroad service from being interrupted.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/08/16/archives/constructing-a-great-modern-railway-terminal-one-of-the-most.html|title=Constructing A Great Modern Railway Terminal – One of the Most Puzzling of Modem Engineering Problems Is Involved in the Building, Without Interruption to Traffic, of New York's Grand Central Station|date=August 16, 1908|work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 13, 2018|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215233400/https://www.nytimes.com/1908/08/16/archives/constructing-a-great-modern-railway-terminal-one-of-the-most.html|url-status=live}}</ref> About {{convert|3.2|e6yd3|m3}} of the ground were excavated at depths of up to 10 floors, with {{convert|1,000|yd3|m3}} of debris being removed from the site daily. Over 10,000 workers were assigned to the project.<ref name="ASCE Metropolitan Section 1902" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1909/09/12/archives/the-new-terminal-of-the-grand-central.html|title=The New Terminal of the 'Grand Central'|date=September 12, 1909|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 14, 2018|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215022231/https://www.nytimes.com/1909/09/12/archives/the-new-terminal-of-the-grand-central.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> The total cost of improvements, including electrification and the development of Park Avenue, was estimated at $180 million in 1910.<ref name="nyt19100626" /> The segments of all three lines running into Grand Central had been electrified by 1907.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> The last train left Grand Central Station at midnight on June 5, 1910,<ref name="Schlichting pp. 106-107" /> and the new terminal opened on February 2, 1913.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Railway Age|page=78|title=Grand Central Terminal opens|date=September 2006|issn=0033-8826}}</ref><ref name="nyt19130202-2" />

=== Heyday ===
The terminal spurred development in the surrounding area, particularly in Terminal City, a commercial and office district created above where the tracks were covered.<ref name="nyt19300914" /><ref name="PS1931" /><ref name="Gray 2010" /> The development of Terminal City also included the construction of the [[Park Avenue Viaduct]], surrounding the station, in the 1920s.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Langmead|2009|p=172}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Link Up Park Av. to Ease Congestion  |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1919/04/17/archives/link-up-park-av-to-ease-congestion-civic-bodies-celebrate-opening.html |newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |date=April 17, 1919 |access-date=December 7, 2018 |archive-date=August 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818094806/https://www.nytimes.com/1919/04/17/archives/link-up-park-av-to-ease-congestion-civic-bodies-celebrate-opening.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/09/02/105202500.pdf|title=New Viaduct Thoroughfare Relieves Park Avenue Traffic Congestion; Result of Many Years' Work|date=September 2, 1928|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|page=Real Estate, Page 123|access-date=December 7, 2018|archive-date=April 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220424164515/http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/09/02/105202500.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}</ref> The new electric service led to increased development in New York City's suburbs, and passenger traffic on the commuter lines into Grand Central more than doubled in the seven years following the terminal's completion.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|pp=188}}</ref> Passenger traffic grew so rapidly that by 1918, New York Central proposed expanding Grand Central Terminal.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26368762/|title=N.Y. Central Plans Broad Expansion|date=May 24, 1918|work=Buffalo Commercial|access-date=December 19, 2018|page=9|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=January 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124055235/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-commercial-ny-central-plan/26368762/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1923, the [[Grand Central Art Galleries]] opened in the terminal. A year after it opened, the galleries established the [[Grand Central School of Art]], which occupied {{convert|7000|sqft|m2}} on the seventh floor of the east wing of the terminal.<ref>{{cite news|title=New Art School Opens: Reception Held in Studios Over the Grand Central|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/10/02/archives/gains-in-business-send-stocks-up-steel-and-car-orders-and-freight.html|date=October 2, 1924|page=27|access-date=March 3, 2010|archive-date=July 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703021855/https://www.nytimes.com/1924/10/02/archives/gains-in-business-send-stocks-up-steel-and-car-orders-and-freight.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Terminal Fire Not in Art School|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/09/06/archives/terminal-fire-not-in-art-school.html|date=September 6, 1929|page=9|access-date=March 3, 2010|archive-date=March 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317050231/https://www.nytimes.com/1929/09/06/archives/terminal-fire-not-in-art-school.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Grand Central School of Art remained in the east wing until 1944,<ref>{{cite news|title=New Art School Opens: Reception Held in Studios Over the Grand Central|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/10/02/archives/gains-in-business-send-stocks-up-steel-and-car-orders-and-freight.html|date=October 2, 1924|access-date=July 30, 2011|archive-date=July 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703021855/https://www.nytimes.com/1924/10/02/archives/gains-in-business-send-stocks-up-steel-and-car-orders-and-freight.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and it moved to the [[New York Biltmore Hotel|Biltmore Hotel]] in 1958.<ref>{{cite news | title=Galleries to End 36 Years in Depot; Grand Central Art Group to Move to Biltmore Hotel in March – Fete Held | website=The New York Times | issn=0362-4331 | date=October 31, 1958 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/10/31/archives/galleries-to-end-36-years-in-depot-grand-central-art-group-to-move.html | access-date=January 14, 2019 | archive-date=January 15, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115024659/https://www.nytimes.com/1958/10/31/archives/galleries-to-end-36-years-in-depot-grand-central-art-group-to-move.html | url-status=live }}</ref>{{refn|group=N|They remained at the Biltmore for 23 years until 1981, and then moved to 24 West 57th Street, and ceased operations by 1994.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Finding Aid to the Grand Central Art Galleries records, 1931–1968, bulk circa 1952-circa 1965|website=Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution|url=https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/grand-central-art-galleries-records-8254|date=November 14, 2018|access-date=December 7, 2018|archive-date=December 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209125927/https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/grand-central-art-galleries-records-8254|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

=== Decline ===
[[File:Grand Central Terminal MetLife Building Park Ave viaduct Summer Streets.jpg|thumb|upright|left|alt=The MetLife Building, towering above Grand Central|The [[MetLife Building]] was completed in 1963 above part of Grand Central Terminal.]]
In 1947, over 65 million people traveled through Grand Central, an all-time high.<ref name="ASCE Metropolitan Section 1902" /> The station's decline came soon afterward with the beginning of the [[Jet Age]] and the construction of the [[Interstate Highway System]]. There were multiple proposals to alter the terminal, including several replacing the station building with a skyscraper; none of the plans were carried out.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Langmead|2009|p=177}}</ref> Though the main building site was not redeveloped, the Pan Am Building (now the [[MetLife Building]]) was erected just to the north, opening in 1963.<ref>{{cite news | title=Pan Am Building Dedicated in N.Y. – 100 Million Structure, 59 Stories Tall, City's Biggest Other Speakers at Event | website=The New York Times | issn=0362-4331 | date=March 8, 1963 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1963/03/08/archives/pan-am-building-dedicated-in-ny-100-million-structure-59-stories.html | access-date=December 24, 2018 | archive-date=December 25, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225035334/https://www.nytimes.com/1963/03/08/archives/pan-am-building-dedicated-in-ny-100-million-structure-59-stories.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1968, New York Central, facing bankruptcy, merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad to form the [[Penn Central]] Railroad. The new corporation proposed to demolish Grand Central Terminal and replace it with a skyscraper, as the Pennsylvania Railroad had done with the original Penn Station in 1963.<ref>{{cite news | last=Fowler | first=Glenn | title=Breuer to Design Terminal Tower – Engaged by Briton for a 2d Project Over Grand Central | website=The New York Times | issn=0362-4331 | date=February 24, 1968 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/02/24/archives/breuer-to-design-terminal-tower-engaged-by-briton-for-a-2d-project.html | access-date=December 24, 2018 | archive-date=December 25, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225031215/https://www.nytimes.com/1968/02/24/archives/breuer-to-design-terminal-tower-engaged-by-briton-for-a-2d-project.html | url-status=live }}</ref> However, the [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]], which had designated Grand Central a city landmark in 1967, refused to consider the plans.<ref>{{cite news | last=Shipler | first=David K. | title=Landmarks Panel Bars Office Tower Over Grand Central; Landmarks Panel Bars Tower on Grand Central | website=The New York Times | issn=0362-4331 | date=August 27, 1969 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/08/27/archives/landmarks-panel-bars-office-tower-over-grand-central-landmarks.html | access-date=December 24, 2018 | archive-date=December 25, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225035326/https://www.nytimes.com/1969/08/27/archives/landmarks-panel-bars-office-tower-over-grand-central-landmarks.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[[Penn Central Transportation Co. v. City of New York]], 438 U.S. 104 (1978)</ref> The [[Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City|resulting lawsuit]] went to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]], which ruled in favor of the city.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=Penn Central Transp. Co. v. New York City|court=U.S.|reporter=U.S.|vol=438|opinion=104|pinpoint=135|year=1978|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/438/104/|access-date=December 8, 2018}}</ref> After Penn Central went into bankruptcy in 1970, it retained title to Grand Central Terminal.<ref name="MTA-CPOC-Nov2018" /> When Penn Central reorganized as [[American Premier Underwriters]] (APU) in 1994, it retained ownership of Penn Central. In turn, APU was absorbed by [[American Financial Group]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/13/business/company-news-insurance-unit-to-buy-its-parent-in-stock-merger.html|title=Company News; Insurance Unit to Buy Its Parent in Stock Merger|date=December 13, 1994|agency=Reuters|work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 19, 2018|archive-date=December 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219134300/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/13/business/company-news-insurance-unit-to-buy-its-parent-in-stock-merger.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Historical Photos of Grand Central Terminal (52664179665).jpg|thumb|alt=A 1986 image of the Main Concourse with large and bright advertisements throughout|The Main Concourse in 1986, featuring the [[Kodak]] [[Colorama (Kodak)|Colorama]], the illuminated clock, and two banks]]

Grand Central and the surrounding neighborhood became dilapidated during the 1970s, and the interior of Grand Central was dominated by huge advertisements, which included the [[Kodak]] [[Colorama (Kodak)|Colorama]] photos and the [[Westclox]] "Big Ben" clock.<ref name="nyt20081120" /> In 1975, [[Donald Trump]] bought the [[Grand Hyatt New York|Commodore Hotel]] to the east of the terminal for $10 million and then worked out a deal with [[Jay Pritzker]] to transform it into one of the first [[Hyatt|Grand Hyatt]] hotels.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Masello|first1=Robert|title=The Trump Card|url=http://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/a3478/the-trump-card/|website=Town & Country|date=August 3, 2015|access-date=February 17, 2016|archive-date=March 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309052531/http://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/a3478/the-trump-card/|url-status=live}}</ref> Grand Central Terminal was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1975 and declared a [[National Historic Landmark]] in the following year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/d3380180-7c4e-4d8a-92ba-c0060347e915|title=Grand Central Station|date=September 11, 2007|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=December 9, 2018|archive-date=December 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210141117/https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/d3380180-7c4e-4d8a-92ba-c0060347e915|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/75001206_text|title="Grand Central Station" August 11, 1976, by Carolyn Pitts|format=PDF|work=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination|date=August 11, 1976|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=December 21, 2018|archive-date=August 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803034847/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/75001206_text|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/75001206_photos|title=Grand Central Station—Accompanying 11 photos, exterior and interior, from 1983 and undated.|work=National Register of Historic Places Inventory|format=PDF|year=1983|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=December 21, 2018|archive-date=April 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422174748/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/75001206_photos|url-status=live}}</ref> This period was marked by a bombing on September 10, 1976, when a group of [[Croats|Croatian]] nationalists planted a bomb in a coin locker at Grand Central Terminal and [[TWA Flight 355|hijacked a plane]]; the bomb exploded while being disarmed and injured three [[NYPD]] officers and killed one bomb squad specialist.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Skyjackings: Bombs for Croatia|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,946611-1,00.html|date=September 20, 1976|access-date=January 29, 2023|archive-date=January 29, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129152652/https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,946611-1,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Zvonko Busic, 67, Croatian Hijacker, Dies|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|date=September 6, 2013|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/world/europe/zvonko-busic-67-croatian-hijacker-dies.html|access-date=March 24, 2019|archive-date=October 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002182634/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/world/europe/zvonko-busic-67-croatian-hijacker-dies.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The terminal was used for [[Inter-city rail|intercity transit]] until 1991. Amtrak, the national rail system formed in 1971, ran its last train from Grand Central on April 6, 1991, upon the completion of the [[Empire Connection]] on Manhattan's West Side. The connection allowed trains using the [[Empire Corridor]] from [[Albany, New York|Albany]], [[Toronto]], and [[Montreal]] to use Penn Station.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/08/nyregion/riding-the-past-from-grand-central.html|title=Riding the Past From Grand Central|last=Barron|first=James|date=April 8, 1991|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 11, 2018|archive-date=September 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200902012856/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/08/nyregion/riding-the-past-from-grand-central.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, some Amtrak trains used Grand Central during the summers of 2017 and 2018 due to maintenance at Penn Station.<ref>{{cite web|title=6 Amtrak trains to use Grand Central Terminal this summer|website=lohud.com|date=June 12, 2017|url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/transit/2017/06/12/amtrak-grand-central-terminal/389719001/|access-date=April 17, 2018|archive-date=June 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170613155038/https://www.lohud.com/story/news/transit/2017/06/12/amtrak-grand-central-terminal/389719001/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Rulison|first1=Larry|last2=Anderson|first2=Eric|title=Repairs will shift Amtrak's Rensselaer trains to Grand Central Terminal|website=Times Union|date=April 10, 2018|url=https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Amtrak-announces-summer-construction-plans-12821170.php|access-date=April 17, 2018|archive-date=April 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180418032436/https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Amtrak-announces-summer-construction-plans-12821170.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Renovation and subsequent expansions ===
[[File:100Years 5900 (8435665301).jpg|thumb|alt=Hundreds of people gathered in the Main Concourse for a celebratory event|Centennial celebration performance, 2013]]
In 1988, the MTA commissioned a study of Grand Central Terminal, which concluded that parts of the terminal could be turned into a retail area.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/11/nyregion/plan-urges-new-look-at-terminal-by-richard-levine.html|title=Plan Urges New Look At Terminal|last=Levine|first=Richard|date=January 11, 1988|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=February 26, 2018|archive-date=February 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227034232/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/11/nyregion/plan-urges-new-look-at-terminal-by-richard-levine.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1995, the agency began a $113.8 million renovation of the terminal's interior.<ref name="nyt19950129" /> All advertisements were removed and the station was restored;<ref name="nyt20081120" /> for example, the Main Concourse ceiling was cleaned to reveal the [[Skyscape art|painted skyscape]] and constellations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/20/nyregion/work-starts-100-feet-above-grand-central-commuters.html|title=Work Starts 100 Feet Above Grand Central Commuters|last=Lueck|first=Thomas J.|date=September 20, 1996|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 6, 2018|archive-date=December 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207045730/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/20/nyregion/work-starts-100-feet-above-grand-central-commuters.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26015036/grandeur_grand_central_terminal/|title=Grandeur!|date=February 16, 1997|work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251|access-date=December 6, 2018|page=698|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=December 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207045743/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26015036/grandeur_grand_central_terminal/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Inside The Sky Mural Restoration at Grand Central Terminal |url=https://johncanningco.com/blog/sky-mural-restoration-at-grand-central-terminal/ |website=John Canning & Co. |date=August 31, 2016 |access-date=April 17, 2023 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125043043/https://johncanningco.com/blog/sky-mural-restoration-at-grand-central-terminal/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The East Stairs, a curved monumental staircase on the east side of the Main Concourse, was added to match the West Stairs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/29/nyregion/grand-central-may-be-getting-east-staircase.html|title=Grand Central May Be Getting East Staircase|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|date=September 29, 1994|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 9, 2018|author-link=David W. Dunlap|archive-date=December 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209123551/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/29/nyregion/grand-central-may-be-getting-east-staircase.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The project's completion was marked with a re-dedication ceremony on October 1, 1998.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/02/nyregion/gritty-depot-glittery-destination-refurbished-grand-central-terminal-worthy-its.html|title=From Gritty Depot, A Glittery Destination; Refurbished Grand Central Terminal, Worthy of Its Name, Is Reopened|last=Sachs|first=Susan|date=October 2, 1998|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 8, 2018|archive-date=December 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209123759/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/02/nyregion/gritty-depot-glittery-destination-refurbished-grand-central-terminal-worthy-its.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26075579/fanfare_marks_the_rededication_of_grand/|title=Fanfare marks the rededication of Grand Central Terminal|last=Klein|first=Melissa|date=October 2, 1998|work=The Journal News|access-date=December 6, 2018|location=White Plains, NY|page=1|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=December 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209123944/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26075579/fanfare_marks_the_rededication_of_grand/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In December 2006, American Financial sold Grand Central Terminal to Midtown TDR Ventures, LLC, an investment group controlled by [[Argent Ventures]], which renegotiated the lease with the MTA to last until 2274.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/ReadingRoom.nsf/51d7c65c6f78e79385256541007f0580/0a80d738a3489079852572370054733d?OpenDocument|title=Midtown TDR Ventures LLC-Acquisition Exemption-American Premier Underwriters, Inc., The Owasco River Railway, Inc., and American Financial Group, Inc.|publisher=Surface Transportation Board, U.S. Department of Transportation|date=December 7, 2006|access-date=February 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122004424/https://www.stb.gov/decisions/ReadingRoom.nsf/51d7c65c6f78e79385256541007f0580/0a80d738a3489079852572370054733d?OpenDocument|archive-date=January 22, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2018, the MTA exercised its option to purchase the terminal, along with the Hudson and Harlem Lines.<ref name="MTA-CPOC-Nov2018" /><ref>{{cite news |title=MTA to Purchase Grand Central Terminal, Harlem Line and Hudson Line for $35 Million |url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/mta-purchase-grand-central-terminal-harlem-line-and-hudson-line-35 |access-date=January 9, 2019 |publisher=MTA |date=November 13, 2018 |archive-date=January 10, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110234941/http://www.mta.info/press-release/mta-headquarters/mta-purchase-grand-central-terminal-harlem-line-and-hudson-line-35 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The agency took ownership of the terminal and rail lines in February 2020.<ref>{{cite web|title=MTA takes ownership of Grand Central Terminal|work=Progressive Railroading|url=https://www.progressiverailroading.com/passenger_rail/news/MTA-takes-ownership-of-Grand-Central-Terminal--59979|date=March 13, 2020|access-date=March 17, 2020|archive-date=January 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128040849/https://www.progressiverailroading.com/passenger_rail/news/MTA-takes-ownership-of-Grand-Central-Terminal--59979|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Inaugural Train Ride To Grand Central Madison - 52649236695.jpg|thumb|alt=Politicians walking through the new bright LIRR concourse|Governor [[Kathy Hochul]] and MTA Chair [[Janno Lieber]] at the opening of [[Grand Central Madison]], 2023]]
On February 1, 2013, numerous displays, performances, and events were held to celebrate the terminal's centennial.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/news/2013/02/03/grand-central-centennial-continues-2013|title=Grand Central Centennial Continues in 2013|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|date=February 3, 2013|access-date=December 10, 2018|archive-date=December 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211010126/http://www.mta.info/news/2013/02/03/grand-central-centennial-continues-2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Grand Central turns 100|url=http://www.rtands.com/index.php/track-maintenance/off-track-maintenance/grand-central-turns-100.html?channel=286|newspaper=RT&S|date=February 1, 2013|access-date=February 5, 2013|archive-date=August 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801235903/http://www.rtands.com/index.php/track-maintenance/off-track-maintenance/grand-central-turns-100.html?channel=286|url-status=live}}</ref> The MTA awarded contracts to replace the display boards and public announcement systems and add security cameras at Grand Central Terminal in December 2017.<ref name="MTA-MNRR-Jan2018" /> The MTA also proposed to repair the Grand Central Terminal train shed's concrete and steel as part of the 2020–2024 MTA Capital Program.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/mta-mulling-big-repairs-grand-central-train-shed|title=MTA mulling big repairs to Grand Central train shed|date=December 5, 2018|website=Crain's New York Business|language=en|access-date=December 6, 2018|archive-date=December 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206144701/https://www.crainsnewyork.com/transportation/mta-mulling-big-repairs-grand-central-train-shed|url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2019, it was announced that the Grand Hyatt New York hotel that abuts Grand Central Terminal to the east would be torn down and replaced with a larger mixed-use structure over the next several years.<ref>{{cite web | last=Barbanel | first=Josh | title=New York's Grand Hyatt Hotel to Be Torn Down | website=The Wall Street Journal | date=February 7, 2019 | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-yorks-grand-hyatt-hotel-to-be-torn-down-11549567095 | access-date=February 9, 2019 | archive-date=January 17, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117125428/https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-yorks-grand-hyatt-hotel-to-be-torn-down-11549567095 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Plitt | first=Amy | title=Midtown's Grand Hyatt Hotel to be replaced by huge mixed-use tower | website=Curbed NY | date=February 7, 2019 | url=https://ny.curbed.com/2019/2/7/18215906/new-york-midtown-east-rezoning-skyscraper-grand-hyatt | access-date=February 9, 2019 | archive-date=November 7, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107233601/https://ny.curbed.com/2019/2/7/18215906/new-york-midtown-east-rezoning-skyscraper-grand-hyatt | url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2020, the skyscraper [[One Vanderbilt]] opened, along with a train hall at its base, a pedestrian plaza connecting it to the terminal, and an underground passage to the complex's subway station. The plaza was built on a section of Vanderbilt Avenue, permanently closing the section to automobile traffic for the first time.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wong|first=Natalie|date=September 14, 2020|title=Manhattan's Newest Skyscraper Opens Up to a Dead Midtown|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-14/manhattan-s-newest-skyscraper-is-opening-up-to-a-dead-midtown|access-date=September 14, 2020|publisher=Bloomberg L.P.|archive-date=September 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916235852/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-14/manhattan-s-newest-skyscraper-is-opening-up-to-a-dead-midtown|url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 2023, the MTA's new [[Grand Central Madison station]] opened beneath Grand Central Terminal. The new station, serving the [[Long Island Rail Road]], was under development since 2007. The project, officially titled [[East Side Access]], cost $11.1 billion.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Ana |last1=Ley|first2=Wesley |last2=Parnell|title=L.I.R.R. Service to Grand Central Begins at Long Last|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/nyregion/lirr-grand-central.html|date=January 25, 2023|access-date=February 12, 2023|archive-date=January 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126011811/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/25/nyregion/lirr-grand-central.html|url-status=live}}</ref> LIRR trains arrive and depart from a bi-level, eight-track tunnel with four platforms more than {{convert|90|ft|m}} below the Metro-North tracks.<ref name="AutoVN-90" /> The station includes a new 350,000-square-foot retail and dining concourse<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/MTA-East-Side-Access-Project-Grand-Central-Terminal-Long-Island-Rail-Road-Tour-340356972.html|title=Massive East Side Access Project Rolling On Under Grand Central|last=Dobnik|first=Verena|date=November 4, 2015|website=nbcnewyork.com|access-date=January 19, 2016|archive-date=December 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191201005016/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/MTA-East-Side-Access-Project-Grand-Central-Terminal-Long-Island-Rail-Road-Tour-340356972.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and new entrances at 45th, 46th, and 48th streets.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/photo-essays/2015-11-04/lirr-east-side-access-grand-central-terminal-tunnels-construction|title=Inside the Massive New Rail Tunnels Beneath NYC's Grand Central|last=Ocean|first=Justin|date=November 4, 2015|publisher=Bloomberg News|access-date=January 19, 2016|archive-date=February 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180204093250/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/photo-essays/2015-11-04/lirr-east-side-access-grand-central-terminal-tunnels-construction|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Innovations ==
=== Passenger improvements ===
[[File:Whispering Gallery.jpg|thumb|alt=A vaulted ceiling by the terminal's ramps|Incline between concourses, showing the [[whispering gallery]] outside the Oyster Bar]]
At the time of its completion, Grand Central Terminal offered several innovations in transit-hub design. One was the use of ramps, rather than staircases, to conduct passengers and luggage through the facility. Two ramps connected the lower-level suburban concourse to the main concourse; several more led from the main concourse to entrances on 42nd Street. These ramps allowed all travelers to easily move between Grand Central's two underground levels.<ref name="Langmead p. 174" /><ref name="nyt19120512" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/02/02/archives/first-great-stairless-railway-terminal-in-history-unique.html|title=First Great Stairless Railway Terminal in History – Unique Architectural Feature by Which Passengers Reach Trains by Easy Grades|date=February 2, 1913|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 7, 2018|archive-date=December 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209132827/https://www.nytimes.com/1913/02/02/archives/first-great-stairless-railway-terminal-in-history-unique.html|url-status=live}}</ref> There were also 15 passenger elevators and six freight-and-passenger elevators scattered around the station.<ref name="nyt19120512" /> The separation of commuter and intercity trains, as well as incoming and outgoing trains, ensured that most passengers on a given ramp would be traveling in the same direction.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|New York Central|1912|p=18}}</ref> At its opening in 1913, the terminal was theoretically able to accommodate 100 million passengers a year.<ref name="nyt19130202-1" />

The Park Avenue Viaduct, which wrapped around the terminal, allowed Park Avenue traffic to bypass the building without being diverted onto nearby streets,<ref name="nyt19280902" /> and reconnected the only north–south avenue in midtown Manhattan that had an interruption in it.<ref name="RN p. 103" /> The station building was also designed to accommodate the re-connection of both segments of 43rd Street by going through the concourse, if the City of New York had demanded it.<ref name="Roberts2013" /><ref name="Roberts" />

Designers of the new terminal tried to make it as comfortable as possible. Amenities included an oak-floored waiting room for women, attended to by maids; a shoeshine room, also for women; a room with telephones; a beauty salon with gender-separated portions; a dressing room, with maids available for a fee; and a men's barbershop, containing a public area with barbers from many cultures, as well as a rentable private space.<ref name="Roberts2013" /><ref name="Roberts" /><ref name="nyt19130202-2" /> Grand Central was designed with two concourses, one on each level. The "outbound" concourse could handle 15,000 people; the "inbound" concourse, 8,000. A waiting room adjoining each concourse could fit another 5,000.<ref name="nyt19100626" /> Brochures advertised the new Grand Central Terminal as a tourist-friendly space where "[t]imid travelers may ask questions with no fear of being rebuffed by hurrying trainmen, or imposed upon by hotel runners, chauffeurs or others in blue uniforms"; a safe and welcoming place for people of all cultures, where "special accommodations are to be provided for immigrants and gangs of laborers"; and a general tourist attraction "where one delights to loiter, admiring its beauty and symmetrical lines—a poem in stone".<ref name="Roberts2013" /><ref name="Roberts" /> The waiting room by the Main Concourse, now Vanderbilt Hall, also had an advantage over many, including Penn Station's: Grand Central's waiting room was a tranquil place to wait, with all ticket booths, information desks, baggage areas, and meeting areas instead removed to the Main Concourse.<ref>{{cite news|title=New Grand Central Terminal Opens its Doors|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|pages=69–74|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/02/02/issue.html?action=click&contentCollection=Archives&module=LedeAsset&region=ArchiveBody&pgtype=article|date=February 2, 1913|access-date=December 18, 2018|archive-date=January 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124055234/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/02/02/issue.html?action=click&contentCollection=Archives&module=LedeAsset&region=ArchiveBody&pgtype=article|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Grand Central Terminal - Sectional View 1939.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A cross-cut drawing of Grand Central, showing its rooms, passages, tunnels, and tracks|Cutaway drawing from 1939, illustrating the use of ramps, express and suburban tracks, and the viaduct]]
Every train at Grand Central Terminal departs one minute later than its posted departure time. The extra minute is intended to encourage passengers rushing to catch trains at the last minute to slow down.<ref name=nyt-2009-10-17>{{Cite news|last=Grynbaum|first=Michael M.|date=2009-10-17|title=The Secret New York Minute: Trains Late by Design|language=en-US|work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/nyregion/17minute.html|access-date=2023-01-30|archive-date=January 30, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130032133/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/nyregion/17minute.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

All of the terminal's light fixtures are bare light bulbs. At the time of the terminal's construction, electricity was still a relatively new invention, and the inclusion of electric light bulbs showcased this innovation.<ref name="Carlson 2015" /><ref name="RN p. 96" /> In 2009, the [[incandescent light bulb]]s were replaced with energy- and money-saving [[fluorescent lamp]] fixtures.<ref name="Sulzberger 2009" />

{{anchor|Porters}}When Grand Central Terminal opened, it hired two types of porters, marked with different-colored caps, to assist passengers.<ref name="RN pp. 131-132" /> Porters with red caps served as [[bellhop]]s, rolling luggage around Grand Central Terminal, and were rarely paid tips.<ref name="RN pp. 131-132" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/06/01/archives/fifty-years-he-watched-growth-of-grand-central-george-schuman-now.html|title=Fifty Years He Watch Growth of Grand Central – George Schuman, Now Retiring, Began Work at the Terminal When It Was Called "the Commodore's Barn" and Had Only 13 Tracks|date=May 1, 1924|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=January 5, 2019|archive-date=January 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106010503/https://www.nytimes.com/1924/06/01/archives/fifty-years-he-watched-growth-of-grand-central-george-schuman-now.html|url-status=live}}</ref> There were more than 500 red-capped porters at one point.<ref name="RN pp. 131-132" /> Porters with green caps, a position introduced in 1922,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/06/25/archives/green-caps-to-help-forgetful-travelers-new-functionaries-at-grand.html|title='Green Caps' to Help Forgetful Travellers – New Functionaries at Grand Central to Perform Offices of aPrivate Secretary.|date=June 25, 1922|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=January 5, 2019|archive-date=January 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106055148/https://www.nytimes.com/1922/06/25/archives/green-caps-to-help-forgetful-travelers-new-functionaries-at-grand.html|url-status=live}}</ref> provided information services, sending out or receiving telegrams or phone messages for a fee.<ref name="RN pp. 131-132" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1923/08/19/archives/day-in-a-green-caps-life-is-filled-with-odd-jobs.html|title=Day in a Green Cap's Life Is Filled With Odd Jobs|date=August 19, 1923|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=January 5, 2019|archive-date=January 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106055207/https://www.nytimes.com/1923/08/19/archives/day-in-a-green-caps-life-is-filled-with-odd-jobs.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspapers%25206%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Tribune%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Tribune%25201922%2520Jul%2520Grayscale%2FNew%2520York%2520NY%2520Tribune%25201922%2520Jul%2520Grayscale%2520-%25200023.pdf|title=New Grand Central Green Caps Banish All Trouble for a Dime|date=July 2, 1922|work=New York Tribune|access-date=January 5, 2019|page=4|via=Fultonhistory.com|archive-date=January 24, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240124055229/https://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%206/New%20York%20NY%20Tribune/New%20York%20NY%20Tribune%201922%20Jul%20Grayscale/New%20York%20NY%20Tribune%201922%20Jul%20Grayscale%20-%200023.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> They later started dropping off and picking up packages as well. There were only twelve green-capped porters, as well as two messengers who brought messages to an exchange on the west side of the terminal.<ref name="RN pp. 131-132" />

=== Track improvements ===
[[File:GCT balloon.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Tracks visibly curving around the terminal near a platform|Balloon loop visible behind Track 42]]
Grand Central Terminal was built to handle 200 trains per hour, though actual traffic never came close to that.<ref name="ASCE Metropolitan Section 1902" /> It had 46 tracks and 30 platforms, more than twice Penn Station's 21 tracks and 11 platforms.<ref name="Roberts2013" /><ref name="Schlichting pp. 126-127" /><ref name="Roberts" /> Its {{convert|70|acre|ha|adj=on}} rail yard could hold 1,149 cars, far more than the 366 in its predecessor station, and it dwarfed Penn Station's {{convert|28|acre|ha|adj=on}} yard.<ref name="ASCE Metropolitan Section 1902" />

As constructed, the upper level was for intercity trains, and the lower level for commuter trains. This allowed commuter and intercity passengers to board and exit trains without interfering with each other.<ref name="Schlichting pp. 62-63" /><ref name="nyt19041224" />

[[Balloon loop]]s surrounding the station eliminated the need for complicated switching moves to bring the trains to the coach yards for service.<ref name="nyt19041224" /><ref name="Fitch Waite p. 5" /><ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=44}}</ref><ref name="Schlichting p. 80" /> At the time, passenger cars did not run on their own power, but were pulled by locomotives, and it was believed dangerous to perform locomotive shunting moves underground. Trains would drop passengers off at one side of the station, perhaps be stored or serviced in the [[rail yard]], then use the turning loops and pick up passengers on the other side.<ref name="Schlichting p. 80" /> The loops extended under Vanderbilt Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenue to the east.<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|pp=81–82}}</ref>

=== Terminal City ===
[[File:Helmsley Building vanaf Park Ave - New York 27-02-2016 9-19-52.jpg|thumb|alt=The Beaux-Arts skyscraper in front of the more modern MetLife Building|The [[Helmsley Building]], in front of the [[MetLife Building]], was built as part of Terminal City, a commercial and office district created above the tracks]]
{{main|Terminal City (Manhattan)}}
Burying the terminal's tracks and platforms also allowed the railroads to sell above-ground [[air rights]] for real-estate development.<ref name="nyt19300914" /><ref name="PS1931" /> Grand Central's construction thus produced several blocks of prime real estate in Manhattan, stretching from 42nd to 51st Streets between Madison and Lexington avenues.<ref name="nyt19300914" /><ref name="PS1931" /> By the time the terminal opened in 1913, the blocks surrounding it were each valued at $2 million to $3 million.<ref name="nyt19130202-1" /> Terminal City soon became Manhattan's most desirable commercial and office district. From 1904 to 1926, land values along Park Avenue doubled, and land values in the Terminal City area increased 244%.<ref name="Fitch Waite p. 6" />

The district came to include office buildings such as the [[Chrysler Building]], [[Chanin Building]], [[110 East 42nd Street|Bowery Savings Bank Building]], and [[Pershing Square Building]]; luxury apartment houses along Park Avenue; an array of high-end hotels that included the [[Commodore Hotel New York|Commodore]], [[New York Biltmore Hotel|Biltmore]], [[Roosevelt Hotel (Manhattan)|Roosevelt]], [[Marguery Hotel|Marguery]], Chatham, [[InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel|Barclay]], Park Lane, and [[Waldorf Astoria New York|Waldorf Astoria]];<ref name="Gray 2010" /><ref name="Fitch Waite p. 6" /> the [[Grand Central Palace]]; and the [[Yale Club of New York City]].<ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|New York Central|1912|p=24}}</ref><ref name="Fitch Waite p. 6" /> The structures immediately around Grand Central Terminal were developed shortly after the terminal's opening, while the structures along Park Avenue were constructed through the 1920s and 1930s.<ref name="Schlichting p. 162" />

The [[Graybar Building]], completed in 1927, was one of the last projects of Terminal City. The building incorporates many of Grand Central's train platforms, as well as the Graybar Passage, a hallway with vendors and train gates stretching from the terminal to Lexington Avenue.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Graybar Building|publisher=Landmarks Preservation Commission|url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2554.pdf|date=November 22, 2016|access-date=December 7, 2018|archive-date=February 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210206154750/http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2554.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1929, New York Central built its headquarters in a 34-story building, later renamed the [[Helmsley Building]], which straddled Park Avenue north of the terminal.<ref>{{cite news|title=Park Avenue, Interrupted|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/realestate/park-avenue-interrupted.html|date=December 21, 2014|access-date=December 8, 2018|archive-date=March 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303165637/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/realestate/park-avenue-interrupted.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Development slowed drastically during the [[Great Depression]],<ref name="Fitch Waite p. 6" /> and part of Terminal City was gradually demolished or reconstructed with steel-and-glass designs after [[World War II]].<ref name="Gray 2010" /><ref>{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=113}}</ref>

The area shares similar boundaries as the [[Grand Central Partnership|Grand Central Business Improvement District]], a neighborhood with businesses collectively funding improvements and maintenance in the area. The district is well-funded; in 1990 it had the largest budget of any [[Business improvement districts in the United States|business improvement district]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/03/arts/architecture-view-grand-central-basks-in-a-burst-of-morning-light.html|title=Grand Central Basks in a Burst of Morning Light|last=Goldberger|first=Paul|date=June 3, 1990|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 25, 2018|archive-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225082351/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/03/arts/architecture-view-grand-central-basks-in-a-burst-of-morning-light.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The district's organization and operation is run by the Grand Central Partnership, which has given free tours of the station building.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/27/nyregion/answering-questions-about-new-york.html|title=Answering Questions About New York|date=April 27, 2014|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 25, 2018|archive-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225125950/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/27/nyregion/answering-questions-about-new-york.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/travel/16weekend.html|title=Sheltering Under Grand Central's Ceiling of Stars|last=Kugel|first=Seth|date=November 16, 2008|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 25, 2018|archive-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225125940/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/travel/16weekend.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The partnership has also funded some restoration projects around the terminal, including installation of lamps to illuminate its facade and purchase of a streetlamp that used to stand on the Park Avenue Viaduct.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/29/nyregion/new-lighting-for-grand-central-elegance.html|title=New Lighting for Grand Central Elegance|last=Shepard|first=Richard F.|date=March 29, 1991|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 25, 2018|archive-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225130030/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/29/nyregion/new-lighting-for-grand-central-elegance.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Emergency services ==
[[File:GCT MTA Police vehicles.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Three parked MTA Police vehicles|MTA Police T3 scooters and [[Global Electric Motorcars|GEM]] electric vehicles for patrol]]
[[File:Grand Central fire vehicles.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Small electric vehicles for firefighting parked inside the terminal|The fire brigade's [[Taylor-Dunn]] personnel carrier and rescue truck]]

The terminal is served by the [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Department]], whose Fifth District is headquartered<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/police/request.html|title=MTA Police Contact Us|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=February 26, 2019|archive-date=February 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226234155/http://web.mta.info/mta/police/request.html|url-status=live}}</ref> in a station on the Dining Concourse.<ref name="directory" /> MTA officers patrol the terminal in specialized vehicles, including three-wheeled electric scooters from T3 Motion and utility vehicles by [[Global Electric Motorcars]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kaminer|first=Ariel|date=October 22, 2010|title=To Serve and Protect, Perched on 3 Wheels|language=en-US|work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/nyregion/24critic.html|access-date=October 1, 2020|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126102936/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/nyregion/24critic.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Various actions by MTA officers in the terminal have received media attention over the years. In 1988, seven officers were suspended for behaving inappropriately, including harassing a homeless man and patrolling unclothed.<ref>{{cite news | last=Hevesi | first=Dennis | title=7 Rail Officers Suspended For Joke Tape | website=The New York Times | issn=0362-4331 | date=August 4, 1988 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/04/nyregion/7-rail-officers-suspended-for-joke-tape.html | access-date=February 4, 2019 | archive-date=February 7, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207020328/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/04/nyregion/7-rail-officers-suspended-for-joke-tape.html | url-status=live }}<br>{{cite news | last=Hevesi | first=Dennis | title=Police Tape Gets National Attention | website=The New York Times | issn=0362-4331 | date=August 7, 1988 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/07/nyregion/police-tape-gets-national-attention.html | access-date=February 4, 2019 | archive-date=February 7, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207020728/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/07/nyregion/police-tape-gets-national-attention.html | url-status=live }}</ref> In the early 2000s, officers arrested two [[transgender]] people—Dean Spade in 2002 and Helena Stone in 2006—who were attempting to use restrooms aligning with their gender identities. Lawsuits forced the MTA to drop the charges and to thenceforth allow use of restrooms according to gender identity.<ref>{{cite book | last=Cavanagh | first=S.L. | title=Queering Bathrooms: Gender, Sexuality, and the Hygienic Imagination | publisher=University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division | year=2010 | isbn=978-1-4426-9997-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pyg0UD3eaEoC&q=%22grand%2Bcentral%22 | access-date=February 4, 2019 | archive-date=April 22, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422111005/https://books.google.com/books?id=Pyg0UD3eaEoC&q=%22grand%2Bcentral%22 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Associated Press | title=Transgendered NYC Woman Arrested for Using Women's Restroom | publisher=Fox News | date=March 25, 2015 | url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/transgendered-nyc-woman-arrested-for-using-womens-restroom | access-date=February 4, 2019 | archive-date=February 7, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207072432/https://www.foxnews.com/story/transgendered-nyc-woman-arrested-for-using-womens-restroom | url-status=live }}</ref> In 2017, an officer assaulted and arrested a conductor who was removing a passenger from a train in the terminal.<ref>{{cite web | title=Conductors union calls for firing, arrest of MTA cops, citing police brutality | website=lohud.com | date=August 18, 2017 | url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/2017/08/18/conductors-union-calls-firing-arrest-mta-cops-citing-police-brutality/577648001/ | access-date=February 4, 2019 | archive-date=February 7, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207072354/https://www.lohud.com/story/news/2017/08/18/conductors-union-calls-firing-arrest-mta-cops-citing-police-brutality/577648001/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

Fire and medical emergency services are provided by the Metro-North Fire Brigade, a professional [[fire department]] whose members belong to the [[International Association of Fire Fighters]] union. The brigade handles 1,600 to 1,700 calls for service a year, mostly medical in nature. The brigade regularly trains the [[NYPD]], [[FDNY]], and MTA Police to navigate the terminal and its miles of tunnels, and trains other Metro-North employees in first aid and [[Cardiopulmonary resuscitation|CPR]]. It also conducts fire drills and stations fire guards for special events in the terminal. Until 2007, the fire brigade was made up of volunteer Metro-North employees who received firefighting and emergency medical certification and would answer calls while on the clock for the railroad.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inside the Grand Central Terminal's Fire Brigade Operations |url=https://www.ny1.com/nyc/manhattan/news/2019/12/06/inside-the-grand-central-terminal-s-fire-brigade-operations |access-date=2022-11-22 |website=ny1.com |language=en |archive-date=November 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122032047/https://www.ny1.com/nyc/manhattan/news/2019/12/06/inside-the-grand-central-terminal-s-fire-brigade-operations |url-status=live }}</ref>

The brigade's fleet, stored in a bay next to Track 14, includes three electric carts equipped with red lights: a white-painted ambulance no wider than a hospital bed that carries a stretcher, oxygen tanks, defibrillators, and other medical equipment; a red pumper that carries 200 gallons of water and 300 feet of fire hose; and a red rescue truck with air packs, forcible-entry tools, and [[turnout gear]].<ref name="GCFB1" /><ref name="GCFB2" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Goldberg|first=Max|title=Behind the Scenes With New York's Grand Central Fire Brigade|publisher=The Drive|url=http://www.thedrive.com/a-list/1333/behind-the-scenes-with-new-yorks-grand-central-fire-brigade|date=December 15, 2015|access-date=February 2, 2019|archive-date=February 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202212429/http://www.thedrive.com/a-list/1333/behind-the-scenes-with-new-yorks-grand-central-fire-brigade|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Art installations and performances ==
{{main|Grand Central Terminal art}}
Among the permanent works of [[public art]] in Grand Central are the celestial ceiling in the Main Concourse,<ref name="Schlichting p. 124" /><ref name="Roberts p. 89; BD p. 2" /> the ''Glory of Commerce'' sculptural group and the statue of [[Cornelius Vanderbilt]] decorating the building's south façade,<ref name="RN p. 6" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/realestate/the-curious-travels-of-the-commodore.html|title=The Curious Travels of the Commodore|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=March 19, 2006|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 15, 2018|archive-date=April 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422112618/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/realestate/the-curious-travels-of-the-commodore.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and the two cast-iron eagle statues adorning sites around the station's exterior.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://untappedcities.com/2014/02/24/where-are-the-cast-iron-eagles-of-the-original-grand-central-terminal/|title=Where Are the Cast-Iron Eagles of the Original Grand Central Terminal?|last=Ortiz|first=Brennan|date=February 24, 2014|newspaper=Untapped Cities|access-date=December 6, 2018|archive-date=October 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020140515/https://untappedcities.com/2014/02/24/where-are-the-cast-iron-eagles-of-the-original-grand-central-terminal/|url-status=live}}</ref> Temporary works, exhibitions, and events are regularly mounted in Vanderbilt Hall,<ref>See, for example:<br>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/09/arts/adventurous-performers-in-unexpected-places.html|title=Adventurous Performers In Unexpected Places|last=Yarrow|first=Andrew L.|date=October 9, 1987|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 22, 2018|archive-date=December 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224223209/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/09/arts/adventurous-performers-in-unexpected-places.html|url-status=live}}<br>{{cite news|url=http://www.lionsroar.com/steel-roses-slave-ships-september-2013/|title=Steel, Roses & Slave Ships|last=Miller|first=Andrea|date=September 1, 2013|newspaper=Lion's Roar|access-date=December 19, 2016|language=en-US|archive-date=December 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220183823/http://www.lionsroar.com/steel-roses-slave-ships-september-2013/|url-status=dead}}<br>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/27/arts/art-the-carpet-that-ate-grand-central.html|title=ART; The Carpet That Ate Grand Central|last=Yablonsky|first=Linda|date=June 27, 2004|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 22, 2018|archive-date=December 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224224727/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/27/arts/art-the-carpet-that-ate-grand-central.html|url-status=live}}<br>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/arts/design/heard-ny-brings-dancing-horses-to-grand-central-terminal.html|title=Watch Out for the Horses on Your Way to the Train|date=March 24, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 22, 2018|archive-date=December 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224220508/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/arts/design/heard-ny-brings-dancing-horses-to-grand-central-terminal.html|url-status=live}}</ref> while the Dining Concourse features temporary exhibits in a series of [[lightbox]]es.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mta.info/news/2013/10/15/mta-arts-transit-unveils-new-papercut-exhibition-grand-central|title=MTA Arts for Transit Unveils New Papercut Exhibition at Grand Central|date=September 27, 2013|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=December 22, 2018|archive-date=December 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224220248/http://www.mta.info/news/2013/10/15/mta-arts-transit-unveils-new-papercut-exhibition-grand-central|url-status=dead}}</ref> The terminal is also known for its [[performance art|performance]] and [[installation art]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://installationmag.com/xin-songs-paper-works-at-grand-central-station/|title=Xin Song's Paper Architecture at Grand Central Station|last=Opie|first=Catherine|date=November 14, 2013|publisher=Installationmag.com|access-date=December 22, 2018|archive-date=December 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224220327/http://installationmag.com/xin-songs-paper-works-at-grand-central-station/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://installationmag.com/thomas-witte-is-cutting-shadows-in-grand-central-station/|title=Thomas Witte is Cutting Shadows in Grand Central Station|last=Song|first=Xin|date=November 14, 2013|publisher=Installationmag.com|access-date=December 22, 2018|archive-date=December 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224220602/http://installationmag.com/thomas-witte-is-cutting-shadows-in-grand-central-station/|url-status=live}}</ref> including [[flash mob]]s and other spontaneous events.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/fashion/15Diary.html|title=Moncler Grenoble Show Takes Over Grand Central|last=Trebay|first=Guy|date=February 14, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 22, 2018|archive-date=December 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224223220/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/fashion/15Diary.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Visitors==
[[File:GCT tour crop.jpg|thumb|alt=A tour guide leading a lecture outside the terminal|A guided tour outside the terminal, 2022]]
Grand Central Terminal is one of the world's ten most-visited tourist attractions,<ref name=autogenerated1 /> with 21.6 million visitors in 2018, excluding train and subway passengers.<ref name="tourists" /> The high visitor traffic makes it one of the most-photographed places in New York City and the United States. A 2009 Cornell University study of geotagged photos indicated the station was the fourth-most-photographed place in New York City.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bostwick|first=William|title=Apple Store Cube Is More Popular Landmark Than Statue of Liberty: Cornell Report|work=Fast Company|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/1596248/apple-store-cube-more-popular-landmark-statue-liberty-cornell-report|date=March 24, 2010|access-date=February 26, 2021|archive-date=February 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202010047/https://www.fastcompany.com/1596248/apple-store-cube-more-popular-landmark-statue-liberty-cornell-report|url-status=live}}</ref> Tourism to the station is not a new phenomenon; the 1900–1910 station was second to the [[U.S. Capitol Building]] in its visitor count.<ref>{{cite web|title=Part I: Happy birthday, Grand Central! Let's see what you're made of...|website=National Museum of American History|date=February 2, 2013|access-date=June 18, 2023|url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2013/02/happy-birthday-grand-central-lets-see-what-youre-made-of.html|archive-date=June 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618163136/https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2013/02/happy-birthday-grand-central-lets-see-what-youre-made-of.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2013, in conjunction with the terminal's centennial celebration, the [[Municipal Art Society]] began providing daily live station tours, and audio tour producer Orpheo USA began providing pre-recorded tours with headsets<ref>{{cite news|last=Rife|first=Judy|title=Docent-guided tours to debut at Grand Central Terminal|work=Times Herald-Record|url=https://www.recordonline.com/article/20130226/BIZ/302260319/-1/archive|date=February 26, 2013|access-date=February 26, 2021|archive-date=May 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514083104/https://www.recordonline.com/article/20130226/BIZ/302260319/-1/archive|url-status=dead}}</ref> Tours were suspended for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since late 2022, daily docent-led tours of the station have been conducted by Walks, an international tour company, by arrangement with the MTA.<ref>{{cite news|last=Tara|first=Serena|title=Guided Tours of NYC's Historic Grand Central Terminal Are Back After 2 Years|work=Thrillist|url=https://www.thrillist.com/news/new-york/the-return-of-grand-central-guided-tours-tickets|date=December 2, 2022|access-date=February 11, 2023|archive-date=February 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211221640/https://www.thrillist.com/news/new-york/the-return-of-grand-central-guided-tours-tickets|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Trusttum 2022 s003">{{cite web | last=Trusttum | first=Daisy | title=Grand Central Terminal tours return after pandemic hiatus | website=amNewYork | date=December 3, 2022 | url=https://www.amny.com/entertainment/things-to-do/grand-central-terminal-tours-return-after-pandemic-hiatus/ | access-date=October 9, 2023 | archive-date=October 12, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012172814/https://www.amny.com/entertainment/things-to-do/grand-central-terminal-tours-return-after-pandemic-hiatus/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

Transit passenger traffic makes the terminal the [[List of busiest railway stations in North America|third-busiest train station in North America]], after [[New York Penn Station]] and [[Toronto Union Station]]. {{As of|2018|alt=In 2018}}, about 67.326&nbsp;million riders entered and exited at Grand Central Terminal.<ref>{{Cite web|title=MNR Ridership 2018|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/docs/2017%20MNR%20Ridership%20Appendix.pdf|website=mta.info|access-date=November 24, 2018|archive-date=December 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211228201223/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/docs/2017%20MNR%20Ridership%20Appendix.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><!--The terminal's [[Main Concourse]] is often used as a meeting place-->

== In popular culture ==
[[File:Saturday Night Live main stage by Steven Dahlman.jpg|thumb|alt=The stage of Saturday Night Live, set up with musical instruments|''Saturday Night Live'' stage replica at a [[Museum of Broadcast Communications]] exhibition, 2018]]
{{main|Grand Central Terminal in popular culture}}
Grand Central Terminal has been the subject, inspiration, or setting for literature, television and radio episodes, and films.<ref name="Roberts2013" /><ref name="BB" />

The MTA hosts about 25 large-scale and hundreds of smaller or amateur film and television productions every year.<ref name="Oscar" /> Grand Central has been a backdrop for romantic reunions between couples. After the terminal declined in the 1950s, it was more frequently used as a dark, dangerous place, even a metaphor for chaos and disorientation,<ref name="BB" /> featuring chase scenes, shootouts, homeless people, and the mentally ill.<ref>{{cite news  |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/nyregion/in-a-summer-of-hell-grand-central-may-be-a-bit-of-heaven.html |title=In a 'Summer of Hell,' Grand Central May Be a Bit of Heaven |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705204805/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/nyregion/in-a-summer-of-hell-grand-central-may-be-a-bit-of-heaven.html?hp&target=comments |archive-date=July 5, 2017 |last=Dunlap |first=David W. |author-link=David W. Dunlap |date=July 5, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=October 9, 2023}}{{void|comment|Fabrickator|this archive is best version with all images working and seems to load quickly}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Almost every scene filmed in the terminal's train shed was shot on Track 34, one of the few platforms without structural columns blocking views.<ref name="Carlson 2015" /><ref name="Ritz" />

Grand Central Terminal's architecture, including its Main Concourse clock, are depicted on the stage of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', a long-running [[NBC]] television show.<ref name="Langmead p. 165" /> The soundstage reconstruction of the terminal in [[Studio 8H]] was first installed in 2003.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sachs |first=Andrea |title=Meet me at Grand Central for the 100th |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/meet-me-at-grand-central-for-the-100th/2013/02/21/433d7776-7add-11e2-a044-676856536b40_story.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130227111553/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-21/lifestyle/37218982_1_clock-grand-central-station-tour |archive-date=February 27, 2013 |date=February 21, 2013|access-date=November 21, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=SNL primed for 29|work=Variety|url=https://variety.com/2003/scene/markets-festivals/snl-primed-for-29-1117893006/|date=September 25, 2003|last1=McClintock|first1=Pamela|last2=Adalian|first2=Josef|access-date=November 21, 2020|archive-date=January 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130090010/https://variety.com/2003/scene/markets-festivals/snl-primed-for-29-1117893006/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Wikisource|has=the full text for|Report on Grand Central Terminal|nocat=yes}}
Notable literature featuring the terminal includes [[J. D. Salinger]]'s novel ''[[The Catcher in the Rye]]'' as well as ''Report on Grand Central Terminal'', a short story written by nuclear physicist [[Leo Szilard]] in 1948.<ref name="Langmead p. 165" /> The infrastructure in Grand Central inspired the novel ''[[The Invention of Hugo Cabret]]'', and in turn, the film ''[[Hugo (film)|Hugo]]''.<ref>{{cite web | title=Exploring Grand Central's Secrets, With the Author of Hugo Cabret – New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News | publisher=WNYC | date=January 6, 2012 | last=Bernstein | first=Andrea | url=https://www.wnyc.org/story/286509-exploring-grand-centrals-secrets-with-the-author-of-hugo-cabret/ | access-date=January 24, 2019 | archive-date=January 24, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124102127/https://www.wnyc.org/story/286509-exploring-grand-centrals-secrets-with-the-author-of-hugo-cabret/ | url-status=live }}</ref>


[[File:Grand Central Terminal Panorama.jpg|frameless|center|alt=File:Grand Central Terminal Panorama|File:Grand Central Terminal Panorama]]

== See also ==
* [[Architecture of New York City]]
* [[Transportation in New York City]]
* [[List of busiest railway stations in North America]]
* [[List of National Historic Landmarks in New York City]]
* [[List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 14th to 59th Streets]]

== References ==
=== Explanatory notes ===
{{reflist|group=N}}

=== Citations ===
{{reflist|1=30em|refs=
<ref name="ASCE Metropolitan Section 1902">{{cite web|url=http://www.ascemetsection.org/committees/history-and-heritage/landmarks/grand-central-terminal|title=Grand Central Terminal|date=January 8, 1902|website=ASCE Metropolitan Section|access-date=December 11, 2018|archive-date=October 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014152729/http://www.ascemetsection.org/committees/history-and-heritage/landmarks/grand-central-terminal|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Ames 1999">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/24/nyregion/shortening-the-commute-at-grand-central.html|title=Shortening the Commute at Grand Central|last=Ames|first=Lynne|date=October 24, 1999|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 6, 2018|archive-date=December 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206235016/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/24/nyregion/shortening-the-commute-at-grand-central.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="AutoVN-90">{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/capital/esa_docs/feisfiles/02_project_alternatives.pdf|title=East Side Access Project, Final Environmental Impact Statement|access-date=December 16, 2006|page=22|archive-date=January 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126191635/http://web.mta.info/capital/esa_docs/feisfiles/02_project_alternatives.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="BB">{{cite news|url=http://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2018/02/grand-central-terminals-ten-greatest.html|title=Grand Central Terminal's Ten Greatest Moments on Film|date=February 21, 2018|access-date=December 6, 2018|publisher=The Bowery Boys: New York City History|archive-date=December 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205003244/http://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2018/02/grand-central-terminals-ten-greatest.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="BL pp. 49-50">{{harvnb|ps=.|Belle|Leighton|2000|pp=49–50}}</ref>
<ref name="BTU-NYC-Library-1937">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43260647/|title=N.Y. Central Opens Library for Railroaders|date=June 2, 1937|work=Brooklyn Times-Union|access-date=January 29, 2020|page=5|via=newspapers.com}}</ref>
<ref name="Belson 2007">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/nyregion/08found.html|title=Lost on Metro-North, but Most Likely Found|last=Belson|first=Ken|date=May 8, 2007|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=January 5, 2019|archive-date=January 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105094359/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/nyregion/08found.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Biltmore1">{{cite news|url=http://gothamist.com/2012/09/26/the_kissing_room_is_returning_to_gr.php|title=Grand Central's Kissing Room Is Returning To Its Former Glory|last=Carlson|first=Jen|date=September 26, 2012|newspaper=Gothamist|access-date=December 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006025138/http://gothamist.com/2012/09/26/the_kissing_room_is_returning_to_gr.php|archive-date=October 6, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="Biltmore2">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/06/nyregion/fyi-527858.html|title=F.Y.I.|last=Schneider|first=Daniel B.|date=August 6, 2000|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 14, 2018|archive-date=December 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215071620/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/06/nyregion/fyi-527858.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="CBS New York 2013">{{cite web|url=https://newyork.cbslocal.com/guide/inaccessible-new-york-behind-the-scenes-at-grand-central-terminal/|title=Inaccessible New York: Behind The Scenes At Grand Central Terminal|date=March 30, 2013|website=CBS New York|access-date=December 6, 2018|archive-date=December 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207045939/https://newyork.cbslocal.com/guide/inaccessible-new-york-behind-the-scenes-at-grand-central-terminal/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Carlson 2015">{{cite web|url=http://gothamist.com/2015/05/12/grand_central_facts.php|title=Everything You Never Knew You Wanted To Know About Grand Central Terminal|last=Carlson|first=Jen|date=May 12, 2015|website=Gothamist|access-date=January 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007192123/http://gothamist.com/2015/05/12/grand_central_facts.php|archive-date=October 7, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="Diehl">{{cite web|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/archives/nydn-features/secret-city-article-1.484966|title=Secret City|last=Diehl|first=Lorraine|date=May 25, 2002|website=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251|access-date=December 20, 2018|archive-date=February 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226033925/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/nydn-features/secret-city-article-1.484966|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="ENR1920 p. 501">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o7xCAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA501|title=Engineering News-record|publisher=McGraw-Hill|year=1920|page=501|language=nl|access-date=January 6, 2019|issue=v. 85}}</ref>
<ref name="GC42 456 map">{{cite web|url=https://new.mta.info/sites/default/files/2018-04/Grand%20Central-42%20St%20%284%29%285%29%286%29%20web.pdf|title=Neighborhood Map: Grand Central-42 St (4)(5)(6)|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=November 18, 2018|archive-date=November 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120095504/https://new.mta.info/sites/default/files/2018-04/Grand%20Central-42%20St%20%284%29%285%29%286%29%20web.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="GC42 S map">{{cite web|url=https://new.mta.info/sites/default/files/2018-04/Grand%20Central%20%28S%29%20web.pdf|title=Neighborhood Map: Grand Central-42 St (S)|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|access-date=November 18, 2018|archive-date=November 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120095505/https://new.mta.info/sites/default/files/2018-04/Grand%20Central%20%28S%29%20web.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="GCFB1">{{cite web|title=Metro-North's Grand Central Terminal Fire Brigade Celebrates 20th Anniversary|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|url=http://www.mta.info/press-release/metro-north/metro-norths-grand-central-terminal-fire-brigade-celebrates-20th|date=May 14, 2007|access-date=February 2, 2019|archive-date=June 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622032743/http://www.mta.info/press-release/metro-north/metro-norths-grand-central-terminal-fire-brigade-celebrates-20th|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="GCFB2">{{cite news|last=Kadden|first=Jack|title=At Grand Central, Your Life Is in Their Hands|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/05/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/at-grand-central-your-life-is-in-their-hands.html|date=February 5, 2006|access-date=February 2, 2019|archive-date=June 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622060021/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/05/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/at-grand-central-your-life-is-in-their-hands.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Gray 2010">{{cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|title=Covering Its Tracks Paid Off Handsomely|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/realestate/22scapes.html|date=August 19, 2010|access-date=December 10, 2018|archive-date=October 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017000715/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/realestate/22scapes.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="IEEE-PES">{{cite web|url=http://magazine.ieee-pes.org/julyaugust-2014/history-14/|title=A Mammoth Move: Relocating the 50th Street Substation|last=Blalock|first=Thomas J.|website=IEEE Power & Energy Magazine|access-date=December 26, 2018|archive-date=December 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181227084729/http://magazine.ieee-pes.org/julyaugust-2014/history-14/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Lombardi 1996">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/28/nyregion/lost-and-found-on-metro-north.html|title=Lost and Found, on Metro-North|last=Lombardi|first=Kate Stone|date=July 28, 1996|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=January 5, 2019|archive-date=January 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105094409/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/28/nyregion/lost-and-found-on-metro-north.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="MTA-CPOC-Nov2018">{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/181113_0830_MNR.pdf|title=Metro-North Railroad Committee Meeting November 2018|date=November 13, 2018|access-date=November 10, 2018|pages=73–74|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|archive-date=November 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111133558/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/pdf/181113_0830_MNR.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="MTA-GCT">{{cite web|title=Grand Central Terminal|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|url=http://as0.mta.info/mnr/stations/station_detail.cfm?key=1|access-date=February 24, 2019|archive-date=December 6, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031206050541/http://as0.mta.info/mnr/stations/station_detail.cfm?key=1|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="MTA-MNRR-Jan2018">{{cite web|title=Metro-North Railroad Committee Meeting|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|page=108|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/archive/180122_0830_MNR.pdf|date=January 22, 2018|access-date=February 14, 2019|archive-date=February 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190215050350/http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/archive/180122_0830_MNR.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Mann 2012">{{cite web |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444358804578018833529575630 |title=Station Will Restore 'Kissing Room' |url-access=subscription |last=Mann |first=Ted |author-link=Ted Mann (journalist) |date=September 26, 2012 |website=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=December 15, 2018 |archive-date=February 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207125346/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444358804578018833529575630}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
<ref name="McManus 1937">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1937/05/09/archives/big-doings-at-the-depot.html|title=Big Doings at the Depot|last=McManus|first=John T|date=May 9, 1937|access-date=January 14, 2019|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|archive-date=December 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220232641/https://www.nytimes.com/1937/05/09/archives/big-doings-at-the-depot.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Moser 2012">{{cite web|last=Moser|first=Emily|title=A visit to the secret library inside Grand Central Terminal|work=I Ride the Harlem Line|url=http://www.iridetheharlemline.com/2012/11/30/a-visit-to-the-secret-library-inside-grand-central-terminal/|date=November 30, 2012|access-date=January 29, 2020|archive-date=January 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130004839/http://www.iridetheharlemline.com/2012/11/30/a-visit-to-the-secret-library-inside-grand-central-terminal/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Oscar">{{cite news|url=http://web.mta.info/mnr/MilePosts/190801/aug19milepost.html|title=Oscar Ready Digs at GCT!|date=August 2019|work=Mileposts|access-date=September 5, 2019|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819133923/https://web.mta.info/mnr/MilePosts/190801/aug19milepost.html|archive-date=August 19, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="PS1931">{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DygDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA135|title=Exploring New York's Real Underworld|magazine=Popular Science Monthly|date=November 1931|page=135|access-date=February 13, 2021|archive-date=May 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514082050/https://books.google.com/books?id=DygDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA135|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="RA1910 p. 620">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kg_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA620|title=Railway Age and Railway Review|publisher=Simmons-Boardman Publishing Company|year=1910|page=620|access-date=January 6, 2019|issue=v. 49}}</ref>
<ref name="Restore">{{cite web|url=https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/about/city-planning-history/grand_central_subdistrict.pdf|title=Grand Central Subdistrict|date=November 1991|publisher=Department of City Planning, New York City|access-date=December 14, 2018|archive-date=October 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018130905/https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/about/city-planning-history/grand_central_subdistrict.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Ritz">{{cite news|url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/12-things-you-didnt-know-about-grand-central-terminal|title=12 things you didn't know about Grand Central Terminal|last=Chaudhury|first=Nadia|date=January 27, 2013|newspaper=Time Out New York|access-date=December 6, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="Roberts">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/20/nyregion/the-birth-of-grand-central-terminal-100-years-later.html?pagewanted=all|title=100 Years of Grandeur: The Birth of Grand Central Terminal|last=Roberts|first=Sam|date=January 18, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 14, 2018|ref=none}}</ref>
<ref name="Roberts2013">{{harvnb|ps=.|Roberts|2013}}</ref>
<ref name="Santora 2002">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/20/nyregion/teeth-missing-try-lost-found-grand-central-even-dentures-have-been-reclaimed.html|title=Teeth Missing? Try Lost and Found; At Grand Central, Even Dentures Have Been Reclaimed|last=Santora|first=Marc|date=August 20, 2002|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=January 5, 2019}}</ref>
<ref name="Shorter">{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DEEDA1531F933A25753C1A96F958260|title=The View From/Manhattan; A Shorter Commute|last=Ames|first=Lynn|date=October 10, 1999|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 16, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="Sulzberger 2009">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/nyregion/29bulbs.html|title=Lighting at Grand Central Goes Green With Fluorescent Bulbs|last=Sulzberger|first=A. G.|date=April 29, 2009|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 28, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="Susman">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-grand-central-20130612-dto-htmlstory.html|title=At 100, Grand Central still holds secrets|last=Susman|first=Tina|date=June 13, 2013|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=December 6, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="WPJournalNews-NoLight-1999">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26062068/no_light_yet_at_end_of_tunnel/|title=No light yet at end of tunnel|date=January 18, 1999|work=The Journal News|access-date=December 6, 2018|location=White Plains, NY|page=9|via=newspapers.com}}</ref>
<ref name="Wolters 1937">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26928240/|title=News of Radio|last=Wolters|first=Larry|date=August 24, 1937|work=Chicago Daily Tribune|access-date=January 6, 2019|page=9|via=newspapers.com}}</ref>
<ref name="clocks">{{cite news|last=Barron|first=James|title=A Clock Moves in Grand Central, and Memories Stir|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|url=https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/a-clock-moves-in-grand-central-and-memories-stir/|date=March 25, 2011|access-date=February 7, 2019}}</ref>
<ref name="directory">{{cite web|url=https://www.grandcentralterminal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DirectoryMap.pdf|title=Grand Central Directory|date=April 2018|website=Grand Central Terminal|access-date=March 30, 2020|archive-date=August 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812132323/https://www.grandcentralterminal.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DirectoryMap.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="latimes 19851124">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-11-24-mn-1626-story.html|title=One Place Really Is as Busy as Grand Central Station: The Cliche Has the New York Terminal's Name Wrong, but Its Character Just Right|date=November 24, 1985|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=July 26, 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="learn">{{cite news|url=https://www.lohud.com/story/news/transit/2018/08/08/learn-more-grand-central-terminals-hidden-gems/915089002/|title=Secrets of Grand Central Terminal: missing decorations, hidden staircases and a tiny acorn|last=Ferguson|first=Colleen|date=August 8, 2018|newspaper=The Journal News|access-date=December 19, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="mnrmap">{{cite web|title=MNR Map|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|url=http://web.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm|access-date=February 2, 2019}}</ref>
<ref name="nycl2">{{harvnb|ps=.|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1980}}</ref>
<ref name="nydn19980930">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26076040/a_grander_central/|title=A Grander Central|last=George|first=Tara|date=September 30, 1998|work=New York Daily News |issn=2692-1251|access-date=December 6, 2018|page=455|via=newspapers.com}}</ref>
<ref name="nydn20090319">{{cite news |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/money/donald-trump-bounced-grand-central-tennis-deal-article-1.360825 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103041518/https://www.nydailynews.com/news/money/donald-trump-bounced-grand-central-tennis-deal-article-1.360825 |archive-date=November 3, 2012 |title=Donald Trump Bounced off Grand Central Tennis Deal |last=Sherman |first=William |date=March 19, 2009 |newspaper=Daily News |access-date=October 7, 2020}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt19001018">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1900/10/18/archives/news-of-the-railroads-new-waiting-room-at-the-grand-central-station.html|title=News of the Railroads – New Waiting Room at the Grand Central Station Opens To-day. Appointments Are Up to Date and Improvements of a Modern Type – Some Novel Ideas.|date=October 18, 1900|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 6, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt19041028">{{cite news|title=Our Subway Open, 150,000 Try It|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/10/28/118948832.pdf|date=October 28, 1904|access-date=February 14, 2019}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt19041224">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/12/24/archives/plans-submitted-for-great-grand-central-station-itself-to-spread.html|title=Plans Submitted for Great Grand Central – Station Itself to Spread Out with Double-Deck Tracks – Terminal To Use 19 Blocks – Express and Local Traffic Separated – A Monster Concourse – Forty-three Tracks and Wide Platforms|date=December 24, 1904|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 6, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt19100626">{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1910/06/26/104941894.pdf|title=Wonders Grow Near New Grand Central – Work Will Cost $180,000,000 and a New Park Avenue Will Rise to the North|date=June 26, 1910|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=February 2, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt19120512">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1912/05/12/archives/article-13-no-title.html|title=New Grand Central Station and Stern's Store Important Factors in 42d Street's Development|date=May 12, 1912|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 24, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt19130202-1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/02/02/archives/with-the-surrounding-buildings-it-covers-an-area-of-thirty-city.html|title=With the Surrounding Buildings It Covers an Area of Thirty City Blocks – Can Accommodate 100,000,000 People a Year.|date=February 2, 1913|work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 20, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt19130202-2">{{Cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/svc/tmach/v1/refer?pdf=true&res=9D04EEDD133BE633A25751C0A9649C946296D6CF|title=Modern Terminal Supplies Patrons with Home Comforts|date=February 2, 1913|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=February 2, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt19150622">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/06/22/archives/steinway-tunnel-will-open-today-officials-will-attend-ceremony-in.html|title=Steinway Tunnel Will Open Today; Officials Will Attend Ceremony in the Long Island City Station at 11 A.M. First Public Train At Noon Public Service Commission Renames the Under-River Route the Queensboro Subway.|date=June 22, 1915|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=April 14, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt19280902">{{cite news|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/09/02/105202500.pdf|title=New Viaduct Thoroughfare Relieves Park Avenue Traffic Congestion; Result of Many Years' Work.|date=September 2, 1928|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 7, 2018|page=Real Estate, Page 123}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt19300914">{{cite news | title=Grand Central Zone Boasts many Connected Buildings – Pedestrians May Walk Underground for Blocks With out Ever Coming Into Contact With Street Traffic Thousands Use Passages. Reducing Vibration. | website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331  | date=September 14, 1930 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1930/09/14/archives/grand-central-zone-boasts-many-connected-buildings-pedestrians-may.html | access-date=January 10, 2019}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt19670113">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/01/13/archives/grand-central-billboard-going-electric-blackboard-reports-on-train.html|title=Grand Central Billboard Going Electric; Blackboard Reports on Train Arrivals to Be Replaced Pushbutton System Will Be Installed in Two Weeks|last=Devlin|first=John C.|date=January 13, 1967|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=January 5, 2019}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt19940417">{{cite news|last=Hecker|first=Don R.|title=A Hidden Wealth of Railroad History|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/17/nyregion/neighborhood-report-midtown-a-hidden-wealth-of-railroad-history.html|date=April 17, 1994|access-date=January 29, 2020}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt19950129">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/29/realestate/grand-central-makeover-is-readied.html|title=Grand Central Makeover Is Readied|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|date=January 29, 1995|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=February 11, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt19980621">{{cite news|title=Grand Central Terminal; How a Rail Complex Chugged Into the 20th Century|first=Christopher|last=Gray|author-link=Christopher Gray (architectural historian)|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/21/realestate/streetscapes-grand-central-terminal-rail-complex-chugged-into-20th-century.html|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|date=June 21, 1998|access-date=July 4, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt19980802">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/02/nyregion/grand-central-reborn-as-a-mall-terminal-becomes-gateway-to-shops-and-restaurants.html|title=Grand Central, Reborn as a Mall; Terminal Becomes Gateway to Shops and Restaurants|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|author-link=David W. Dunlap|date=August 2, 1998|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=November 20, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt20081120">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/nyregion/20thennow.html|title=Space Without Ads Makes Its Own Statement at Grand Central|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|author-link=David W. Dunlap|date=November 20, 2008|website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 8, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt20150716">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/16/nyregion/an-oasis-of-tranquility-in-grand-central-terminal.html|title=An Oasis of Tranquility, in Grand Central Terminal|date=July 16, 2015|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 8, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt20160407">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/07/nyregion/nordic-food-court-rises-at-grand-central-with-an-order-to-leave-no-trace.html|title=Nordic Food Court Rises at Grand Central, With an Order to Leave No Trace|last=Dunlap|first=David W.|author-link=David W. Dunlap|date=April 6, 2016|newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 14, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="ridership">{{cite web|url=http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/docs/2017%20MNR%20Ridership%20Appendix.pdf|title=2017 MNR Ridership Appendix|page=9|website=mta.info|publisher=Metropolitan Transportation Authority|date=April 23, 2018|access-date=November 24, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="submap">{{NYCS const|map}}</ref>
<ref name="tourists">{{cite web|last=Warerkar|first=Tanay|title=The ultimate guide to Grand Central Terminal|work=Curbed|url=https://ny.curbed.com/2018/12/13/18123971/grand-central-station-nyc-map-hotels-address|date=December 13, 2018|access-date=March 20, 2020}}</ref>
<ref name="untapped 20130313">{{cite web|url=http://untappedcities.com/2013/03/13/top-10-secrets-of-grand-central-terminal/|title=The Top 10 Secrets of Grand Central Terminal|work=Untapped Cities|date=June 23, 2021}}</ref>
<ref name="usps">{{cite web|url=https://tools.usps.com/go/POLocatorDetailsAction!input.action?locationTypeQ=all&address=10017-9998&radius=20&locationType=po&locationID=1365295|title=Location Details|website=USPS.com|access-date=December 21, 2018}}</ref>
<ref name="wsj20101123">{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703559504575631013495344680|title=A Tennis Court That Will Cost $210 an Hour|last=Rubinstein|first=Dana|date=November 23, 2010|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=July 4, 2011}}</ref>

<ref name="Fitch Waite p. 3">{{harvnb|ps=.|Fitch|Waite|1974|p=3}}</ref>
<ref name="Fitch Waite p. 4">{{harvnb|ps=.|Fitch|Waite|1974|p=4}}</ref>
<ref name="Fitch Waite p. 5">{{harvnb|ps=.|Fitch|Waite|1974|p=5}}</ref>
<ref name="Fitch Waite p. 6">{{harvnb|ps=.|Fitch|Waite|1974|p=6}}</ref>
<ref name="Langmead p. 165">{{harvnb|ps=.|Langmead|2009|pp=165–166}}</ref>
<ref name="Langmead p. 167">{{harvnb|ps=.|Langmead|2009|p=167}}</ref>
<ref name="Langmead p. 168">{{harvnb|ps=.|Langmead|2009|p=168}}</ref>
<ref name="Langmead p. 169">{{harvnb|ps=.|Langmead|2009|p=169}}</ref>
<ref name="Langmead p. 170">{{harvnb|ps=.|Langmead|2009|p=170}}</ref>
<ref name="Langmead p. 171">{{harvnb|ps=.|Langmead|2009|p=171}}</ref>
<ref name="Langmead p. 174">{{harvnb|ps=.|Langmead|2009|p=174}}</ref>
<ref name="Langmead p. 175">{{harvnb|ps=.|Langmead|2009|p=175}}</ref>
<ref name="Langmead p. 176">{{harvnb|ps=.|Langmead|2009|p=176}}</ref>
<ref name="NYCL p. 2">{{harvnb|ps=.|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1980|p=2}}</ref>
<ref name="NYCL p. 4">{{harvnb|ps=.|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1980|p=4}}</ref>
<ref name="NYCL p. 5">{{harvnb|ps=.|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1980|p=5}}</ref>
<ref name="NYCL p. 7">{{harvnb|ps=.|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1980|p=7}}</ref>
<ref name="NYCRR p. 12">{{harvnb|ps=.|New York Central|1912|p=12}}</ref>
<ref name="NYCRR p. 4">{{harvnb|ps=.|New York Central|1912|p=4}}</ref>
<ref name="Roberts p. 72">{{harvnb|ps=.|Roberts|2013|p=72}}</ref>
<ref name="Roberts p. 89; BD p. 2">{{harvnb|Roberts|2013|p=89}}; {{harvnb|ps=.|Bilotto|DiLorenzo|2017|p=2}}</ref>

<!-- <ref name="RN p. 50">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=50}}</ref> -->

<ref name="RN p. 6">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=6}}</ref>
<ref name="RN p. 66">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=66}}</ref>
<ref name="RN p. 84">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=84}}</ref>
<ref name="RN p. 89">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=89}}</ref>
<ref name="RN p. 93">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=93}}</ref>
<ref name="RN p. 96">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=96}}</ref>
<ref name="RN p. 100">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=100}}</ref>
<ref name="RN p. 103">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=103}}</ref>
<!-- <ref name="RN pp. 106-107">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|pp=106–107}}</ref> -->
<ref name="RN p. 111">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=111}}</ref>
<ref name="RN p. 128">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=128}}</ref>
<ref name="RN pp. 131-132">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|pp=131–132}}</ref>
<ref name="RN p. 136">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=136}}</ref>
<ref name="RN p. 138">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=138}}</ref>
<ref name="RN p. 143">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=143}}</ref>
<ref name="RN p. 150">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=150}}</ref>
<ref name="RN p. 157">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=157}}</ref>
<ref name="RN p. 164">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=164}}</ref>
<ref name="RN p. 174">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|p=174}}</ref>
<ref name="RN pp. 177-178">{{harvnb|ps=.|Robins|New York Transit Museum|2013|pp=177–178}}</ref>
<ref name="Schlichting pp. 8-9">{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|pp=8–9}}</ref>
<ref name="Schlichting p. 50">{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|p=50}}</ref>

<!-- <ref name="Schlichting pp. 51-54">{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|pp=51–54}}</ref> -->

<ref name="Schlichting pp. 55-56">{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|pp=55–56}}</ref>
<ref name="Schlichting pp. 60-62">{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|pp=60–62}}</ref>
<ref name="Schlichting pp. 62-63">{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|pp=62–63}}</ref>

<!-- <ref name="Schlichting p. 67">{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|p=67}}</ref> -->

<ref name="Schlichting p. 80">{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|p=80}}</ref>
<ref name="Schlichting pp. 106-107">{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|pp=106–107}}</ref>
<ref name="Schlichting pp. 121-122">{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|pp=121–122}}</ref>
<ref name="Schlichting pp. 126-127">{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|pp=126–127}}</ref>
<ref name="Schlichting p. 124">{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|p=124}}</ref>
<ref name="Schlichting p. 125">{{harvnb|ps=.|Schlichting|2001|p=125}}</ref>
<!-- <ref name="Schlichting p. 161">{{harvnb|Schlichting|2001|ps=.|p=161}}</ref> -->
<ref name="Schlichting p. 162">{{harvnb|Schlichting|2001|ps=.|pp=162–163}}</ref>
<ref name="Bilotto pp. 8-9">{{harvnb|ps=.|Bilotto|DiLorenzo|2017|pp=8–9}}</ref>
}}

=== General references ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Belle |first1=John |last2=Leighton |first2=Maxinne Rhea |title=Grand Central: Gateway to a Million Lives |publisher=Norton |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-393-04765-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/grandcentralgate0000bell}}
* {{cite book |first1=Gregory |last1=Bilotto |first2=Frank |last2=DiLorenzo |title=Building Grand Central Terminal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P1C1DgAAQBAJ |year=2017 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing Incorporated |isbn=978-1-4396-6051-5}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/grandcentralterm00fitc |title=Grand Central Terminal and Rockefeller Center: A Historic-critical Estimate of Their Significance |last1=Fitch |first1=James Marston |last2=Waite |first2=Diana S. |date=1974 |publisher=The Division |location=Albany, New York |language=en}}
* {{cite book |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015038162999 |title=Grand Central Terminal of the New York Central Lines |date=c. 1912 |publisher=New York Central Lines |ref={{harvid|New York Central|1912}}}}
* {{cite web |title=Grand Central Terminal |publisher=Landmarks Preservation Commission |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/0266.pdf |date=August 2, 1967}}
* {{cite web |title=Grand Central Terminal Interior |publisher=Landmarks Preservation Commission |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1099.pdf |date=September 23, 1980 |ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|1980}}}}
* {{cite book |last=Langmead |first=Donald |title=Icons of American Architecture: From the Alamo to the World Trade Center |publisher=Greenwood Press |series=Greenwood Icons |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-313-34207-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OTh8b2cyGBcC&pg=PA179}}
* {{cite book |first=Sam |last=Roberts |title=Grand Central: How a Train Station Transformed America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DgYvB8G9higC |date=January 22, 2013 |publisher=Grand Central Publishing |isbn=978-1-4555-2595-9}}
* {{cite book |last1=Robins |first1=Anthony W. |last2=New York Transit Museum |title=Grand Central Terminal: 100 Years of a New York Landmark |publisher=ABRAMS |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-61312-387-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GnKxDQAAQBAJ&pg=PT98}}
* {{cite book |last=Schlichting |first=Kurt C. |author-link=Kurt C. Schlichting |title=Grand Central Terminal: Railroads, Architecture and Engineering in New York |year=2001 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore |isbn=978-0-8018-6510-7}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite fednyc}}
* {{cite book |last1=Fried |first1=Frederick |last2=Gillon |first2=Edmund Vincent Jr. |title=New York Civic Sculpture: A Pictorial Guide |url=https://archive.org/details/newyorkcivicscul0000frie |url-access=registration |year=1976 |publisher=Dover Publications |location=New York |isbn=978-0-486-23258-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Middleton |first=William D. |author-link=William D. Middleton |title=Grand Central, the World's Greatest Railway Terminal |year=1999 |publisher=Golden West Books |location=San Marino |oclc=49014602}}
* {{cite book |last1=O'Hara |first1=Frank |last2=Allen |first2=Donald |title=The Collected Poems of Frank O'Hara |year=1995 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |page=168 |isbn=978-0-520-20166-8}}
* {{cite book |last1=Reed |first1=Henry Hope |last2=Gillon |first2=Edmund Vincent Jr. |title=Beaux-Arts Architecture in New York: A Photographic Guide |year=1988 |publisher=Dover Publications |location=New York |isbn=978-0-486-25698-6}}
* {{cite New York 1900}}
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Grand_Central_Terminal.ogg|date=November 23, 2019}}

{{external media|width=220px|float=right
| video1 = {{YouTube|_b4XQUE_u8o|"Every Detail of Grand Central Terminal Explained"}}, ''[[Architectural Digest]]'', 2018
| video2 = {{YouTube|6Iz1AD6xuB4|"Train Station Tour: Grand Central Terminal"}}, The Transport Net, 2016
| video3 = {{YouTube|GhAQR7sZs8Y|"Grand Central Terminal LED Stars"}}, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 2010
}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Grand Central Terminal}}
* {{official website}}
* {{MNR links|Grand Central Terminal}}

{{Grand Central Terminal}}
{{Midtown North, Manhattan}}
{{Midtown South, Manhattan}}
<!--Commenting this banner shell out as it causes the page to exceed the [[Wikipedia:Post-expand include size]].--><!--{{navboxes|list=-->
{{Park Avenue}}
{{MNRR stations navbox}}
{{Amtrak New York stations}}
{{NYC terminals}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in New York}}
{{NYC Main Line stations}}{{Portal bar|Architecture|Engineering|History|National Register of Historic Places|New York City|Trains}}<!--Commenting this banner shell out as it causes the page to exceed the [[Wikipedia:Post-expand include size]].--><!--}}-->
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Grand Central Terminal| ]]
[[Category:1871 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:1900s architecture in the United States]]
[[Category:1913 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:42nd Street (Manhattan)]]
[[Category:Beaux-Arts architecture in New York City]]
[[Category:Former Amtrak stations in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Former New York Central Railroad stations]]
[[Category:Former New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad stations]]
[[Category:Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks]]
[[Category:Metro-North Railroad stations in New York City]]
[[Category:Midtown Manhattan]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Manhattan]]
[[Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan]]
[[Category:New York City interior landmarks]]
[[Category:New York State Register of Historic Places in New York County]]
[[Category:Park Avenue]]
[[Category:Railroad terminals in New York City]]
[[Category:Railroad-related National Historic Landmarks]]
[[Category:Railway and subway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1871]]
[[Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1913]]
[[Category:Railway stations located underground in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Reed and Stem buildings]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Union stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Warren and Wetmore buildings]]