Editing Grand Central Terminal (section)

==== 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" />