Editing Grand Central Terminal (section)

== 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>