When Grand Central Terminal opened in 1913, it immediately became one of the most beautiful and recognizable Manhattan landmarks, and to celebrate its centennial, Sam Roberts of The New York Times looks back at Grand Central's conception, history, and the cultural effects the station has had on busy commuters and tourists. His book Grand Central: How a Train Station Transformed America looks at the way the station spurred suburban expansion and fostered the nation's westward movement via the railroad.
Guests:
Sam Roberts
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Comments [5]
The opening of 'Touch the Sound' in which Evelyn Glennie snare drums her way through 'Prim' under the GCT rotunda!
Worth some consideration: The grafting on of the Pan Am building (which, by the way, doesn't and can't have ground floor elevators) at the north end of the terminal, and the density that builing added to the area. Now the Bloomberg administartion wants to hurriedly push through a zoning change to almost double the density of the surrounding neighborhood. For more on this see Noticing New york's: October 1963, An Historical Snapshot: Ada Louise Huxtable, Jane Jacobs, Robert Moses, Cars, Density, Bulldozers, Preservation (Tuesday, January 22, 2013).
http://noticingnewyork.blogspot.com/2013/01/october-1963-historical-snapshot-ada.html
they just don't build em like that any more. What can he tell us about the beautiful ceiling of GCT?
Hi Sam, congratulations on the great Grand Central book.
Question: Was the location of GCT always going to where it ended up? I could only imagine if had ended up in a more centralized location. Central park? Downton Brooklyn?
Question: Why isn't there any passenger rail service from GCT anymore? Besides the obvious demand etc. It would be great if you could catch the Vermonter from there...
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