Grand Central Terminal

Grand Central Terminal, at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown, is the finest Beaux-Arts interior in New York and one of the most beautiful public spaces in America. The main concourse, 47 metres high, lit by three arched windows and the teal ceiling painted with the winter constellations, is extraordinary at any time of day — but particularly in the morning when shafts of light cut through the dust from the high windows.

Grand Central is a functioning station (Metro-North commuter rail) and a public market, with dozens of food stalls in the lower level concourse and the famous Oyster Bar serving excellent seafood at basement level since 1913. Walk through it slowly and look up. Take the ramp from the main concourse to the lower level, designed to eliminate the noise of feet on stairs. The Whispering Gallery at the bottom of the ramp (a curved dome where sound travels from corner to corner) is worth finding.

things to do sight architecture midtown
A story
The ceiling of Grand Central's main concourse is painted with the constellations of the winter sky — but painted in reverse, the mirror image of what you'd see looking up from earth. The architects explained that the ceiling depicts the medieval view of the sky: looking down at the constellations from outside the celestial sphere. Art historians point out that this is probably a medieval tradition that was simply continued, not an intentional statement. Either way, Orion's belt runs the wrong way.