Archtober Hosts a Tour Through the Wonders of Grand Central Terminal
Untapped New York, an organization dedicated to uncovering New York City’s structural gems, regularly hosts a walking tour through Grand Central Terminal called The Secrets of Grand Central tour. For a small fee, tour goers spend an hour and a half exploring Grand Central while gaining insider facts about the Terminal unknown to most people.
“[Grand Central Terminal]’s an iconic place. It’s integral to New York City,” said Beth Goff, an Untapped New York tour guide. “It’s super interesting I think, and there’s all sorts of secret, cool things about this place that even New Yorkers don’t know.”
Grand Central is in itself a living museum. Typically and incorrectly known as Grand Central Station, the Terminal itself was fully built in 1913 by Whitney Warren, an American Beaux- Arts architect who used Beaux-Arts Classicism to craft his work.
Statues of Roman deities Minerva, Hercules and Mercury lounge on the roof of it’s main entrance and most exits originally leading out onto Broadway. Legend states that the Terminal houses an abandoned underground track, only used by President Roosevelt to discreetly transport himself from the Waldorf Astoria to the Terminal.
The “T” in the GCT’s logo even contains a hidden symbol. When flipped upside down, it resembles an anchor in tribute to Cornelius Vanderbilt who was a wealthy American businessman who thrived in the railroad business during the 1800’s. Various acorn-like shaped furniture or sculptures are also spread throughout the Terminal, in remembrance of the Vanderbilt family motto: “Great oaks from little acorns grow.”
“It’s a connection to the City’s past, which I think is really important,” said Goff. “We really want to keep people connected to the city as it was, when new things are [now] going up and they have, really, no soul.”.
It rapidly evolved into a bustling hub for commuters servicing the MTA Metro-North Railroad and the 4, 5, 6, 7, and S subway lines. About 750,000 people cross through it’s halls daily. According to Grand Central Terminal’s main website, it is one of the “most visited destinations in New York City, second only to Times Square.”
The GCT is merely one piece of New York City’s arsenal of architectural treasures. The concrete reef of skyscrapers, museums, and apartment edifices crammed between the five boroughs of the City are rife with largely unexplored historical narratives and modern significance.
Untapped New York regularly features other tours such as visits to Ellis Island’s abandoned hospital and discovering the ruins of Dutch New Amsterdam.
More information on their operations can be found on their website untappedcities.com.
Photos courtesy of Alicia Lenea:
