Panorama of the Week: Grand Central Terminal, New York
Filed Under: One part transportation hub, another part monument to the human experiment, Grand Central Terminal is said to be number six on the world’s most visited places list with 21,600,000 visitors each year.
Hitler sent spies to sabotage it, Croatian nationalists attempted to bomb it and visions of the future once conspired to demolish it. (I ache just thinking about that last bit. In a rush to the future, be careful what you replace and how you replace it. I’m thinking Penn Station here.)
But Grand Central Terminal (Grand Central Station or Grand Central, if you like) still stands in all its breathtaking grandeur and beautiful energy. If you look at the faces and listen to the voices long enough, you’re likely to feel as if you’ve just seen the whole of the world go by.
Open the panorama to a look for yourself. Be sure to look up, find the fashion model, and feel the space.
Panorama: Grand Central Station – New York, New York
For best panorama viewing results, press fullscreen (four arrows) and navigate around with your mouse.
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January 27th, 2012 at 11:36 am
Beautiful. Thanks for sharing! I wonder if that model knows there is another angle of that same shot she was posing for…
January 27th, 2012 at 1:22 pm
@John: That poor model. I’m sure models are accustomed to it, but she was being photographed from every angle possible, not only by the professional photographers but also by shutter happy passers-by like us.
This shot probably gives a better idea of the model and the scene:
http://www.uncorneredmarket.com/photos/picture/6720175429/
January 27th, 2012 at 11:55 pm
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January 28th, 2012 at 9:30 am
Hi Daniel,
Yes, it’s lovely. Been there.
NY folks did, however, demolish the Late, Great Penn Station, in the 60′s. If you read up on that gorgeous building — based on a Roman cathedral – you’ll get heartsick. They spent two years demolishing America’s most beautiful building – made of travertine marble from Rome and pink granite from a town near me, Milford, Mass – carting the sculpted angels that sat on the roof to a dump in NJ.
5 or 6 architects picketed outside alone because no one else walking by understood what they were losing. One good thing came out of it – it started the Historic Preservation movement.
G.
January 29th, 2012 at 11:46 am
@Giulietta: Yes, Penn Station. I was aware it was demolished, but didn’t realize the extent of the tragedy. And look what they replaced it with! Not to mention, the inside of Penn Station serves as some of the worst example of neglected public space that seems to be plaguing the U.S. these days.
True, the silver lining to the cloud — the historic preservation movement. It strikes me as odd that it has to be such a fight to preserve beautiful buildings that so much effort, art and resources went into creating.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment and for the (sad) details of the demise of old Penn Station.
February 1st, 2012 at 12:51 am
This is great. Did you make this? Oh, and love the model too!
February 1st, 2012 at 4:15 am
@Cal: Like all the panoramas (and photography and writing, too) on this site, the Grand Central panorama is our handiwork.
February 22nd, 2012 at 3:06 am
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