This Day in History

 

On this day in 1913, Grand Central Terminal opened in New York City.

Construction began in 1903 on the site of an older stream train station built in 1879.

Planning began with engineer William Wilgus and railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt.  It was designed and built by Reed & Stem, whose firm has worked on more than 100 stations, including King Street Station in Seattle.

Despite initial success, disrepair led to calls for tearing it down by 1945.  The famed green ceiling had been blackened by cigarette smoke, but the destruction of Penn Station in 1963 sparked a movement to preserve older buildings.

It wasn't until 1975 that many New Yorkers, including Jackie Kennedy Onassis, formed the Committee to Save Grand Central.  A $100M restoration project began in 1980.

We were able to visit the station on our trip in 2013, and we were later told about the whispering gallery.

These arches create the perfect acoustics for corner to corner whispering, which can be heard even over the hum of the crowds.  The tilework is known as "Gustavino" tiles, for the patented materials and methods of Rafael Gustavino.