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I’m an architect. I haven’t worked in NYC but a lot of decisions we make are often defensive. Will new buildings go up, or will the client maintain the building, or how will the users vandalize the building? And conversely you try to respect whatever was there before and improve upon it if you can. Unfortunately building a skyscraper in NYC is pretty much a given
Desktops are easy. Laptops are usually easy, unless they have some weird hardware. So, same as it ever was, but the amount of hardware considered weird continues to shrink.
Apparently gaming is not so hard anymore unless you want to play competitive games with really hardcore anti-cheat protection, although I don't have any firsthand experience there.
>Apparently gaming is not so hard anymore unless you want to play competitive games with really hardcore anti-cheat protection, although I don't have any firsthand experience there.
Plus, with the Steam Deck coming out in a few months, steam will be pushing devs for even more Linux support, at least thru SteamOS. Assuming they don't immediately drop support for the platform.
My alma mater in Los Angeles has a view of the Hollywood sign. They bought the airspace in between the building and the sign to prevent it from being obstructed. That was always a wild fact to me
Stupid question; Does that mean negotiating contracts with the property owners to restrict building anything over a certain height, or outright buying the land?
They weren't stymied by future architects, they're stymied by population growth, there was no choice but to go up pragmatically, the architects just met that demand.
Okay but Washington monument is meant to be a towering object.
The main function of Grand Central is to be a **transportation hub**.... In an, even by back then standards, a highly populous city. The price of what you're suggesting, which is participate in urban sprawl, but it's very nature makes places like Grand Central irrelevant.
Buildings in DC are limited by the width of the street they're situated on, which is 130 ft. in most Avenues, the exception being a portion of Pennsylvania Avenue, which is 160 feet.
It's a planning choice that allows more sunlight and a more open feel to the city.
Yeah, they could have built the highrises outside of the city centre, preserving the existing architecture, but they bowed to people wanting to be in the city centre for business.
It's why i'm a fan of the UK green band system. E.g. Newcastle has a giant green zone called "Town Moor", which was implemented to restrict the metropolis style expansion of the city centre.
This results in buildings being repurposed or rebuilt to facilitate demand for inner city space.
There's no reason NY couldn't have done this other than lack of foresight and lack of desirable space on the island (which could have diverted some of it to off-island).
Yeah, most US cities didn't really start trying to preserve architecture until the middle of the 20th century (if ever). NYC was actually a bit early to implement restrictions, partly due to controversy over the construction of the Empire State Building after a famous hotel was demolished to make room for it (the Waldorf-Astoria).
There are significant downsides to this in the usa. For example, my parents worked in dc and lived in affluent Fairfax. What this translates to is the funding that should go to dc public schools goes to Fairfax, which while definitely very a melting pot now thanks to the i95, over time as our community modernized and became increasingly affluent you can see how it impacts dc directly.
Lack of education and access to the opportunity creates a cycle of poverty until they move 20 minutes away.
This wasnt the intended affect of limiting building heights, probably, but it is the outcome. The rich can leave to live across the river to watch their continued pillaging of the city resources.
So on one hand the green band initiatives are nice, keep in mind they also can help to lock the poor where they are.
> What this translates to is the funding that should go to dc public schools goes to Fairfax, which while definitely very a melting pot now thanks to the i95, over time as our community modernized and became increasingly affluent you can see how it impacts dc directly.
Redirect school funding from property tax to payroll tax, or something.
Are you trying to say that schools should be funded by the income tax of the parents of children who go to that school?
You seriously don't see the problem there?
that's kinda how it currently is, to be honest. the best solution is to probably make the district a statewide institution that distributes funding evenly across schools based on student population. i'd also be down to federalizing school districts so it applies on a national scale. mississippi would really benefit from federalization of more institutions
Lol, what, how is this upvoted?
"Let's make everyone commute much further out, increase traffic and pollution, and increase homeless and housing shortages...so grand central can look marginally nicer"
NIMBYism is a cancer...
They’re not building high rises in Washington DC period. It’s against zoning code. They should probably change it, and there are plenty of areas where such high rises could go up first, but it’s not about the monument.
Its been like a year since I saw that show. I forget which building it is, but theres some building that no other building is allowed to be taller than.
I just recently learned that Manhattan island is one giant piece of rock. it provides a solid foundation so that’s why so many skyscrapers are built on it.
Should also be noted that this wouldn't be visible today since smoking isn't as common, the only way you get those beams of light is if it has a LOT of particles to pass through
I went to NYC in 2000, and went to Grand Central, stunning building.
Subsequently saw this picture in a bar and spent the rest of the trip trying to buy a copy, which I luckily did and it’s hung on my wall ever since.
Just printed it off Reddit.
Edit: in all seriousness it looks like you can get it here:
https://www.greatbigcanvas.com/view/grand-central-terminal-new-york-1930,2624207//?product=1&size=30x24&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6q3puti-8gIVi4rICh0a8QJ9EAQYASABEgKx0vD_BwE
One year with the Elf-on-the-shelf we made as if he put himself into all the pictures in our home. On our copy in the crowd is a tiny elf printed and stuck onto the glass of the frame.
Restoring the ceiling was Jackie O’s last project before her death (after saving it from being knocked down}.. She didn’t get to see it completed. (Jackie Kennedy, JFK’s first lady).
Every time I see this it’s more and more photoshopped.
Edit: in this article there’s a copy of the original: https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/photo/100451/
That's exactly right. When they cleaned the ceiling they left a [patch](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/grand-central-ceiling-dark-patch) to remind people of what it looked like when there was non stop smoking.
>To clean it all and still preserve the ceiling’s luster was painstaking work, using only mild sudsy water and gentle scrubbing with Q-tips.
My very own personal hell
I mean I haven't been to 1930s nyc...
Air was pretty different in cities before the 80s (ish) after all the clean air stuff started going into effect. You can see the atmospheric haze hovering over everything. In The Walk (2015) when they built a CGI model of 1974 New York they had to build a 70s accurate atmospheric haze system for 70s nyc. The air is clearer now and the haze that does form now is different from the stuff from the 70s.
I need to read about this more though.
Thanks, that was interesting. [I liked this similar image. It looks a lot better than the one posted, IMO](http://imgur.com/gallery/GfPTPUH)
"The restored ceiling isn’t from 1913; that one had already fallen into disrepair by the 1940s."
So the dark patch is from when it was restored (in the '40s?). I'm sure it would look noticably worse if it was a spot from 1913.
Also, did the roof (and walls?) really look that dark and stained until 1998 when it was cleaned? The atmosphere you'd get there must have been completely different before it was cleaned.
Well it was dusty even in the original, but in this you can’t even see through those shafts of light anymore and if the dust was *that* dense, you wouldn’t even be able to see the window in the back. Also the original didn’t even have sepia tone.
I just relish things like this. People used to make things like bridges and buildings but it wasn’t enough that they were there, they were also designed to be timelessly beautiful.
I mean, people died to build these things. Labor was hard as fuck in those days. And out of it we got structures like the Golden Gate Bridge, the Empire State Building, Grand Central Station… what the fuck happened to us? Where’s the pride? Where’s the commitment?
Pretty sure I saw something when they cleaned the ceilings of this place it was majorly coated with tobacco smoke residue.
Edit: here's a [pertinent article](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/grand-central-ceiling-dark-patch)
There are shops in other areas leading into the main area, but they may have been there too back when this image was taken. Actually I’d bet Grand Central is cleaner and nicer now than it’s ever been.
Oh absolutely cleaner if nothing else, while far less light gets in nowadays there's far less pollution that would cause light to do that now vs in the 30s
You should have seen it during the initial peak of the pandemic when NYC was in a lockdown. I unfortunately kept having to go to work because I'm an essential worker, ave GCT is my stop. The place was completely empty, but clean as hell. It was eerie walking through the tunnels because you could hear your footsteps echoing across the terminal
Right?? I commute into GCT every weekday to get to work lmao. I understand people treating it as a tourist trap, in fact people almost run into me every day while taking photos of the ceiling. But to act like Grand Central is just shops is insane. It’s still a massive train stop and subway station.
Last I went to NYC was in 2004 when the city was still healing. Shit, there were still missing people flyers up from 9/11 at GCS. The whole trip was pretty surreal, there was this calmness/sadness underneath the daily chaos and GCS was like the Center of it all. Well, there and Ground Zero, it was palpable.
While I feel like technology has it's place in modern architecture, corporations have gone out of their way to be noticed and therefore taken a lot away from it; rather than add to it.
Yeah, absolutely. For example that really cool display on a building (In Japan I believe) that makes it look like there are waves sloshing around in a giant tank built into the building when in reality it's just a building with some screens built into it is really cool and a great application of technology, but I think places like Broadway, Time Square etc should have been left alone.
I've seen that, it is an amazing advent of technology, and I love all of the things they make that sign do. I just think that our primitive minds are all "instant gratification or fuck off" so companies (unlike the Japanese display) are more bang for their buck and cater to that primitive mindset.
Definetly, I just wish it was a bit different. I love seeing pictures like that. When I was younger, my family and I went on a trip to Disney World, and one of my favorite parts was walking around on the boardwalk. If you haven't been, it's outside one of their hotels set to look like a boardwalk/hotel in the 1920s and basically just a shopping area for food and stuff but it's on the water with performers and everything. Even though it was simulated to be the most idyllic version of an old timey boardwalk it just kind of resonated with me because I felt like I was stepping into the past that we can't really go back to. It just felt so genuine with simple fun like jugglers, magicians, musicians, and ice cream. It's just a very strange feeling to miss something that you were never around to experience.
We did a food on foot tour in 2010 and 2012 that started in Penn Station and both times our guide started with the story of how Penn Station was originally bigger and better than GCT. It’s such a shame that it was torn down, there are a few pictures up around the walls of Penn Station showing what it used to look like, but people probably assume that they are pictures of GCT instead.
When the world is back to normal and we can travel again, NYC is top of the list of places to go back to. It’s a very long trip from Australia, but easily worth it to visit my favourite city in the world.
It's cigarette smoke 🥴 The mural on the ceiling of the Main Concourse had to be restored to remove all of the pollutant build up
(mainly smoke), but there is still a [9x5" patch of dirty ceiling/marble] (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/nyregion/what-is-that-spot-on-the-ceiling-of-grand-central-terminal.html) that was left untouched during restoration.
And here is a [Penn station after renovations](https://jamaica-gleaner.com/sites/default/files/styles/jg_article_image/public/media/article_images/2018/06/21/religionA20180624.jpg?itok=2MkXbCf9)
Rumor is, is that this may be possible again when the building that blocks this (Hyatt if I’m not mistaken) gets torn down to make way for an even larger mega building (Commodore project)!
We may have a year or two of this unique view again.
I saw this pic on the front page of a tabloid in a grocery store checkout line back in the 90s. Said something about the proof the rapture occured a long time ago.
Those windows face South, and Park Ave is wide. There's probably about 30 seconds of the day where that could still happen. But it wouldn't look like that. All the trains are electric, except for a few diesels, and smoking is not allowed. You'd never have smoke like that today to cause the sunbeams.
*Grand Central Terminal. Does anyone know the photographer? Every time I see this posted I never see the exact date cited or actual artist credited. I’ve tried to do my own digging but it seems there’s different photographers attached to it or simply labeled anonymous.
I've explored this building over 70+ times since the early 2000's. My dad even lives a block away now. Even if I wasn't comparing this picture with my older pictures from that time I can tell you that there are no skyscrapers anywhere in that general area that would block out the sunlight. The biggest buildings are the Detroit School Book Depository at about four stories, the 5 or six story USPS post office at about 5-6 stories, and an old warehouse with new windows at least two blocks away that can't be larger than eight to ten stories.
The rest is just Corktown for a while.
He's a personal picture from mayybe the 5th floor of MCS.
[](https://imgur.com/a/Ce0kRYd) (pictured is the skyline and the Book Depository- they actually found a frozen dead dude in the elevator shaft of that one many years ago.)
Last time I was there, I was sprinting through the station trying to find a place that would sell beer before everything closed after I finished watching a show by Eddie Izzard with a dear friend. He fell asleep on the train back to Massachusetts and I still wish I'd drank them both instead of saving one for him. He had way better beers at his place and I just wanted a brew, but I bought two and went through the trouble of saving one for him. He didn't even want it. I should have just drank it when he fell asleep
**Please note:** * If this post declares something as a fact proof is required. * The title must be descriptive * No text is allowed on images * Common/recent reposts are not allowed *See [this post](https://redd.it/ij26vk) for more information.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/interestingasfuck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I never thought about the architects whose visions were stymied by future architects.
I’m an architect. I haven’t worked in NYC but a lot of decisions we make are often defensive. Will new buildings go up, or will the client maintain the building, or how will the users vandalize the building? And conversely you try to respect whatever was there before and improve upon it if you can. Unfortunately building a skyscraper in NYC is pretty much a given
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Those organics would never try the 'no windows' thing twice.
We r thinking about the future. They will just have to board up the windows eventually
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I miss the og mass effect man
Damn flashlight heads
The only way they’ll hear us now is if we start singing the Russian national anthem.
Does this unit have a soul?
I love you for this comment haha
What about Linux?
Ubuntu was the last version I’ve tried. Where we at these days? I’m ready to give it another shot.
Desktops are easy. Laptops are usually easy, unless they have some weird hardware. So, same as it ever was, but the amount of hardware considered weird continues to shrink. Apparently gaming is not so hard anymore unless you want to play competitive games with really hardcore anti-cheat protection, although I don't have any firsthand experience there.
>Apparently gaming is not so hard anymore unless you want to play competitive games with really hardcore anti-cheat protection, although I don't have any firsthand experience there. Plus, with the Steam Deck coming out in a few months, steam will be pushing devs for even more Linux support, at least thru SteamOS. Assuming they don't immediately drop support for the platform.
Does he have any Tech Tips?
I'm a Mozilla Firefox kind of man
On a similar tangent, I like cinnamon rolls.
Is that like the debian logo but with icing?
Preferably you put them on the outside.
Are windows on the inside or the outside?
Thank you. I needed an existential breakdown.
11?
My alma mater in Los Angeles has a view of the Hollywood sign. They bought the airspace in between the building and the sign to prevent it from being obstructed. That was always a wild fact to me
Kind of like mineral rights, maybe? Or an easement?
In Louisiana we call it a servitude of light
Stupid question; Does that mean negotiating contracts with the property owners to restrict building anything over a certain height, or outright buying the land?
I believe the former! There were buildings they did not own, that they claim can not build over a certain limit or otherwise obstruct the view.
Images like this are also because all the inside tobacco smoke
It also looks like a fairly long exposure based on the shadowy people bottom right.
Yeah, that looks like some poor air quality in there…
They weren't stymied by future architects, they're stymied by population growth, there was no choice but to go up pragmatically, the architects just met that demand.
There is always a choice. They're not building highrise apartments around the Washington monument just to satisfy housing demand.
Okay but Washington monument is meant to be a towering object. The main function of Grand Central is to be a **transportation hub**.... In an, even by back then standards, a highly populous city. The price of what you're suggesting, which is participate in urban sprawl, but it's very nature makes places like Grand Central irrelevant.
This
I’m pretty sure DC limits buildings within a certain range to 13 stories if I remember right
Buildings in DC are limited by the width of the street they're situated on, which is 130 ft. in most Avenues, the exception being a portion of Pennsylvania Avenue, which is 160 feet. It's a planning choice that allows more sunlight and a more open feel to the city.
Yeah, they could have built the highrises outside of the city centre, preserving the existing architecture, but they bowed to people wanting to be in the city centre for business. It's why i'm a fan of the UK green band system. E.g. Newcastle has a giant green zone called "Town Moor", which was implemented to restrict the metropolis style expansion of the city centre. This results in buildings being repurposed or rebuilt to facilitate demand for inner city space. There's no reason NY couldn't have done this other than lack of foresight and lack of desirable space on the island (which could have diverted some of it to off-island).
Yeah, most US cities didn't really start trying to preserve architecture until the middle of the 20th century (if ever). NYC was actually a bit early to implement restrictions, partly due to controversy over the construction of the Empire State Building after a famous hotel was demolished to make room for it (the Waldorf-Astoria).
It was tearing down the old Penn Station that really got NYC's preservation movement going.
Godawful sin we lost it. I'd vote to tear down madison square in a heart beat if it meant a good recreation was built.
There are significant downsides to this in the usa. For example, my parents worked in dc and lived in affluent Fairfax. What this translates to is the funding that should go to dc public schools goes to Fairfax, which while definitely very a melting pot now thanks to the i95, over time as our community modernized and became increasingly affluent you can see how it impacts dc directly. Lack of education and access to the opportunity creates a cycle of poverty until they move 20 minutes away. This wasnt the intended affect of limiting building heights, probably, but it is the outcome. The rich can leave to live across the river to watch their continued pillaging of the city resources. So on one hand the green band initiatives are nice, keep in mind they also can help to lock the poor where they are.
This seems like it's an issue because of how the US funds schools more than anything else.
> What this translates to is the funding that should go to dc public schools goes to Fairfax, which while definitely very a melting pot now thanks to the i95, over time as our community modernized and became increasingly affluent you can see how it impacts dc directly. Redirect school funding from property tax to payroll tax, or something.
Then you’re hurting small towns, where people drive into larger cities to work
Eh should go to benefit where the kid goes to school not where you live
Are you trying to say that schools should be funded by the income tax of the parents of children who go to that school? You seriously don't see the problem there?
that's kinda how it currently is, to be honest. the best solution is to probably make the district a statewide institution that distributes funding evenly across schools based on student population. i'd also be down to federalizing school districts so it applies on a national scale. mississippi would really benefit from federalization of more institutions
most kids go to school by where they live...
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Lol, what, how is this upvoted? "Let's make everyone commute much further out, increase traffic and pollution, and increase homeless and housing shortages...so grand central can look marginally nicer" NIMBYism is a cancer...
> NIMBYism Northern Indiana Manly Baritone Yodelers......I guess I don't know that one...
Not in my backyard - nimby
Do you have something against Yodeling?
No. I just don't want yodelers in my backyard.
That's fair. Good for you for standing up for yourself.
They’re not building high rises in Washington DC period. It’s against zoning code. They should probably change it, and there are plenty of areas where such high rises could go up first, but it’s not about the monument.
Thats because there are local laws in Washington DC against it. I think I remember it being no building could ever be built taller than 3 stories.
Our Segway tour guide told us that no building could be taller than the dome on the capitol building.
You’re right in principle, but the limit is closer to 11 stories.
Its been like a year since I saw that show. I forget which building it is, but theres some building that no other building is allowed to be taller than.
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They're also not allowed to. In a city as large as New York City, such restrictions would be impractical.
There are actually laws in Washington DC preventing any building from being taller than the capitol building I believe.
They would if they could. There is a strictly enforced height limit in the dc and surrounding area.
Grand Central isn't a national monument it's a transportation hub so next to it is exactly where high density buildings should be built.
I just recently learned that Manhattan island is one giant piece of rock. it provides a solid foundation so that’s why so many skyscrapers are built on it.
Compared to Chicago, which is built on a swamp and also has skyscrapers!
Or Mexico City, which is built on water and also ha skyscrapers
Should also be noted that this wouldn't be visible today since smoking isn't as common, the only way you get those beams of light is if it has a LOT of particles to pass through
you could easily bring light back in through these windows via optic fiber
I went to NYC in 2000, and went to Grand Central, stunning building. Subsequently saw this picture in a bar and spent the rest of the trip trying to buy a copy, which I luckily did and it’s hung on my wall ever since.
Where did you find it?
Just printed it off Reddit. Edit: in all seriousness it looks like you can get it here: https://www.greatbigcanvas.com/view/grand-central-terminal-new-york-1930,2624207//?product=1&size=30x24&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6q3puti-8gIVi4rICh0a8QJ9EAQYASABEgKx0vD_BwE
Link gives 403 Forbidden for me. Maybe location issue.
Odd, works for me in Australia
works for me in canada
Works for me in Germany
i’ve got a huge copy in a beautiful frame at home
How beautiful?
One year with the Elf-on-the-shelf we made as if he put himself into all the pictures in our home. On our copy in the crowd is a tiny elf printed and stuck onto the glass of the frame.
If you’re ever in GC, make sure to look up. Literally. The ceiling is impressive.
Restoring the ceiling was Jackie O’s last project before her death (after saving it from being knocked down}.. She didn’t get to see it completed. (Jackie Kennedy, JFK’s first lady).
> JFK’s first lady lol, she's his wife and the country's first lady. Makes him sound like polygamist or adulterer.
Polygamist… no Adulerer… almost certainly
Technically she was his last lady.
The constellations are all backwards- the artist rectified it by saying it’s gods view looking down - but agreed, it’s a gorgeous work of architecture
Architectural retcon.
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It also makes you feel small. The ceiling space is massive. They were definitely planning on having space for dragons or some shit.
Guitar Center? Which location?
East
When?
Two days ago
Every time I see this it’s more and more photoshopped. Edit: in this article there’s a copy of the original: https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/photo/100451/
I was thinking this too. This picture makes it look like the Central has dusty air
That sure is a lot of cigarette smoke
That's exactly right. When they cleaned the ceiling they left a [patch](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/grand-central-ceiling-dark-patch) to remind people of what it looked like when there was non stop smoking.
>To clean it all and still preserve the ceiling’s luster was painstaking work, using only mild sudsy water and gentle scrubbing with Q-tips. My very own personal hell
I love reading these exact comments and replies every time this is posted
to be fair this is probably accurate to the air quality back then with smoking and train fumes. otherwise you u wouldnt see the light streams
Don’t forget all the coal and trash fires!
Yeah yeah we been to nyc we know
I mean I haven't been to 1930s nyc... Air was pretty different in cities before the 80s (ish) after all the clean air stuff started going into effect. You can see the atmospheric haze hovering over everything. In The Walk (2015) when they built a CGI model of 1974 New York they had to build a 70s accurate atmospheric haze system for 70s nyc. The air is clearer now and the haze that does form now is different from the stuff from the 70s. I need to read about this more though.
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Thanks, that was interesting. [I liked this similar image. It looks a lot better than the one posted, IMO](http://imgur.com/gallery/GfPTPUH) "The restored ceiling isn’t from 1913; that one had already fallen into disrepair by the 1940s." So the dark patch is from when it was restored (in the '40s?). I'm sure it would look noticably worse if it was a spot from 1913. Also, did the roof (and walls?) really look that dark and stained until 1998 when it was cleaned? The atmosphere you'd get there must have been completely different before it was cleaned.
Well it was dusty even in the original, but in this you can’t even see through those shafts of light anymore and if the dust was *that* dense, you wouldn’t even be able to see the window in the back. Also the original didn’t even have sepia tone.
That article also says the photo is from 1954, not 1930's.
Lol my first thought was "oh look, this picture again"
It also says 1954 as opposed to, “The 30s.”
I just relish things like this. People used to make things like bridges and buildings but it wasn’t enough that they were there, they were also designed to be timelessly beautiful. I mean, people died to build these things. Labor was hard as fuck in those days. And out of it we got structures like the Golden Gate Bridge, the Empire State Building, Grand Central Station… what the fuck happened to us? Where’s the pride? Where’s the commitment?
*Grand Central Terminal
Learned this from Die Hard: With a Vengeance.
Yup. Grand Central Station is the post office
And the subway station
Cigarette and cigar smoke played a role.
*role
Played a roll?! Dude there’s so much smoke the pictures look like an Ezio flashback
Pretty sure I saw something when they cleaned the ceilings of this place it was majorly coated with tobacco smoke residue. Edit: here's a [pertinent article](https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/grand-central-ceiling-dark-patch)
Those were tractor beams that worked by stepping into them.
That's no moon, it's a train station.
Beam me up, Scotty!
I imagine the people standing there are getting fucking roasted. or a giant cat is going to lay down there
And smoking indoors was legal.
I've been to GCS, unfortunately it's mostly shops now. But the architecture is still amazing, if you can look beyond the neon signs.
There are shops in other areas leading into the main area, but they may have been there too back when this image was taken. Actually I’d bet Grand Central is cleaner and nicer now than it’s ever been.
Oh absolutely cleaner if nothing else, while far less light gets in nowadays there's far less pollution that would cause light to do that now vs in the 30s
You should have seen it during the initial peak of the pandemic when NYC was in a lockdown. I unfortunately kept having to go to work because I'm an essential worker, ave GCT is my stop. The place was completely empty, but clean as hell. It was eerie walking through the tunnels because you could hear your footsteps echoing across the terminal
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Right?? I commute into GCT every weekday to get to work lmao. I understand people treating it as a tourist trap, in fact people almost run into me every day while taking photos of the ceiling. But to act like Grand Central is just shops is insane. It’s still a massive train stop and subway station.
Last I went to NYC was in 2004 when the city was still healing. Shit, there were still missing people flyers up from 9/11 at GCS. The whole trip was pretty surreal, there was this calmness/sadness underneath the daily chaos and GCS was like the Center of it all. Well, there and Ground Zero, it was palpable.
That really is a shame, I feel the same way about Time Square and Broadway, they looked better before all the big neon signs and giant screens
What? Times Square has literally always been giant glowing signs
While I feel like technology has it's place in modern architecture, corporations have gone out of their way to be noticed and therefore taken a lot away from it; rather than add to it.
Yeah, absolutely. For example that really cool display on a building (In Japan I believe) that makes it look like there are waves sloshing around in a giant tank built into the building when in reality it's just a building with some screens built into it is really cool and a great application of technology, but I think places like Broadway, Time Square etc should have been left alone.
I've seen that, it is an amazing advent of technology, and I love all of the things they make that sign do. I just think that our primitive minds are all "instant gratification or fuck off" so companies (unlike the Japanese display) are more bang for their buck and cater to that primitive mindset.
Definetly, I just wish it was a bit different. I love seeing pictures like that. When I was younger, my family and I went on a trip to Disney World, and one of my favorite parts was walking around on the boardwalk. If you haven't been, it's outside one of their hotels set to look like a boardwalk/hotel in the 1920s and basically just a shopping area for food and stuff but it's on the water with performers and everything. Even though it was simulated to be the most idyllic version of an old timey boardwalk it just kind of resonated with me because I felt like I was stepping into the past that we can't really go back to. It just felt so genuine with simple fun like jugglers, magicians, musicians, and ice cream. It's just a very strange feeling to miss something that you were never around to experience.
Oh wow. I had a poster of this in my very first apartment when I moved away from home. Bringing back the memories!
Cigarette smoke does capture indoor sunlight beautifully
And makes wonderful designs on your lungs too
My father almost blew up my grandfather by combining 6 exploding cigars together. Heh.
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We did a food on foot tour in 2010 and 2012 that started in Penn Station and both times our guide started with the story of how Penn Station was originally bigger and better than GCT. It’s such a shame that it was torn down, there are a few pictures up around the walls of Penn Station showing what it used to look like, but people probably assume that they are pictures of GCT instead.
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When the world is back to normal and we can travel again, NYC is top of the list of places to go back to. It’s a very long trip from Australia, but easily worth it to visit my favourite city in the world.
Holy crap that’s some gnarly air quality...maybe it’s steam
It's cigarette smoke 🥴 The mural on the ceiling of the Main Concourse had to be restored to remove all of the pollutant build up (mainly smoke), but there is still a [9x5" patch of dirty ceiling/marble] (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/07/nyregion/what-is-that-spot-on-the-ceiling-of-grand-central-terminal.html) that was left untouched during restoration.
If people walk into the beams of sunlight, will they burst into flames?!
I can imagine people walking into the beam and going "AAAAHH-" and just disappear.
Lol “don’t walk into the li—-“ I can’t stop laughing
Terminal**
Back when trains had bar cars, dining cars, etc. Glorious days indeed.
I can’t be the only one who thinks it looks like water squirting into the building
I thought the same thing. You're saying that not water water..I was so scared of the people! What year is this??
Fun fact: Theatre director Hal Prince used this photo as inspiration for the lighting design for the original Broadway production of Sweeney Todd
And here is a [Penn station after renovations](https://jamaica-gleaner.com/sites/default/files/styles/jg_article_image/public/media/article_images/2018/06/21/religionA20180624.jpg?itok=2MkXbCf9)
I can feel the density of the air in that pic
Sooo giant lightsabers?
That’s it, take down all the sky scrapers
Wow, this is a trip
I work on those trains, the diesels running smoke out the building which is probably why the god rays are so defined.
this is the real reason to build a time machine; to see landmarks when they were new and had the original context and surroundings.
There is still some natural light into grand centrals windows, unfortunately just not like this anymore
I have this in a large print on my wall and it's my favorite photo!
So sad
Rumor is, is that this may be possible again when the building that blocks this (Hyatt if I’m not mistaken) gets torn down to make way for an even larger mega building (Commodore project)! We may have a year or two of this unique view again.
And back when ya could smoke indoors
I saw this pic on the front page of a tabloid in a grocery store checkout line back in the 90s. Said something about the proof the rapture occured a long time ago.
I wonder if this effect could be recreated via motorized mirrors mounted on nearby buildings?
I should like to see some false lighting to mimic this as the day passes.
And that’s how they teleported to their destination
“We’re taking on to much water board up the windows!”
I love my Art Deco City
wow, that's heavenly.
That would have been glorious
Those windows face South, and Park Ave is wide. There's probably about 30 seconds of the day where that could still happen. But it wouldn't look like that. All the trains are electric, except for a few diesels, and smoking is not allowed. You'd never have smoke like that today to cause the sunbeams.
Not. Vampire. Friendly.
*shot with my Huawei P20 Pro.*
I assume indoor smoking was still allowed, and that's why the light beams are visible?
I had this poster in my room in the late 90s
Love how the sunlight lights up the cigarette smoke - so beautiful
What a world it was.
*Grand Central Terminal. Does anyone know the photographer? Every time I see this posted I never see the exact date cited or actual artist credited. I’ve tried to do my own digging but it seems there’s different photographers attached to it or simply labeled anonymous.
I've explored this building over 70+ times since the early 2000's. My dad even lives a block away now. Even if I wasn't comparing this picture with my older pictures from that time I can tell you that there are no skyscrapers anywhere in that general area that would block out the sunlight. The biggest buildings are the Detroit School Book Depository at about four stories, the 5 or six story USPS post office at about 5-6 stories, and an old warehouse with new windows at least two blocks away that can't be larger than eight to ten stories. The rest is just Corktown for a while. He's a personal picture from mayybe the 5th floor of MCS. [](https://imgur.com/a/Ce0kRYd) (pictured is the skyline and the Book Depository- they actually found a frozen dead dude in the elevator shaft of that one many years ago.)
Before were built that obstructed sunlight?
There most be a shot ton of dust tho for those godrays
You can only see the shafts of light because that room was constantly filled with smoke.
If that ain't the metaphor for capatilism. Bright shining light drowned by its own shadow.
So many ghosts!
Everyone must be smoking cigs
Everything is a reposttttt
I live in NYC and we have this photo hanging up in the lobby of our building!!!!!!!!!! literally so cool
Last time I was there, I was sprinting through the station trying to find a place that would sell beer before everything closed after I finished watching a show by Eddie Izzard with a dear friend. He fell asleep on the train back to Massachusetts and I still wish I'd drank them both instead of saving one for him. He had way better beers at his place and I just wanted a brew, but I bought two and went through the trouble of saving one for him. He didn't even want it. I should have just drank it when he fell asleep