Behind the Scenes at Grand Central Terminal

I’ve been scouting out places for the next stories in THE CALLING/REBORN series. The new stories — a novella tentatively titled VAMPIRE REBORN and a full-length novel, FIGHT FOR LOVE, — needed new places for their settings.

The funny thing is, as often as I walk through Grand Central Terminal, I’ve never used it for the books. Not anymore. There will be quite a number of scenes in the upcoming books set in the terminal, its tunnels, and way below, near the generators that power so many of the train lines that come in and out of Grand Central. It’s rumored that during World War II, these generators were so important to troop movements that any unauthorized visitors were to be shot on sight. In fact, two spies who had been sent to damage them were arrested by the FBI before they could execute their plan.

The attention to detail in the terminal is amazing as you can hopefully tell from these photos. Artwork at the gate entrances and even where you purchase your tickets. The constellation along the ceiling of the main concourse. The little rats scurrying up the posts to an awning over a Lexington Avenue entrance. The eagle perched on the corner of 42nd Street and Vanderbilt which was salvaged from an earlier station at the location.

So many amazing things as the station celebrates its 100th birthday this year!

Of course, things were not always so wonderful. The area in and around Grand Central was a mess during the mid-1970s when NYC was on the brink of bankruptcy. In 1975, Trump bought the nearby Commodore hotel and renovated it to one of the first Grand Hyatt hotels. He also did work on the exterior of Grand Central and by 1980, the area was being transformed and survived another near bankruptcy of the city in the mid-1990s.

Today, the terminal is one of the most visited tourist stops in the world, with nearly 22 million people visiting it yearly. It is the largest rail facility with 44 platforms serving 67 tracks. If you count rail yards, there are over 100 tracks. The terminal covers 48 acres and continues to be a main location for travel from various areas. There is now a project underway, the East Side Access project, that will give access to the Long Island Railroad.

I hope you enjoyed this behind the scenes look at Grand Central Terminal.

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