Quick answer
Grand Central Terminal is the Beaux-Arts rail terminal at 42nd Street and Park Avenue, opened in 1913 with 44 platforms and 67 tracks — the most of any station in the world. It was nearly demolished in the 1960s, saved by preservationists including Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and its vaulted Main Concourse with a zodiac ceiling is one of New York's grandest rooms.
Full transcript
The third building on the block
Grand Central is not the first station on this spot. In 1871, Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt built the Grand Central Depot here, at the end of his rail empire; by 1900 it had been rebuilt as Grand Central Station; and in 1913 the Terminal we know today replaced both — the third railroad building on the same ground. It opened at 12:01 on the morning of February 2, 1913, and more than 150,000 people showed up on opening day. Designed by Reed and Stem and Warren and Wetmore, it has 44 platforms and 67 tracks, more than any other station in the world.
The room that was almost destroyed
The Main Concourse is the heart of the place: a vaulted, midnight-blue ceiling painted with the zodiac constellations, a four-faced clock over the information booth, and light pouring in through arched windows. In the 1960s, after Pennsylvania Station was demolished, developers wanted to do the same here — a 55-story tower above the tracks with the concourse carved out. Jackie Kennedy Onassis and other preservationists fought the plan for nearly a decade. In 1976 the terminal became a National Historic Landmark, and the wrecking ball lost.
What to do inside
Stand in the middle of the Main Concourse and look up, then walk down to the lower level, where the Whispering Gallery outside the Oyster Bar carries a soft whisper from corner to corner. Time your visit for a weekday morning, when commuters stream through by the thousands and the room hums; then ride the subway out. Find the four-faced clock above the information booth first — it has been the meeting place of New York since 1913.