8/3/2023 0 Comments Grand central station clockDuring the height of the morning rush hour, trains platform there every 58 seconds. Grand Central is the world’s largest train terminal with 45 track platforms and 63 tracks.Compared on a square foot basis, Grand Central is one of the most successful shopping center in the USA.Every day, 10,000 people come into Grand Central just to have lunch-NOT to catch a train.The Terminal covers 49 acres-from 42nd Street 97th Street.It’s the population of the City of San Francisco. That’s the entire population of the state of Alaska. Every day, more than 700,000 people pass through Grand Central.That means that the 1913 four-faced clock atop the Information Booth is accurate to with one second every 1,400,000 years. Every clock in Grand Central-whether an antique 1913 clock, or the digital time readouts in our Operations Control Center-is set every second by the atomic clock in the Naval Observatory in Bethesda, Maryland (which is set by the vibrations of a cesium atom).It’s the Vanderbilt family symbol: “From the acorn grows the mighty oak.” And all throughout the Terminal-engraved in the marble and on every lighting fixture are acorns and oak leaf clusters. On top of the clock on the Information Booth, there is an acorn.The Information Booth clock has an often-quoted value in the tens of millions of dollars due to its history, artistry, fame, and jeweled faces.The Information Booth in Grand Central receives more than 1,000 questions an hour.Inside the Information Booth is a secret, spiral staircase that leads to the Lower Level Information Booth.Update: More Grand Central behind-the-scenes here.ĭid you know that when you see a Grand Central train platform in a movie or television show, it is almost definitely Track 34? And were you privy to the secret spiral staircase in the main concourse's Information Booth? Do you know what all those acorns around the Terminal mean? Below, some secrets and fun facts that the MTA's Dan Brucker has shared with us, about the world's largest train terminal, which is located right in Manhattan. (Courtesy of the Museum of the City of New York)
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