Welcome to the Space Station! Oh wait! This is not a space station. It is called "Grand Central Madison" and it is a brand new terminal for the Long Island Railroad that is connected to Grand Central Station, and it is absolutely stunning and beautiful. This new terminal started construction in 2008 and opened on January 25, 2023, and sits beneath Grand Central Terminal. I mean WAY underneath Grand Central! You cannot believe how far down under the street level. I was stunned when I first arrived here in September for the first time. It is bright and shiny and white and beautiful. What a change from Penn Station on the other side of town, although as you have seen in previous posts about Penn Station, that station recently had a major make over.
So I had a lot of fun photographing this station when I first arrived. I mean, look at these cool reflections. It really does look like a space station. You come in on two different levels of tracks and on this level you first take a short escalator down one level.
That puts you in this corridor. Notice the gentle curves in the ceiling and in the supporting parts of the arch to the right. It is just elegant in its architecture.
This is a close up of something you can see in the previous photograph. No practical purpose for the translucent blue floor or the opening in the ceiling with dark blue lighting, except it induces awe in the viewer, and I am good with that!
Turning right from the blue area, you are faced with this astounding escalator which has to be at least 200 feet long. It seems to go on forever. And it has a curved ceiling and tile on the walls!
Here is a view of the escalator from the top looking down. This is just stunning!
This is where you come up from Grand Central Madison to the traditional Grand Central Station. This is the dining area of Grand Central and the mahogany woodwork is quite a contrast to the white tile and aluminum of the new Long Island Railroad Station, which we have waited for, for years!
And this was a shock for me. These are what the tracks look like for all the trains that come and go from Grand Central. That includes the trains of the New York Central I would take to Rochester, New York for college, and before that, the trains I would take from Milford, Connecticut to visit New York City! How is this for a shock. I haven't seen this part of Grand Central Station for perhaps 60 years, and it seems unimaginable to me now! What a difference!
5 comments:
What a creation. It's amazing to me how they can do that construction SO far underground and build it so it is safe and secure. The escalator and its depth are astonishing. I like the numerous photos giving different views of this station. Trace
Amazing photos. As Trace commented, how can they construct all of this so far underground and the length of the escalator looks so much longer than a normal escalator. I have not taken the train from Milford to Grand Central is so long and way before pandemic.
Joan
Didn’t realize that construction took 15 years. Wow! Totally worth it. It looks amazing. Glad that you posted so many photos so we could get a better idea of the new station. Betsey
An incredible make over for sure!
Thanks for updating those of us who had no idea this was going on!
Your wonderful photos of Grand Central Madison pay tribute to the designers, engineers and countless tradesmen who transformed this deep underground station from the 20th to the 21st century. And all of this was done with minimal disruption to the life of commuters who come to the Big Apple whether it be for work or pleasure. An amazing transformation.
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