What’s this scene?
This is Grand Central Terminal's Main Concourse in New York City, one of the world's most iconic railway terminals. The image captures the grandeur of this historic Beaux-Arts building, featuring its distinctive architectural elements including:
The soaring barrel-vaulted ceiling, painted in a distinctive turquoise blue with celestial designs, rises to a height of 125 feet. The ceiling's arched design is complemented by massive arched windows that allow natural light to flood the space.
The terminal's signature features are prominently displayed, including the central Information Booth with its four-faced brass clock, and the grand staircases modeled after those of the Paris Opera House. The enormous windows at the east end of the terminal, measuring 60 feet high, create an impressive wall of light.
The marble floors and limestone walls give the space its characteristic warm, honey-colored appearance. The image shows the terminal in active use, with numerous travelers moving through the spacious main concourse, while digital departure boards display train schedules along the walls.
This terminal, which opened in 1913, continues to serve as both a major transportation hub and an architectural masterpiece, handling thousands of commuters daily while maintaining its status as one of New York City's most celebrated landmarks.
What’s on the ceiling, though you can’t see it in the photo?
The ceiling of Grand Central Terminal features an elaborate astronomical ceiling mural depicting the Mediterranean winter sky with over 2,500 stars and constellation figures painted in gold leaf against a turquoise blue background. The zodiac constellations are depicted in their classical mythological forms, oriented in a way that shows the sky as it would appear when viewed from above, rather than from Earth.
Notably, this celestial design contains a fascinating error: the constellations are painted in reverse from their actual astronomical positions. When this mistake was pointed out after the terminal's completion in 1913, the architects claimed it was intentional, suggesting the ceiling represented God's view of the heavens from above, rather than humanity's view from Earth.
The mural was created by French artist Paul César Helleu and executed by Charles Basing and James Monroe Hewlett. In 1998, after decades of damage from water leaks and accumulated tar and nicotine from tobacco smoke, the ceiling underwent a comprehensive restoration that returned it to its original splendor, though restorers deliberately left a small dark patch unclean as a reminder of the ceiling's history.
The stars representing the major constellations are illuminated by fiber optic lights, enhancing the celestial effect and making the mural a defining feature of this historic transportation hub.
And somewhere in that terminal is an Apple store, where I took my computer for repairs.
Yes, Apple opened a retail store in Grand Central Terminal in December 2011, making creative use of the historic space while preserving its architectural integrity. The store occupies approximately 23,000 square feet across the terminal's east balcony and adjacent spaces, with one entrance located near the terminal's east stairs.
The store's design carefully integrates with the terminal's protected landmark status, maintaining the original architectural features while incorporating Apple's minimalist retail aesthetic. The space includes a Genius Bar for technical support and repairs, product display areas, and sales zones, all configured to work within the terminal's existing structures.
This location is unique among Apple's retail stores, as it operates within the specific constraints of Grand Central Terminal's operating hours and must adhere to strict preservation guidelines that protect the building's historic character. The store's presence adds to the terminal's role as not just a transportation hub, but also a destination for shopping and services in Midtown Manhattan.
