“!!!MoThER LoOK THE CEILING IS SoOO TaaLLL!!!”
Ugh, another little child running around Grand central, Brittany thought to herself.
She had been living here all of her life and still did not understand the way tourists seem to get so excited about coming here. It’s not like there is anyone famous here, or anything cool going on. Brittany was turning 18 this year, and had already been to multiple countries, and found them much cooler than anything New York could offer.
When I go to Australia this December, I bet it’ll be waaaay cooler than anything in NY, especially Central Station. Brittany was supposed to meet her friends in 30 minutes to go shopping but of course, she was too early.
She decided to send her streaks a snap of the ceiling which, despite her skepticism, she found pretty cool. I wonder how the heck anyone got up there to paint it? She saw the sign for the Grand Central Station Tour and after a moment’s hesitation decided to walk over to it. Before she got there, however, her phone gave an alert. It was just a return snap, a blank screen that said “Streaks ???”, but that gave her an idea. Why use a guide when she has access to all the history of what she wants to know on her phone? So, she quickly googles “history of grand central celing” and, after a bit of autocorrect, discovered that the ceiling pictured their today is not the original and for some reason, the people who did the restoration in 1945 repainted a less detailed mural than the one that was originally there. Lol probably laziness, same, thought Brittany.
She then decided to follow a link about more interesting stuff about Grand Central, some of which was pretty cool. Apparently, at the information booth, the is a stairway that goes more than two flights down. And the employees have access to it all the time to get from one floor to another without having to go through crowds of people. Another thing she thought was pretty cool was how they have weddings at Grand Central. Although who would want to get married at a train station? What if the rats decided to come out? Eww. Brittany shuddered.
She had heard about the Whispering Gallery and decided to take a minute and try it when her girlfriend got here. She wondered if it was on purpose and after a quick google search, she found out it was not. It actually sounded pretty cool and ninja worthy.
Okay, maybe Grand Central was not as boring as she thought. And actually, hanging here with her friend is something Brittany enjoys a lot. She also knows a few secrets, like that if you run from the west staircase to the E train at 6:07, you would catch it right before the doors close. Or that the café that sells bagels downstairs, sells everything for a dollar less at 10 AM every 3rd Thursdays of the month. Or that tourists tend to stick the exact center or the outer corners of the station, so to avoid them just walk in the middle. NY may be actually better as a native than a tourist and this made Brittany really glad she could call it home.
And if Grand Central had such interesting features, Brittany wondered, maybe all of NY has some interesting hidden things to find…..
END
The trip to Grand Central was pretty interesting and the whispering galleries were definitely my favorite part. When I was younger I used to pass there more often than I do now. I actually love thinking about all the things I know about NY as a native that most people who visit would not know. Like I always say NY is my absolute favorite city and I love everything, secret and public, about it.
I really enjoyed your story, it was very relatable and I think it reflected a lot of our thoughts from the day at Grand Central! It was a cute story that highlighted the interesting facts the audio tour talked about, and I think you captured those in a modern era very well. There are so many things about the city that you only get a chance to learn about after spending so much time here. I agree that the city is unique and lovely, and I love having a piece of insider knowledge from the places I go to. Great blog!