THE ARTS IN NEW YORK CITY Fall 2017 | Baruch College | Macaulay Honors

Grand Central Station is one of the only stations in Manhattan that the 7 line stops at, so OF COURSE I love and know Grand Central Station. But as many times as I pass through it and as convenient it is to stop by the lower concourse for a public bathroom or the Apple Store on the upper level for a quick iPhone fix, I’ve never known much about the actual history of the “secrets” behind it. The greatest “secret” that Grand Central Station has ever revealed to me are the glass walkways way above the station- ones that I have actually walked down. Only Grand Central personnel and NYPD are allowed access to the top, so I won’t reveal how I managed to get there 😉

The top of Grand Central Station

But I will say that I genuinely enjoyed learning about the other secrets that Grand Central Station held. The audio tour was a really nice way to spend a Tuesday morning and I loved walking around with my group. I am most usually hurrying through Grand Central Station on my way to class or on my way home, so to stop and “smell the roses” was a nice change of pace.

I have so many different memories in this station, from when I was a child to even now and I thought about what it would be like for two ex-lovers to rekindle their spark for just one night in this station. The story I wrote below is about a couple who broke up four years ago on bad terms. They bump into each other on the woman’s last night in NYC. The woman is moving permanently upstate to pursue her master’s degree and what ensues between this woman and the boy she loved a long time ago is a sad story of the things that we just cannot have in life- no matter how bad we may want it. **disclaimer: it’s a bit on the lengthier side, sorry!**

A stranger in thought.

Nikki and  Jordan dated four years ago, at the beginning of their adult lives. They had broken up on painful, lingering terms and have not seen each other since. There have been others in their lives, but neither one can truly forget the other- no matter how much time has passed.

 On a rainy August night, Jordan is on his way home from his dinner shift. He is absentmindedly walking through Grand Central Station when he runs into a panicked-looking Nikki. After acknowledging that this is the first time they have seen each other in over four years, Nikki tells Jordan that she is moving upstate to attend Cornell University for her master’s degree. In fact, she had ran into him while trying to make a train that had already left- -leaving Nikki to wait another 4 hours for the next MetroNorth upstate.

 Jordan is shaken by Nikki’s presence on her last night in New York City. He can’t stop thinking about how different, yet how familiar she looks four years later and he cannot help but wonder who she has become in the past four years. When he looks at Nikki, he can almost see the years of memories they had made together when they were just children with not a clue in the world of how to treat each other right.

 Nikki is wary of bumping into Jordan, knowing how time  and how much duress it had taken to forget about him- and yet, four years later, he still crosses her mind. When Jordan suggests that they take a walk around Grand Central Station while she waits for the next train, the broken-hearted 18-year-old inside of her cannot help but tell her to follow.

 It is almost 1 AM and a quiet hush has fallen over Grand Central Station. There are the occasional midnight workers walking through the grand halls and a drunken couple staggering around, but to Nikki and Jordan, it is like they are alone again- together.

 As they walk through Vanderbilt Hall and climb the steps towards the Apple center, Nikki and Jordan tentatively talk about what the past four years have been like for each other. Nikki had received her bachelor’s degree in computer science and was working at Bloomberg up until recently, while Jordan had finished his master’s degree and was currently working at a lavish restaurant in Chelsea while searching for a full-time job.

 Their conversation, at first tentative and filled with trepidation, has now passed into a practiced banter between best friends. It is like no time has passed between them as Nikki excitedly recounts her final day at Bloomberg. Jordan finds himself lost in her quick, easy laughter as he feels himself slipping into what was once routine for the two of them. He recognizes so many of her little quirks- from the way she bit her lip when she talked about something difficult, to the way she tucked her hair behind her right ear when she was listening attentively.

 As they stand at the top of the grand staircase, Jordan and Nikki looks out at the majestic Grand Central Station. Jordan pulls out a key that he has long forgotten about until this very moment and mischievously tells Nikki that it holds elevator access up to the glass walkways- off-limits to anyone except Grand Central personnel and NYPD. Nikki agrees to take an “adventure” up to the very top of Grand Central with him- for reasons that could be chalked up to wanting a lasting memory of New York City, to wanting the feeling of rebellion and for the fact that Jordan, even four years later, was just as magnetic as he had been when they were just 20 years old.

 Nikki and Jordan sneak up to the glass walkways using Jordan’s elevator keys and they are struck by how silent and still everything is- so high above Grand Central.  They slowly make their way down the glass hallways, stunned with the bird’s eye view they were looking out at.

 Jordan stops abruptly in the middle of the hallway, where he tells Nikki that his mother had died three months prior. Remembering how much his mother had adored Nikki and rooted for the two of them, Jordan felt the loss of both his mother and his one true love in that moment.

 He feels a few tears sliding down his cheeks as he presses his forehead against the glass.

 Nikki rushes over to comfort him and takes him into her arms.

 Nikki and Jordan stand in the middle of a glass hallway, at the very top of Grand Central Station, locked in an embrace that they had lost four years prior.

 After what seems like an eternity, Nikki pulls away and looks Jordan in the eyes. She tells him that her train will be leaving in twenty minutes and she must go before she misses another train. Before she can turn back around, Jordan tells her he loves her. That he has always loved her and that the four years hadn’t changed a single thing between them.

 Nikki starts to cry because she realizes that this is what she wanted to hear, so many years ago, when Jordan had given up on them. But she knows that four years cannot be undone and the future that awaits her cannot involve Jordan.

 She tells him so, still in tears; shocked by how much it still breaks her heart to say this aloud.

 Nikki and Jordan ride the escalator back down to the terminal together, where he walks her to the grand clock.

 They stand there for a minute in silence- both of them mourning what was once lost and could never be revived. There were so many things they could blame- the hands of time, the direction of the wind; but in the end, it was the cruel humor of destiny that told them both that it could never be the same again.

 Nikki kisses Jordan lightly on the lips and tells him to take care of himself and before he can utter a response, she turns away and walks toward her track.

 Jordan watches her go and knows that he cannot go after her. Nothing he will say now can change what he should have said four years ago- the first time she ever walked away.

10 YEARS LATER:

As Jordan rushes through Grand Central Terminal, on his way home from a long day of work at Bloomberg as the head of the accounting department, he bumps into a blonde girl walking the other way. As he turns around to apologize, he sees Nikki’s face- eerily similar but ten years older. The girl gives him that sad little smile Nikki always seemed to carry, but he blinks and the girl is gone. He walks in the direction the girl had gone but in the midst of the rush hour crowd home, he seems to have lost her. Jordan stands in front of the grand clock as memories flash by and a sense of devastation hits his heart.

The grand clock.

Nostalgic. That’s how I felt while visiting Grand Central earlier this week. Walking around the terminal, I recalled going there for the first time with my grandma when I was about five or six. I remember taking the long subway ride in, the really delicious chocolate chip cookie she bought me on the way, and what she told me when we arrived. She said, “Lys, this is one of my favorite places in New York.”

At the time, I didn’t understand why. Little me, couldn’t figure out what was so great about Grand Central. Was it big? Yes. Was it pretty? Absolutely. But the same could be said about so many other places in the city. To me, Grand Central was just another landmark. It was another Empire State Building. Another Statue of Liberty. For the life of me, I could not comprehend my grandmother’s fixation with it.

Now, I get it. After listening to the audio tour on Tuesday, I understand it.

The development of Grand Central was a major milestone for civilization. With its intricate carvings, stunning constellation ceiling mural, and four-faced clock, it is a physical example of societal progress. It is a symbol of the development of our nation.

That’s why my grandma loves Grand Central. She loves it because she appreciates the history behind it and is in awe that something can be so undoubtedly beautiful. In Trinidad, her native country, nothing this “grand” exists. During the time she lived there, no major cities existed. It was a farming civilization. Most people had small, modest homes and lead simple lives. To her, Grand Central is representative of how great her new home, New York City, is.

Story:

Light pink tulips. Ten dollars a bunch. Her favorite. Twenty dollars in his pocket. All he had to survive on until payday. Was it worth it? He didn’t have to think much. Before he knew it, he was paying the cashier at Dahlia – the cute little flower stand in the Biltmore room.

He was supposed to meet her at 12:00pm at the GCT Information booth. There he would show her the constellation ceiling and explain its history. He would tell her about the five men responsible for the design – architect Whitney Warren, French artist Paul Helleu, muralist J. Monroe Hewitt, painter Charles Basing, and astronomer Dr. Harold Jacoby. He would tell her what the constellations meant and how their zodiac signs were highly compatible. She would laugh and say that’s why they were such great friends. Then he would take her to the Whispering Wall and tell her, his best friend, that all this time he’s been in love with her.

At least that’s what he planned out in his head.

-Alyssa Motilal

There were two places within Grand Central Station that stood out to me as places that I, personally, could develop “insider knowledge” of: the Vanderbilt hall and the Dining Concourse. The grand yet humble demeanor of the Vanderbilt hall with its quant wood benches circling the corner of a large and magnificent space, and the comfortable, laid back atmosphere of the Dining Concourse were both attributes that I feel like I could connect to, and grow attached to. Therefore, if these places were to be used in a story or movie or the like, I would attribute a personal connection to the piece, and therefore draw more out of it.

Story

There was a bit under an hour left until the train left for Fairfield. Jeremy had already been at Grand Central Station for over an hour, and his capacity for boredom was reaching its maximum.

Jeremy wasn’t native to New York City, he was born in raised in Connecticut in a nice house with loving parents and a couple of younger sisters. He had ventured out to the New York City on this frosty day as a break in his otherwise monotonous routine. He was sick of just going to school, doing homework, and hanging out with his friends occasionally. He wanted to explore, he wanted to feel a sense of adventure. That’s why he didn’t even invite any friends; he came alone.

In fact, Jeremy’s plan was quite impromptu. He had decided the night before that he wanted to do this, and his plans only went so far as to know which train he would take early in the morning. But after he arrived in Manhattan, he realized he had no idea what he was going to do. He figured Central park would be a good place to go, so he started walking there, peering into the storefronts as he went, and observing the endless amounts of people streaming through the streets. He stopped at Starbucks along the way to get a muffin and some coffee, and was appreciative of the relief that establishment afforded him from the biting cold outside.

Upon reaching Central Park, he again realized that he didn’t know what he was going to do. So he roamed around Central Park for a while, wishing it wasn’t so cold so that there’d have been more people around, and more to do. Just as he was about to leave, having found nothing to do, he stumbled across the ice rink there, Wollman Rink. So he did that for a while, thankful that he had found some kind of activity to do.

After skating for a while, he felt a bit better, a bit warmer from moving around, and a bit more productive for having found something to do. But he still had no plans for the rest of the day, and remembering that he had homework due the next day, and as it was only around lunchtime, he decided he would call it quits on his adventure to the city and go back home.

He walked back to Grand Central Station, hoping that there would be a train back soon, but upon reaching the station he saw that the next train wasn’t for two hours. He didn’t know of anything else to do in the area, and scared from going back outside without a plan because of the freezing temperature, he decided to wait out the time in the station. So here he was sitting in the pretend train car in the Dining Concourse, bored. He had finished his meal from Shake Shack a while ago, and though he had nothing to do, was grateful for the interesting architecture of the space, as well as for the constant movement of the passersby, which made the time pass slightly faster.

It was finally time to board his train. Jeremy thought his plan was a complete failure, but still resolved to come back again. He did have a condition for returning though: warmer weather.

One of the most notable things about Grand Central is obviously the main concourse. Any movie, tv show, or book about New York City showcases the main concourse as the spotlight  to tell it’s story. When I listened to the information about Grand Central through the audio tour, it brought up so many novelties about Grand Central that we overlook, and yet add so much to our experience of the station; such as the wall of glass (windows), the clock on top of the information booth, the staircases. All of the tiny facets of the station have similarly fascinating origin stories that only add to the greatness of Grand Central.

When I realized that the windows held catwalks in between the glass panes, I was shocked, and of course the first thing I wanted to do was walk across them until the audio tour confirmed that it was off limits. I imagined a scene from a movie, of bad guys being chased down through the catwalks, only allowing the viewer to see the windows, and seeing the characters appear and disappear on different floors. I was also intrigued by the marketplace. The narrator talked about the rays of sun shining in through the glass in the morning, and I couldn’t help but picture it while I was standing there, in the midst of all the hustle inside the market. If I were to shoot that for a movie, I would picture it at the beginning of a film, and perhaps a child or teen on their way to do some sort of mischief in the city, stopping for breakfast and knowing all of the vendors and workers, and saying hello as she grabs an apple and is on her way. I also enjoyed the whispering gallery, and I honestly didn’t believe it could be true. When Ellen and I went to either side of the gallery and I heard her from all the way across the room, I was shocked. This was another place where I could imagine two kids hiding away and whispering secrets to one another in the middle of New York City, which I really like the idea of.

My story around Grand Central would be one of discovery. I can imagine two teenagers, of any description honestly, just exploring the station and the people around it. They would laugh and talk in the more hidden places, like the station masters waiting room, bargain for a meal at the marketplace in exchange for sweeping the floors, and talk to travelers coming in and out of the city. The two could whisper in the gallery to each other so no adults could hear them, and maybe even share their first kiss in the “kissing room” when they’re a little older. Whenever they weren’t at school, they would just explore all the mysteries Grand Central has to offer, and make friends with the workers there, too. I can imagine my story getting sad suddenly, when perhaps one of them moves away. And for a while they grow up and forget about all of the things they used to talk about, but all the secrets they discovered can’t be forgotten. And one day years and years later, one of them, the one who stayed in NYC, receives a letter with just a time and a platform number. And they both know that it means to meet again in Grand Central, and when they do, they remember everything. And I would like to imagine my story would have a happy ending, even if it all seems very cliché and corny, I believe it would have a happy ending.

I love the prompt for this week’s blog assignment. I am an extremely sentimental person and get weepy when a smell reminds me of the summer or I see a movie that shows a place that I’ve been and have special memories attached to. One time I was seeing a movie with my grandmother, and we had both drank a glass of wine (in Europe so it was legal) so I was just ever so slightly inebriated and I went to the bathroom and smelled of a whiff of the kind cleaning fluid they always used in Prague, where I lived for a little while, they’ve used the same kind of fluid since they were under communist control and it’s really noxious and strong. It brought me right back to when I used to go to the movies on the weekends with my mom’s friend from college and her girlfriend who lived in Prague and we would sneak a bottle of wine into the theater and I just remember going to the bathroom after the movie feeling a slight buzz that comes from a combination of being a little sleepy, slightly drunk, and the adrenaline you get from watching a movie in the theater. It was such a strong association that I started crying in the bathroom, even though I wasn’t sad- the memory was just so strong. Going to Grand Central Station, a place I’ve maybe been once or twice, I got the kind of feeling of a place that is brimming with so much history and so many special moments, so many farewells and excited departures, that even though I didn’t have any emotional connections, I still could feel the weight of it all. I really liked doing the audio tour because it made me feel like I was going to a museum with my grandmother, she loves getting audio tours. It felt really enchanting to learn facts like how the clock in the center of the concourse was set exactly correctly, or the tiny square of filth on the ceiling, evidence of how the rest of it had been restored or that the pink marble steps were modeled after those in the Paris Opera House. I felt like I could forget that I was in the New York City that I knew and could step into the New York City that I saw in the movies and read about in books. There was one room, officially named the Baltimore Room but dubbed the “kissing room” because it was the last room before the tracks for the long distance trains. I imagined being a young woman living in New York City in the early 1900’s, my friends and family coming with me to Grand Central to see me off as I took a train across the country to California, maybe where I would be attending school or starting a new prestigious job. I thought about the sweet couples and families who would be kissing all around me, and how warm and excited I would feeling hugging and kissing the people I loved goodbye. It must have been so much more momentous to go on a trip back then. This visit made me think that I should go to (some) tourist destinations that I haven’t yet been too, and see the beauty of the city I live in.

pictures from the “kissing room,” the first is a blackboard where they would write the arrival and departure times and the second is an old school shoe shining station.

Julie W

“!!!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 3^rd 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.

Grand central terminal has always been a place of chaos, exploration, and fascination. New York City is fortunate enough to have such a grand terminal, that in reality only has one purpose really and that is to get a person from point A to point B. Despite the purpose, the terminal has great history that normally I wouldn’t be knowledgeable about if it was not for the audio tour. The tour told me the basics such as the terminal having over 40 platforms and over 60 different tracks. The terminal cost over two billion dollars to built in the 1900 which I found very fascinating. What attracted me about the terminal as a whole is the celestial ceiling. I had always wondered about it and now I know the purpose of making it the way it is now is to show off the effect of “illimitable space”.

Grand Central has been used as a film platform for so many different movies and tv shows. The first thing that comes to mind is gossip girl where Serena enters back home through grand central after disconnecting from the world for the whole summer. Shooting scenes at grand central give off a grandeur vibe of mystery. The terminal is so large and intricately designed that a lost girl entering with a suitcase is the typical beginning of many billboard movies. Grand Central is also a prime spot of shooting romantic scenes. There’s the typical recruited love between two individuals after they have been apart for however long of a time period.

If I were to create a story that would occur that would add dimension due to the fact that it’s being taken place at grand central, it would be a more nationalistic story. I snapped a picture of the large American flag hanging in the middle of the terminal. Anna had to leave her husband as he went to serve in Iraq at this exact same spot three years ago. Taking in all the people around her, she had taken a deep breath and tried to contain the excitement she had felt. She was about to be reunited with her husband in the same spot, three years later. In that time, so much had changed. Their daughter grew up and their old dog had ended up passing away. Anna had her precious daughter to spend everyday with, but there had been countless nights where there were sleepless nights, wondering if her husband was even alive. When he had Skype called her and said he would be coming home, she was counting down the days. Now, she’s standing in the middle of grand central, looking around, trying to spot that face. Then she sees him, standing on top of the stairs of grand central, and it was like time had stopped for one split second. Her heart full again. Without hesitation, Anna sprints to him and his arms engulf her instantly. “I’m back” he softly whispers and Anna’s face is a mix of tears and laughter. Taking her hand in his, they make their way out of grand central terminal, and walk under the American flag.

Grand Central is more than just a terminal for people to catch the next bus or train. Grand Central is more than just a place for tourists to take pictures. It is a symbol. A symbol for perseverance, the magnificent feeling of living in New York City and everything it entails, a symbol for moving forward. Now, instead of rushing through grand central next time I need to catch a bus, I will stop to appreciate. Appreciate that not many cities in the world are able to have terminals like this. Appreciate the fact that I’m living in New York City, in a city full of wonders and chances. The audio had helped me put all the pieces together of the terminal with facts and explanations. And the experience of going there without the destination helped me realize it was not just a terminal. It is so much more.

The familiarity one might have with a particular corner of New York City may be precisely what gives it the incomparable air of magic that tourists may not be able to fully recreate. While at Washington Square Park the other day, I encountered a movie set where something was being filmed with the park as its setting. There were actors playing homeless people sleeping on the benches. This was funny to me given that no actor could ever say the things that some of the homeless people of NYC say, and some of them were likely even kicked off of that particular bench for the scene to be filmed. Because of circumstances such as these, the true essence of New York can hardly be imitated or even observed from a distanced, outsider perspective.

Grand Central Station is one of the most iconic places in NYC. Filled with both locals getting off the MTA and people from both the further corners of the US and even abroad, it is a bustling metropolis. One overarching unifying factor seems to be that everybody is in a rush to get somewhere. The travelers, understandably so, but even the tourists seem to be more focuses on having their picture taken than looking up at the “night sky.” Many people seemed to congregate by the clock, including our group. This gave the clock a historical feel, as it had been a meeting spot for people for decades, as pointed out in the audio tour. This is why I chose it as the primary setting for my “story.” The premise of it would be either a young couple or set of friends separated by financial or familiar circumstance at a young age. One would stay in NYC while the other would be forced to move elsewhere for a given amount of time. They would vow to wait for one another at the clock at 6pm until they finally reconnected. The individual living in New York would wait at the clock every day until he or she starting giving up hope after years. The other, upon returning, would visit the flower shop in one of the far corners of the station and buy a bouquet before they would reconnect. In my imagination, this entire cliche story is accompanied by the cliche jazz that was played in the audio tour.

Veronica Funk

Taking a visit to the Grand Central Terminal, I’d known few things about it except for the fact that it was one of the biggest train stations in New York City. Stepping inside, for the second time in my life, it became clear to me why the place drew thousands of people every day. One of the most notable places that I’d encountered was the golden clock centered on the first floor of the GCT. Shockingly I didn’t notice it at first, but once the monotone voice of the tour guide on the audio tape mentioned the clock, it was difficult not to observe more closely what the rest of New York has coined “New York’s most famous clock.”

Looking at the clock from the staircase neighboring the open seating bars, I could imagine the setting of the clock used for a crime or mystery film, where the presence of such a large number of people would be the perfect environment for masking a kidnapping or other offense. The music that would accompany this scene would probably be a quiet piano piece that would serve as a foundation for the tense and startling mood of the film. On another note, the Grand Central Station is probably the perfect setting for a Christmas or other holiday film. Being that it’s an extremely popular tourist location, as well as a generally populous area mainly comprising of people getting to and from work, the Grand Central Station would be an appropriate setting for a scene in a film about a relative trying to get to a holiday dinner, of course with a happy ending that involves the whole family spending quality time with one another.

Story

Ken was your typical New Yorker. A Harvard law school graduate, he was actively looking for a job at a successful law firm to justify the three hundred thousand dollars he had gone into debt, to build a career for himself. At 24, he was single, and had dedicated every waking moment of his life to his studies, and an office internship he was able to score through one of his mother’s co-workers that he couldn’t wait to quit.

Tired and bored out of his mind on a snowy December night, Ken was getting ready to clock out of the office when he noticed a small envelope in his cubicle signed with his name. Grabbing the envelope with one hand, and sloppily clocking out with the other, Ken rushed out of the office, running to make the next 6 train.

Finally taking a seat on the train hoping to catch some shut-eye, Ken found himself immersed in thoughts he’d accrued throughout the day; the most recent being that fact that all the men in his family were married by age 26, and it seemed as though he would be the first to break the family trend. Ken had been single since he was 20, and though he wasn’t opposed to the idea of marriage, or at least even dating someone, he found it difficult to talk to girls given that he worked six days a week, and hated his uneventful work life.

Arriving at Union Square, Ken had realized that the letter he rushedly snatched from his desk was still sitting in the left pocket of his briefcase, unopened. Tearing open the letter, Ken broke into a nervous sweat when he read the words “For Ken, Open Before Lunch.” Reading the letter from his boss, he stood up in panic after realizing he had to be at Grand Central Terminal in 10 minutes, and his train was headed the other direction!

After having transferred to an uptown train, Ken sighed in relief. With only eight minutes until the meeting, he figured he’d blame train traffic, being that this was his first time being tardy in two years. Finally arriving at 42nd Street, Ken ran out of the station and hopped into an empty taxi, exclaiming to the driver he was in a hurry. Looking out the snowflake distorted windshield, Ken decided to tune out his anxiety and solely focus on the meeting. Handing the taxi driver a fifty dollar bill, Ken bolted out of the car and ran towards the GCT, slowing down towards the entrance, trying to keep his composure.

Entering Grand Central Station, Ken became aware of his next challenge: finding his boss. Looking for probably the most important detail of the night, Ken opened the letter looking for the location, only to find the invitation contained no such thing. By this point in the evening, Ken had realized he was already in excess of fifteen minutes late to the meeting with his boss. Trying to concentrate on taking breaths, he looked at what was probably the most visually appealing item he’d seen during the night. He jogged down the staircase to catch a closer look at the golden clock, walking directly up to the information booth.

With neither his boss in sight nor any of his co-workers, Ken safely let loose any concern about the meeting. He walked up to the clock to snap a picture on his smartphone as it hit 9 o’clock. Pressing capture, Ken’s anxious feelings renewed as he received a message from his boss, this time stating that the meeting was moved to the following week. Ken couldn’t help but let out a hopeful grin. Christmas was around the corner, and he was ready to relax this one night. To his surprise, a light tap on the shoulder revealed Stephanie, a co-worker from the same shift. Following some small talk, Ken decided to take his chances, and invite Stephanie for coffee the following morning. Standing in front of the golden clock, Ken felt the world come down on his face as Stephanie’s face came closer, locking lips with the co-worker she had been giving stares to for the last week. In the midst of the exchange, a foreign sense of confidence had suffused throughout Ken’s body, as he held her by the hand and took her to the Whispering Gallery. After a candid conversation from a distance, Ken revealed to Stephanie his intent to quit his job the next morning. He’d expressed how much he loathed the boring and uneventful process of his office job, and that he hoped to find a job more consistent with what he was actually interested in: practicing law. The realization that unless they both quit their jobs the following day, they would probably never see each other again, was mutual, and they both left the GCT devastated that their lives had taken this turn.

(P.S. My phone camera wasn’t working so, this is a photo I took from GCT earlier this year)

Ronald Osherov

**Disclaimer: I did not read anyone’s story ahead of time, so we have similar themes then great minds think alike!**

Notes:

• The train stop aspect was really cool, it gave you a feel of the old steam trains
• Many people are walking busily and not taking in the beauty of the station
• The stars on the ceiling are lights
• The clock is the most accurate clock
• The whispering walls actually work
• The train lines have express and local as well
• The chandeliers are very heavy
• The windows can open
• One of the halls is booked for weddings up to four years from now

I was pleasantly surprised by this trip. When I think of Grand Central I think of commuting, not necessarily art. I was in a group with Jayne and Amy. We decided to take the express tracks on the map. I was surprised that the clock had sliding doors in the booth. I wish the tour could have taken us to the levels underneath. The signs on the ceiling were also so beautiful, because the ceiling is so vast that it actually begins to look like a sky-like dome. Also, the whispering hallway was definitely our favorite part of the tour. We were trying to decode the science behind it. I know that countless movies and shows have had scenes here, and Jayne even reminded me of Gossip Girl being filmed here which is one of my favorite shows. There are two historical elements that I find the most fascinating. One is that the windows were painted black during World War II to decrease the chances of the building being a target. Then, the second one is that Grand Central was about to be cut from existence if it weren’t form some Hollywood stars, and the former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. It is so fascinating to think that anyone would want to shut down such a beautiful building.

For my short story, I would use two locations. I would use the whispering walls and the Eastern grand staircase. This story takes place in 2016 as the year is winding down and the holidays are taking place. There is a woman, the lead character, who has not seen her boyfriend in two years. She fears for his safety as he is a lieutenant in the army. She wishes he could return home for the holidays, but she knows that he already told her he would have to skip another year. Then, she receives a package in the mail. This package includes some riddles and puzzle pieces that involve going around the city, and the main point is that she ends up in Grand Central. After a day of roaming around the city and collecting hints, she ends up in Grand Central. One of the final riddles tells her to go to the hall with the whispering walls. She goes and she turns to the wall and asks it the question that was on the sheet, “What is my holiday present this year?” The wall replies with a “Follow me to find out.” She is puzzled and decides to turn around to the diagonal wall to see her boyfriend’s sister. She is so happy to see her, and she is told to follow. They walk to the Grand Staircase on the East end. There, her boyfriend is standing in his uniform with many balloons. She runs to him crying, and then he gets on one knee and proposes. The whole station is clapping for her and balloons are released.

The reason why I created a story of this nature is because no matter how cliché it is, Grand Central has an air of love. This is the perfect love story and setting.

-Marie Traore