Tuesday, December 24, 2013

A New York Central Christmas

All photos taken on this day can be found in Photo Lines here.
Grand Central Terminal; New York, New York; December 21, 2013
A couple of weeks ago we ventured into New York City to take a look at the Centennial Holiday Light Show at Grand Central Terminal in New York. With an unusually warm evening occurring on December 21, I headed back into Gotham for a walk around the exterior of Grand Central and a visit to the former New York Central Building (now the Helmsley Building) a couple of blocks north of GCT. First up was the beginning of the Holiday Light Show -- I had managed to get a slightly off composition of the beginning of the show last time when "GCT" was displayed in the windows, so that was remedied this time.
Grand Central Terminal; New York, New York; December 21, 2013
GCT; December 21, 2013
One the iconic images available in new York is the clock in the middle of the Terminal's concourse, and it drew some attention for a few shots before heading outdoors. All four faces of the clock are made from high-grade opal, and the clock is valued at somewhere between $10 and $20 million. If you need to meet someone in New York, meeting under the clock is probably the most famous place to do such a thing -- four generations have met here through the decades.

Helmsley Building




As I said, the evening was quite pleasant so I headed outside and walked north several blocks. The New York Central Railroad had offices next to Grand Central Terminal, and that building survives today, now known as the Helmsley Building. The impressive structure is lit throughout the year (as is Grand Central), but for the holidays it receives a red, green and blue treatment.

Grand Central was opened in 1913; the New York Central Building was built in 1929 as part of "Terminal City" and was designed by Warren & Wetmore (who also designed GCT). At 35 stories tall, the NYC Building dominated the skyline around the terminal until the construction of the Pan Am Building (now the MetLife Building, opened in 1963).


Helmsley Building; New York, New York; December 21, 2013
From there it was back to Grand Central for some exterior shots. At this point I'll wish you a Merry Christmas and leave you with a few scenes from outside Grand Central.
Grand Central Terminal; New York, New York; December 21, 2013
Grand Central Terminal; New York, New York; December 21, 2013

Grand Central Terminal; New York, New York; December 21, 2013

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