Grand Central Terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue has consumed many changes since its creation in 1871, recently completing a$175 million restoration, which began in 1995. Built in 1912, the station has been the scene of numerous historic events, including a memorial to President John F. Kennedy. But the grandeur of Grand Central has reached its zenith for the new millennium as a new shopping hot spot for tourists and commuting locals as well. Now the station is the new midtown shopping mall for our consumer angst. Prices are a little high but what the heck, it’s a Mall, and it’s steeped in history. Go and have fun!
Cleaning began with the Beaux-Arts exterior, the clock and the Minerva, Mercury and Hercules statues and the 25, 000-square-foot mural spanning the ceiling in the main ticket area. One of the world’s finest and most imposing open spaces, 470 feet long and 150 feet high, the barrel-vaulted ceiling twinkles like a clear and cloudless night sky. The painting, on a sky-blue background, depicts signs of the zodiac and 2, 500 stars in gold paint. The newly restored ceiling is the crowning touch to the landmark’s transformation. Also included in the restoration is the addition of a second staircase, restaurants on the balconies and a main concourse lined by shops.
Stand in the middle during an average workday in New York and you realize that Grand Central was designed to introduce you to the special elegance of travel formally allowed only to the fortunate. Great cities had great stations for travelers and their arrival and departure and the station, junction, or depot created a reverential mood to begin or end your journey. Today airports and train stations seem designed to process the traveler like some urban cipher rather than accompany him in his quest for new understanding of faraway lands and intercourse or cultural exchange with new people. New York lost Penn Station, but won Grand Central.
If not for the efforts of a few dedicated New Yorkers in the 1960s(the late Jackie Onassis publicly spoke out against the removal of the historic building), Grand Central wouldn’t even be here, or at least it would be much different. A 10-year fight against the destruction of the building ended with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the terminal’s landmark status. It was only deemed a National Landmark in 1978, after the railroad’s plan to build an office tower over the terminal was diverted.
The Metropolitan Transit Association’s massive renovation of Grand Central has not been without commercial interest - there are four new restaurants that overlook the main concourse. The terminal’s special areas and features have remained. The Tennis Club on the third floor used to be a CBS studio but now offers up court-time for a membership fee of several thousand dollars a year; the Oyster Bar in the vaulted bowels of the station is one of the city’s most highly regarded seafood restaurants, serving something like a dozen varieties of oyster and so crowded at lunchtime with the Midtown office crowd you can’t get your foot in the door.
Most travelers know the station as a junction for the MTA shuttle train connecting Times Square to Grand Central Train Terminal where one can book a ticket for points north on the train line and to Connecticut. One of the worlds’ most famous - and busiest - train stations, serving approximately 500, 000 people every day who use the commuter trains to Westchester and Connecticut, or one of the NYC subway lines that connect here. Grand Central is only used for the MetroNorth commuter trains that go up the Hudson into Westchester and Rockland Counties(up to Poughkeepsie) and into Connecticut up to New Haven. If you want to catch the subway, you can connect to the A C E 1 2 3 and 9 trains directly from Penn Station. You can exit the station and walk 1 block east to 6th Avenue for the B D F Q N and R trains. The 4 5 6 7 and S trains stop at Grand Central.
The three levels at Grand Central feature just about anything you could want, and the gourmet market features fresh fish, premium coffee, chocolate, breads, cheeses, and many other fine food products.
The main level is lined with retail shops with clothing, watches, and electronic products. The best way to see what’s available is to do what Mall Rats do- just start window-shopping. The balcony level features premium restaurants such as Cipriani, and Michael Jordan’s. The dining concourse on the lower level has all variations of fast foods, and funky seating spaces where you can meet a friend for a coffee from Café Spice or satiate your sweet tooth with confection from Little Pie Company, grab a slice of pizza from Two Boots or indulge from one of the dozen types of oysters from the Oyster Bar.
Below is a list of virtually all the new hot spots at Grand Central Mall. Call ahead if you’re unsure of operating hours.
RETAIL SHOPS & SERVICES
America’s Coffee(212) 986-6116
Avis Currency Exchange(212) 661-7600
Banana Republic(212) 490-3127
Central Market(212) 983-2323
Chase Bank(212) 935-9935
Children’s General Store(212) 682-0004
Dahlia(212) 697-5090
Discovery Channel Store(212) 808-9144
Douglas Cosmetics(212) 599-1776
Eastern News(212) 973-0898
Eddie’s Shoe Repair(212) 499-7488
Flowers on Lexington(212) 808-0077
General Nutrition Center(212) 953-0899
Godiva Chocolatier(212) 808-0276
Grand Central Optical(212) 599-1221
Grande Harvest Wines(212) 682-5855
Hot & Crusty Bakery(212) 687-6054
Hudson News(212) 687-4580
Joon Stationery(212) 949-1700
Junior’s(212) 692-9800
Kenneth Cole(212) 949-8079
L’Occitane(212) 557-6754
LaCrasia Gloves and Creative Accessories(212) 370-0310
Leeper Kids(212) 499-9111
Michael Eigen Jewelers(212) 949-0170
Neuhaus Boutique(212) 972-3740
New York Transit Museum Gallery & Store(212) 878-0106
O’Henry’s Film Works(212) 687-4333
Oliviers & Co.(212) 973-1472
Oren’s Daily Roast(212) 953-1028
Origins(212) 808-4141
Papyrus(212) 490-9894
Park Avenue Sweets(212) 983-1280
Pink Slip(212) 949-9037
Posman Books(212) 983-1111
Rite Aid(212) 972-8267
Starbucks Coffee Company(212) 599-4368
The J. Peterman Company(212) 370-0855
TOTO(212) 661-4499
trainTUNES(212) 490-3270
Tumi(212) 973-0015
Watch Station(212) 883-7398
Zaro’s Bread Basket(212) 292-0162
RESTAURANTS & DINING
Caviarteria(212) 682-5355
Central Market(212) 983-2323
Christer’s(212) 986-1230
Custard Beach(212) 983-9155
Junior’s(212) 692-9800
Knodel(212) 986-1230
Little Pie Company(212) 983-3538
Masa Sushi(212) 972-3688
Mendy’s Kosher Delicatessen(212) 856-9399
Métrazur(212) 687-4600
Michael Jordan’s The Steak House N.Y.C.(212) 655-2300
Mike’s Take-Away(212) 983-6453
Nem(212) 338-6810
Oyster Bar & Restaurant(212) 490-6650
The Campbell Apartment(212) 953-0409
Two Boots(212) 557-7992
Zaro’s Bread Basket(212) 292-0162
Zócalo Bar & Restaurant(212) 687-5666
GRAND CENTRAL MARKET
Adriana’s Caravan(212) 972-8804
Ceriello Fine Foods(212) 972-4266
Corrado Bread & Pastry(212) 599-4321
Greenwich Produce(212) 545-0276
Koglin German Hams(212) 499-0725
Li-Lac Chocolates(212) 370-4866
Ninth Avenue Cheese(212) 370-4136
Oren’s Daily Roast(212) 388-0014
Pando’s Poultry(212) 370-4136
Perigord(212) 599-4332
Pescatore Seafood Company(212) 557-4466
Ronnybrook Farm Dairy(212) 953-MILK
Wild Edibles(212) 687-4255
Zaro’s Bread Basket(212) 292-0162
Go to the web site - https://grandcentralterminal.com to get a comprehensive listing with phone numbers of the retail shops, restaurants, and services located in Grand Central Terminal.