AU141: Grand Central Station: A Rose Among Thorns

• Who Am I? A rose among thorns...
• I am Grand Central Station, a monumental Beaux Arts building fronted by 3 triumphal arches, one of which supports statues of three Roman gods who watch over the people of my world-famous city.
• I’m almost 110 years old and have survived serious threats of destruction, several facelifts and operations on my insides, including the removal of a 2-inch thick layer of grime from the mural of my vast 48 foot high ceiling, caused by decades of pollution.
• I can still show off the original bronze and stone carvings, ornamental inscriptions, 5 gold chandeliers, marble floors and a 4-sided standing clock deemed to be worth as much as $20 million!
• I boast some 60 shops, 35 eateries, and in some of my spaces you can organize your own private events (but you have to conform to 39 pages of rules and regulations to do so!).
• I am host to some 750,000 people who pass daily through my portals

In this WICE talk you can find out much more about me, including the ingenious engineering feats that went into my construction, how my presence influenced the growth of my city and, alas, how now, my former glory is being dimmed by rising sterile glass and metal monsters dwarfing me on 3 sides, but forever unable to rob me of my amazing history!

Carol Herselle Krinsky, a Smith graduate with a Ph.D; from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts, has been Professor of Art History at NYU since 1965. She's the author of five books, is working on a sixth, has earned national and university teaching awards, and has been President of several scholarly organizations concerned with architecture and art. She has also been a guest professor elsewhere in the USA, and in Mexico, Germany, Belarus, and Tatarstan,and has lectured in ten European countries. New York City's architecture is one of her specialties!

Photo Credit: Budapest Attrations - Top Sights