Excerpt from Landmarks Preservation Commission designation report:
“The Commission further finds that, among its important qualities, that the Interior of Grand Central Terminal is one of the finest examples of railroad station interior design in the world, that it is a truly impressive, richly detailed, and grandly scaled example of the Beaux-Arts style, that its planning is a paradigm of coherence and clarity, allowing for exceptional ease of circulation and maximum passenger comfort, that the use of ramps was an innovative concept, that the Main Concourse constitutes one of “the classic interior spaces in America”, that the interior was designed by two notable American architectural firms working in association, that the beauty of style and plan of the interior were predicated upon pioneering engineering and urban planning concepts, that the interior continues to serve the city’s transportation needs effectively, that it is also a vital civic center, and that it is a treasured symbol of Manhattan, cherished not only by New Yorkers but by visitors from all over the world.”
Photography courtesy Alex Proimos, Flickr