Shayna Marchese
Grand Central Station in New York City.
Few cities welcome visitors as majestically as New York does with Grand Central Terminal. It's Manhattan's workaday nerve center, where a vast network of subway lines and commuter trains converge, making for a lively scene. Outside, the city's most iconic sights lie within a ten-block radius. There's no better way to stretch your legs after a journey by train.
Photo caption: Grand Central Station in New York City.
The station itself is an engineering wonder -- as smart as it is beautiful. The "elevated circumferential plaza," as it was called in 1913, splits Park Avenue, which is diverted around the building. Even more impressive is the "bridge" over the tracks, designed to support a cluster of skyscrapers. The main concourse was restored to its original glory in 1998; the Sky Ceiling inside depicts the constellations of the winter sky above New York. They're lit with 59 stars surrounded by dazzling 24-karat gold. Emitting light fed through fiber-optic cables, the stars in their intensities roughly replicate the magnitude of the actual stars as seen from Earth. Look carefully and you'll see a patch near one corner left unrestored -- a reminder of the neglect this splendid masterpiece once endured.
Grand Central Station, 42nd St. & Park Ave. tel. 212/340-2210. www.grandcentralterminal.com.
Photo caption: The Vanderbilt Lobby of Grand Central Station in New York City.
The Vanderbilt Lobby of Grand Central Station in New York City.
If you're hungry upon arrival, don't leave the premises without stopping by the food court on the lower-level, or, for finer fare, the famous Grand Central Oyster Bar. The court has a wide range of options -- from hearty Mexican (Zócalo) to top-notch soup (Hale & Hearty), Indian food (Spice), and pizza (Two Boots). Choices at the Oyster Bar are delicious and fast, and the seating is plentiful. Outside the restaurant, check out the tiled Gustavino ceiling with its Whispering wall. Stand facing one of the pillars with a friend facing the one directly opposite and whisper something. You'll be able to hear one another -- and no one else can listen in.
Grand Central Station, 42nd St. & Park Ave. Oyster Bar: tel. 212/490-6650. www.oysterbarny.com.
Photo caption: The Grand Central Oyster Bar in New York City.
The Grand Central Oyster Bar in New York City.
This 1930 Art Deco masterpiece was designed to be the world's tallest building -- and it was, if only for a year. In the race against other New York architects to build the tallest skyscraper of the era, William Van Alen secretly added a stainless-steel spire inside the fire shaft, hoisting it into place only after his competitors thought his building was completed.
405 Lexington Ave. (at 42nd St.).
Photo caption: The Chrysler Building in New York City.
The Chrysler Building in New York City.
The former private library of financier John Pierpont Morgan contains one of the world's most important collections of rare books and manuscripts. It was not Morgan himself who bartered with booksellers but his personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, a light-skinned African American who passed herself off as white to gain entree into Pierpont Morgan's world. Morgan gave her carte blanche (money was no object) to buy some of the world's rarest manuscripts, a job she ably carried out for more than 40 years. Look for the autographed manuscript of a Mozart symphony, early children's books, a chalk drawing by Peter Paul Rubens, and the ornate illustrations in medieval and Renaissance manuscripts.
225 Madison Avenue (btw. 36th and 37th sts.). tel. 212/685-0610. www.themorgan.org.
Photo caption: The East Room of Pierpont Morgan's Library at The Morgan Library & Museum. New York City.
The East Room of Pierpont Morgan's Library at The Morgan Library & Museum. New York City.
This limestone-and-stainless-steel Art Deco icon has been synonymous with the Manhattan skyline since its completion in 1931. It has 103 stories, 6,500 windows, 73 elevators, 70 miles (113km) of water pipes, and 1,860 steps from bottom to top. The lobby alone is worth a look, with its shimmering metal-relief sculptures and rosy marble floors. Every night the Empire State Building is bathed in colored floodlights to commemorate holidays or significant events -- among them red, white, and blue for Independence Day; green for St. Patrick's Day; red, black, and green for Martin Luther King Day; blue and white for Hanukkah; and lavender and white for Gay Pride Day.
350 Fifth Ave. (at 34th St.). tel. 212/736-3100. www.esbnyc.com.
Photo caption: The Empire State Building seen from the Top of the Rock in New York City.
The Empire State Building seen from the Top of the Rock in New York City.
This monumental Beaux Arts structure is glorious inside and out -- and it's a model of utility to boot, with almost two million cardholders. The Main Reading Room, restored in 1998, is all soaring space and burnished oak. The sculpted lions out front are festooned with garlands during the Christmas season. Out back is one of Manhattan's prettiest green spaces, Bryant Park -- a great warm-weather spot for a bag lunch. In summer, the park hosts its Summer Film Festival featuring classic-movie screenings on Monday evenings at dusk. The lawn opens at 5pm for blankets and picnics.
Bordered by 40th and 42nd sts. & Fifth and Sixth aves. tel. 212/512-5700. www.bryantpark.org.
Photo caption: The New York Public Library in New York City.
The New York Public Library in New York City.
Every day, hundreds of visitors and worshippers stream in and out of this massive Gothic cathedral. Dedicated in 1879, the 2,200-seat structure has stained-glass windows crafted by artisans from Chartres, France. Designed by James Renwick, the largest Roman Catholic cathedral in the U.S. was begun in 1859, consecrated in 1879, and finally completed in 1906. You can pop in between services to get a look at the impressive interior. The St. Michael and St. Louis altar came from Tiffany & Co., while the St. Elizabeth altar -- honoring Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born saint -- was designed by Paolo Medici of Rome.
Fifth Ave. (btw. 50th & 51st sts.), tel. 212/753-2261. www.saintpatrickscathedral.org
Photo caption: St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.
St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.
Rock Center was erected mainly in the 1930s, when the city was mired in the Depression and in thrall to Art Deco -- the latter expressed both in the building's architecture and in the art commissioned to decorate it. The focal point is the 1933 GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, one of the city's most impressive buildings. The entrance sculpture, Wisdom, by Lee Lawrie, is an Art Deco masterpiece, as is the artist's Atlas, at the entrance court of the International Building. The sunken plaza in front of 30 Rock is overseen by the gilded statue Prometheus by Paul Manship.
Bounded by 48th & 51th sts. & Fifth & Sixth aves., tel. 877/692-7625. www.rockefellercenter.com.
Photo caption: Rockefeller Center in New York City.
Rockefeller Center in New York City.
MoMA houses the world's greatest collection of painting and sculpture from the late 19th century to the present -- from Monet's Water Lilies and Klimt's The Kiss, to 20th-century masterworks by Frida Kahlo and Jasper Johns, to contemporary pieces by Richard Serra and Chuck Close. Add to that a vast collection of modern drawings, photos, architectural models and modern furniture, iconic design objects ranging from tableware to sports cars, and film and video -- all displayed in 630,000 square feet (58,529 sq. m) of light-filled space, spread over six floors. The architectural highlight is a 110-foot-tall (33m) atrium, which diffuses natural light throughout.
11 W. 53rd St. (btw. Fifth & Sixth aves.). 212/708-9400. www.moma.org.
Photo caption: Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Built in 1952, this High Modern hymn to glass has undergone a spiffy renovation to restore its original sparkle. The clean-lined, relatively small skyscraper was the first in New York to employ the "curtain wall" design philosophy, with a brilliant blue-green glass facade. The bottom level is a public space.
400 Park Ave. (btw. 53rd & 54th sts.). Subway: 6 to Lexington Ave.
Photo caption: The Lever House in New York City.
Photo caption: Grand Central Station in New York City.
Grand Central Station, 42nd St. & Park Ave. tel. 212/340-2210. www.grandcentralterminal.com.
Photo caption: The Vanderbilt Lobby of Grand Central Station in New York City.
Grand Central Station, 42nd St. & Park Ave. Oyster Bar: tel. 212/490-6650. www.oysterbarny.com.
Photo caption: The Grand Central Oyster Bar in New York City.
405 Lexington Ave. (at 42nd St.).
Photo caption: The Chrysler Building in New York City.
225 Madison Avenue (btw. 36th and 37th sts.). tel. 212/685-0610. www.themorgan.org.
Photo caption: The East Room of Pierpont Morgan's Library at The Morgan Library & Museum. New York City.
350 Fifth Ave. (at 34th St.). tel. 212/736-3100. www.esbnyc.com.
Photo caption: The Empire State Building seen from the Top of the Rock in New York City.
Bordered by 40th and 42nd sts. & Fifth and Sixth aves. tel. 212/512-5700. www.bryantpark.org.
Photo caption: The New York Public Library in New York City.
Fifth Ave. (btw. 50th & 51st sts.), tel. 212/753-2261. www.saintpatrickscathedral.org
Photo caption: St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.
Bounded by 48th & 51th sts. & Fifth & Sixth aves., tel. 877/692-7625. www.rockefellercenter.com.
Photo caption: Rockefeller Center in New York City.
11 W. 53rd St. (btw. Fifth & Sixth aves.). 212/708-9400. www.moma.org.
Photo caption: Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
400 Park Ave. (btw. 53rd & 54th sts.). Subway: 6 to Lexington Ave.
Photo caption: The Lever House in New York City.