Grand Central Terminal Centennial Celebration

On February 1st, 1913 the Grand Central Terminal's station master was handed the first set of keys to this iconic landmark. Shortly after midnight, on February 2nd, the first train left the station. Today, 100 years later, New Yorkers celebrated this momentous occasion with speeches, musical performances, museum exhibits and nearly free food. 

I promised myself that I would do more in this incredible city of mine, so I bundled up against the cold and joined in with the party at the station. For those of you who are not familiar with this train station, you might have recognized it from movies such as North by Northwest, Men in Black, Superman: The Movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Friends With Benefits, and of course, The Avengers.

Cary Grant, center, glancing at Alfred Hitchcock, between lights, during filming of a scene in Grand Central Terminal for "North by Northwest" (1959), from the exhibition "Celluloid Skyline: New York and the Movies." From the NY Times

My favorite part of the celebration was the 1913 pricing deals for some of the tenants in the terminal. They offered products for the original cost from 100 years ago! Most of the lines were too long, such as a 45 minute wait for 10¢ gelato from Ciao Bella or 10¢ french fries from Tri Tip Grill. Another problem I faced was the products had sold out by the time I got there at 12pm such as 6¢ loaf of rye bread from Zaro's Bakery.

However, I did score some awesome deals! I was able to buy 5¢ small drip hot coffee from Financier Patisserie, which also came with a petite madeline! I then bought 25¢ pieces of Legendary Fudge from Li-Lac Chocolates and a 100% silk scar for $2 from Toto. Event staff also gave out wooden train whistles and luggage tags with the Centennial celebration logo on them as well as earrings from Tias Place. Overall it was exciting and worth the trip for all the great deals!

Some of the goodies I grabbed!

A bird's eye view of the festivities, by MTAPhotos

If you would like to check out some incredible photos of Grand Central Station, Gothamist posted 21 Behind the Scenes Photos and Wikipedia always provides great background stories.

And I shall leave you with a quote by Tom Wolfe:

 "The grandest, most glorious of all, by far, was Grand Central Station."