Grand Central Terminal Turns 100 Today.

[N2NH]

Grand Central Terminal opened on February 1st, 1913.

For the most part, train terminals are desperate places. They're an unavoidable evil linking us to somewhere else -- but not before assaulting us with tepid coffee, drafty waiting rooms and smelly, ugly ticket halls. Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal, which turns 100 this month, is a glorious exception.
But it's not just its iconic opal-faced clock (a century old and valued at more than $10 million), flawless marble staircases (modeled on those in the Paris Opera House) and gleaming chandeliers (fitted with 35,000 custom-designed, low-energy light bulbs) that lend Grand Central a sense of golden age grandeur.
The terminal -- not station, never station -- also has a fascinating history, with stories to rival Manhattan's better known, pointier landmarks.

The story has some very interesting historical anecdotes too.

Memorable moments in Grand Central's 100 years