IWalked New York City’s Grand Central Terminal (Graybar Passage)

While on our Lower Midtown tour we hit upon a number of the highlights within Grand Central Terminal, one locale we were unable to visit due to time constraints was the Graybar Passage. This was an unfortunate omission due to time constraints, but that is the beauty of a blog. There are no time restrictions to share some added travel tips.

The Graybar Passage, if you are unfamiliar, is the hallway which connects the Main Concourse within Grand Central Terminal to the Graybar Building located on Lexington Avenue. To find it, all you need to do is look for the sign that reads, “Tracks 17 to 11 Graybar Passage”. While walking about one-half of the way down it, you will come upon an example of some wall murals that were done by WPA artists in the 1930s. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was a government program started by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression and in an effort to create jobs for artists.

This mural located within the Graybar Passage is one of the last paintings remaining from the WPA effort as most were painted over during prior restorations. This work is titled “Transportation and Construction” and is by Edward Trumbull. Trumbull is most famous for another mural which he painted inside the nearby Chrysler Building. Depicted within Trumbull’s mural are various images to depict technological progress including wagons, trains and airplanes.

 

Website: http://www.grandcentralterminal.com/info/walkingtour.cfm

Address: 89 East 42nd Street, New York City, NY

Cost: Free for self-guided tour. MP3 tours are available for download (www.myopheo.com) or rent at the “GCT Tour” window in the Main Concourse for $4.99.

IWalked Audio Tours To See This Site: New York City’s Lower Midtown. (Purchase the MP3 tour here. iPhone application tour is available here. Please note, all NYC tours are now available as in-app purchases upon download of our FREE NYC Lite application, which includes a free 1.5 hour tour of a portion of the Upper West Side.)