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over what's incorrect or why, and the only way I imagine finding the truth is if some of the artists, painters, or astronomers had some private notes or journals. All of the explanations either involve disinterest in the technicalities, finger-pointing, or the boisterous claim that it was intentionally incorrect.
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For a few years I was a weekend bicycle tour guide. Mostly South Bronx, Harlem, Central Park, Astoria, Roosevelt Island, Greenpoint. I always mentioned that I wrote part of the
Knowledge (XXG) article about most of the sights, and cautioned that my lectures were less carefully prepared. I mean, often
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The fourth myth is perplexing. Every source states something similar, but different. It is a plain fact that several of the constellations are correct, and some are reversed, along with the overall arrangement on the ceiling. So the ceiling is neither fully correct or fully backwards. A pamphlet from
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There's four bold statements, repeated in semi-official tours of the terminal (and especially for its centennial in 2013) that we'll cover in this article. Journalists attending the celebratory events that year are responsible for repeating these statements. They've stood out as so unbelievable that
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March 1913 account of a
Westchester commuter who noticed the constellation mistakes, not even a month after the station opened in 1913. I believe the Vanderbilts claimed the mural to represent a "divine perspective" as a cover-up for such a literally massive mistake. So there's never been agreement
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in New York City, I humbly hope you will put aside what you've learned. It's been my single largest project to rewrite this
Knowledge (XXG) entry – on one of the busiest train stations in the country – and find out the truth behind widely repeated myths. I teamed up with about a half-dozen other
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sub-basement and power station actually was an area of concern during World War II, according to reputable author Sam
Roberts. Its entrances were patrolled by armed guards, and the space was removed from any floor plans of the building. He even claims the saboteurs met in the terminal, by its
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Congratulations and kudos for a very difficult sourcing job well done! I grew up in New Jersey and loved Grand
Central. It's sad that even the official tour didn't have their facts straight. Now if only someone would take on debunking all the MAGA lies surrounding the 2020 election . . .
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into the present day claim it, again including Grand
Central Terminal's own website. But yet most of the sources that mention the clock, and all those from before 1995, do not mention Tiffany. Some go far into detail about the clock, and the notable glassmaker would have been mentioned.
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that I referenced mention the clock. I would love to examine the clock to better-ascertain its creator(s), but I was denied access to that space and all other non-public areas of the terminal. Anyhow, portions of the glass have been replaced during restorations. The restorer,
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when the terminal opened claimed "it is safe to say that many school children will go to the Grand
Central Terminal to study this representation of the heavens." So at least some of the New York Central Railroad's staff believed the mural to be correct. What's great is
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information booth and in its newsreel theater. These facts are themselves somewhat questionable, though the reliable source merits their inclusion in the M42 article. But any ideas of a failed sabotage event taking place there are debunked by
Roberts in his
401:, found no signatures on the original glass pieces, and a 1913 list of contractors included Tiffany as a metalworker on the terminal project, but listed four completely different contractors for glass work and clock work. I am awaiting
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I didn't know what part of town they wanted to see, much less what questions they would ask. Mostly I got stuff right but upon checking after a tour I never found that I had made a mistake that made it less funny or less grand.
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I love this story. I'd seen it before, but it's nice to see it in full, updated. I could imagine this as a series about urban legends/truths about rail terminals, airports etc. Of course you may have the very best right here.
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where the main character sells out in real time. People may criticise
Knowledge (XXG) as dry but I am proud of the fact that we will not tolerate distortions of fact on the grounds of entertainment. —
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My takeaway is, why even bother making up or believing in such tall tales? The strongly-documented history of the terminal is an interesting story enough. Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.
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The terminal's famous constellation ceiling is backwards, either on purpose "the way the Gods would see the stars" or by mistake "Oops the reference sketch was held at my feet, not at the ceiling".
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Wikipedians, historians, journalists, and photographers to find the truth and write out this immense project. It's there that we began myth-busting most of the modern works about Grand
Central.
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The terminal's secret sub-basement, holding an electrical substation that powers the terminal and its tracks, was a target of the Nazis during World War II, which they failed to sabotage.
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The second "fact" is easy to disprove, again simply with how it's been described over time. There is a massive glass-faced clock on the building's exterior, but it's not from
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as their journalists have further evidence that makes it clear it is not a Tiffany work. Until then, this myth cannot be fully busted with a reliable source.
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I'm hoping to better establish a permanent record on these. Let's dive into the first tale. While some sources have identified it as
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and 2000 – and again in 2006. Knowledge (XXG) (!) picked up this tale in 2006, where it remained until 2013. In this time,
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The front of the terminal has a massive clock, designed by Tiffany Studios, and the largest Tiffany clock in the world.
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By the way, the tennis court upstairs is not a myth at all; I can safely vouch for it because I've been there myself.
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Busting into Grand Central: Debunking widely-told myths about New York's grandest and centralest railway station.
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Fascinating article and a great reminder that even the most reliable sources are often not all that reliable.
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Very interesting! It is really sad that much pop education, like guided tours, is grossly untrue. There's
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On elections - People do. Constantly. The reason it doesn't work is because the MAGA movement is built on
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Grand Central has a four-sided clock in the center of its Main Concourse, made of the precious gem
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into new facts. For a historian who loves to tour historic sites, it's a deeply concerning notion.
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Sometimes the story about how an article gets written is better than the article itself. --
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Congratulations on excellent work! Very impressive and the end result is quite fascinating.
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This was a really interesting piece on one of my favorite places in NYC. Great research!
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The third "fact" is a little trickier. All good lies have some truth to them. The
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Interesting read! Urban truths stranger than legends are always fascinating...
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was the first one to act against this myth, emailing research to the news site
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Awesome write-up and great research! This was a joy to read ^_^ ~
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Everything you're ever told in a tour is wrong. Well, maybe not
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And I would also argue for the inclusion of a fifth myth,
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I did get there! Took a quick photo or two. Pretty wild.
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Grand Central: How a Train Station Transformed America
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Machinery and overhead crane in the M42 sub-basement
597:If your comment has not appeared here, you can try
366:, finally disproving this rumor in a concrete way.
416:Advertisement featuring the "secret" sub-basement
364:"Is the Grand Central Clock Worth $ 20 Million?"
176:, but stories and ideas turn into facts, which
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346:. He emailed me as well, and working with
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18:Knowledge (XXG):Knowledge (XXG) Signpost
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188:A visual lineup of suspects:
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250:The Main Concourse ceiling
71:Busting into Grand Central
352:New York Transit Museum
590:. To follow comments,
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261:Grand Central Terminal
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