Vintage subway trains on the S line this weekend
So much was happening around the Grand Central Parade of Trains yesterday. Families reveled in “Kid Junction” at Vanderbilt Hall, historic railcars were on display on the tracks in Grand Central, 1950s and 60s vintage trains were running along the S train, and Untapped Cities had its “Secrets of Grand Central” tour which concluded with cocktails at The Campbell Apartment.
Train-lovers and Grand Central enthusiasts cannot miss the Grand Centennial Parade of Trains—the “grandest” train show in history—at Grand Central Terminal this weekend. On Saturday, May 11th and Sunday, May 12th, from 10am to 4pm, more than 20 historic train cars from around the world will be on display. The younger train enthusiasts will surely enjoy the model train collectible show, the “Master Lego Builder” from Legoland, and a series of fun activities at “Kid Junction.” Visitors will also have the chance to ride to Grand Central in style; vintage subway cars from the ’40s and ’50s will be running on Track 4 of the Times Square shuttle throughout the event. Get the full schedule of events here.
Be sure to check out our article on the secrets of Grand Central, in honor of the terminal’s one-hundredth birthday, and learn about what Grand Central Terminal could have been, if the original plans had been realized.
We have already had a duct tape store pop up in New York City—so maybe we shouldn’t be too surprised with the life-size dollhouse that has sprung up in Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal.
The seven-room dollhouse, complete with interior decor and furniture, is a marketing ploy by Target to promote the launch of their “Threshold” line of home products. Open for just two days (it closes today at 6.30 pm), this dollhouse is free to visit, and provides an impressive way to check out Target’s products in a true-to-home setting—albeit a home that is located within Grand Central Terminal.
Our curated events picks for this week: PULSE Art Fair, Frieze Art Fair and the Untapped Cities Secrets of Grand Central tour.
MONDAY, MAY 6: The Explorers Club lecture series with Dr. Pat Wright: The Lemur Crisis in Madagasar. Join Dr. Wright as she takes you to the rainforests of Madagascar and learn about her lemur conservation work that since its beginnings in 1986 has intertwined research, education, health and economic improvement. 6pm reception, 7pm lecture at The Explorers Club, 46 East 70th Street. FREE for members / $5 students / $20 general admission. For reservations call 212 – 628 – 8383 or email reservations@explorers.org.
TUESDAY, MAY 7: Architectural historian and Woolworth Building authority Gail Fenske will present a second lecture on the great Gothic tower: The Woolworth Building: Highest in the World. This illustrated talk will explore the professional relationship between architect Cass Gilbert and client Frank W. Woolworth. 6:30-8pm at the Skyscraper Museum, 39 Battery Place. FREE.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 8: How Buildings Stand Up at the Center for Architecture Foundation. Learn about the structural systems that support buildings and how they work to resist the forces of gravity, wind, weather and earthquakes. Get the inside scoop on how new materials and technologies affect the way we build and experiment with simple structural models to gain a first-hand understanding of the push and pull at work in a building’s bones. 6-8pm at 536 La Guardia Place. $35. Buy tickets here.
Did you know there is a tennis court inside Grand Central? Or that the ceiling is backwards? Untapped Cities Events is hosting a “Secrets of Grand Central” tour led by Untapped Cities architecture writer and guide, Tamara Agins, author of our popular series on Grand Central. Bonus: the tour ends with a drink at the Campbell Apartments, the Gilded Age office and salon of tycoon John W. Campbell, now converted into a soaring hidden bar.
Join us on Sunday, May 12th at 2:30pm, only 20 tickets available:
The story of Grand Central Terminal is that of New York City itself: the structure embodies the social, cultural, economic and technological evolution around it. It is one of great men, feuding architects, ingenuity, rejuvenation, secrets and surprises. On this tour, we will tell you these stories — about what once was, what could have been, and what can be; about the struggle to save and restore Grand Central as preserved icon of past, and of challenge to ensure that it serves New York’s future. We will show you what it was like in the booming age of the railroad, as a rundown embarrassment, and as a renovated jewel at the center of the city. Together, we will explore the interesting and unique spaces produced for and by it. Whether you pass through it every day on your morning commute or it’s your first time in the Beaux Arts beauty, you are sure to leave having learned, seen, or experienced something new and extraordinary.
About Tamara Agins: A native New Yorker, Tamara Agins works for the Department of City Planning and gives tours for the Municipal Art Society. With a background in political ecology, she is engaged in issues of urban sustainability and climate resilience in the NY-Metro region. She is always up for an adventure.
Check out more Untapped Cities events here.
Our curated events picks for this week: Richard Serra exhibition opening at David Zwirner, Gatsby inspired tour of Long Island’s Gold Coast with Sidetour.
MONDAY, APRIL 8: Join Hudson Whiskey for Bourbon & Bluegrass featuring the Long Island Bluegrass Quartet. 7pm at The Flatiron Room, 37 West 26th Street. Enjoy the Hudson Whiskey specials and read about Tuthilltown Spirits, the first Whiskey distillery in New York since Prohibition.
TUESDAY, APRIL 9: MAS Forum: Grand Central Terminal Design for the Next Century. The centennial celebrations of Grand Central Terminal and the City’s proposed up-zoning of East Midtown present an opportune time to re-think the future of Grand Central and its surrounding neighborhood. The zoning proposal is a once in a century opportunity to shape a generation of development in one of our city’s busiest neighborhoods; we must ensure the changes that the City is planning are not only for the buildings themselves, but also for the people who will work in these buildings, ride the subway, walk the streets and admire the skyline. 6-8pm at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal, East 42nd Street. FREE. Register here.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10: Why I love skyscrapers talk by Christoph Ingenhoven, the founding principal of ingenhoven architects, a Dusseldorf-based firm with an increasingly international practice. His assertively modernist work emphasizes ecological principles in combination with innovative engineering and close attention to the public realm. 6:30-8pm at the National Museum of the American Indian, Alexander Hamilton Customs House, 1 Bowling Green. FREE for members of the Skyscraper Museum; $5 students/seniors; $10 general admission. RSVP at rsvp@skyscraper.org.
