3. A 1957 Redstone Rocket bored a hole through the concourse ceiling of Grand Central Terminal
For those who have heard that a 1957 Redstone rocket was tall enough to bore a hole through the concourse ceiling of Grand Central Terminal, you have been lied to. In reality, the rocket was too short to have done so, standing more than 50 feet shorter than the 125-foot tall concourse. In 2015, we set our sights on debunking this myth. Since the rocket’s sister remains in existence, the original rocket’s measurements can be fact-checked. Residing in Warren, New Hampshire, the rocket’s sister stands at only 70 feet, serving as a local monument for a town that only houses around 900 residents.
A Wiki of Astronautics article stated that the original Redstone was exactly 69.32 feet, while the New York Times reported in 1957 that the Grand Central rocket was 63 feet. Regardless of the rocket’s true height, it is clear that the creation of the concourse’s hole, in spite of popular belief, was never the result of the rocket. Though the myth of the Redstone rocket remains false, a hole does exist in Grand Central’s ceiling. According to Jim Henderson, a retired telephone switchman in New York City, the hole was created to anchor a stabilizing wire.
