Today I stopped by two New York icons: the marvel that is Grand Central Terminal, and the lobby of the Chrysler Building, art deco’s crowning achievement.
Did you know Grand Central was almost torn down in the 1970s? A scheme was hatched to slap a 55-story office tower on top of it. It took Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis — newly settled in New York, newly widowed, and apparently not in the mood to watch her city lose another landmark — standing up at a press conference in the Oyster Bar to help turn the tide. The fight went all the way to the Supreme Court. Grand Central won. There’s a foyer named for her inside to prove it.
The Chrysler Building has its own drama going on. It’s still very much a protected landmark — that’s not in question — but it’s having a hard time keeping tenants. Small floor plates, a lot of columns, and some deferred maintenance mean it can’t compete with the shiny new towers nearby, and a messy ground-lease dispute with its landowner has left its ownership in flux. So its future is, let’s say, interesting.
None of that drama makes it into the lobby, though. According to one of the doormen, it’s full of meaning. The murals on the ceiling are incredible, and the marble and chrome are truly stunning — a little reminder that even buildings with messy paperwork can still take your breath away.
Human Places 
Leave a comment