Grand Central Terminal in popular culture explained

Grand Central Terminal, a train station in Manhattan, New York City, has been the subject, inspiration, or setting for literature, television and radio episodes, and films.

Film and television

Many film and television productions have included scenes shot in the terminal. The MTA hosts about 25 large-scale and hundreds of smaller or amateur productions every year. Kyle McCarthy, who handles production at Grand Central, said, "Grand Central is one of the quintessential New York places. Whether filmmakers need an establishing shot of arriving in New York or transportation scenes, the restored landmark building is visually appealing and authentic."[1] Especially during World War II, Grand Central has been a backdrop for romantic reunions between couples. After the terminal declined in the 1950s, it was more frequently used as a dark, dangerous place, even a metaphor for chaos and disorientation, featuring chase scenes, shootouts, homeless people, and the mentally ill. In the 1990 film The Freshman, for example, Matthew Broderick's character stumbles over an unconscious man and watches fearfully as petty crimes take place around him.[2]

Almost every scene filmed in the terminal's train shed was shot on Track 34, one of the few areas without view-blocking structural columns.

The first filmed scene in which Grand Central Terminal appears may be the 1909 short comedy Mr. Jones Has a Card Party, while still under construction. The terminal's first cinematic appearance was in the 1930 musical film Puttin' On the Ritz, and its first Technicolor appearance was in the 1953 film The Band Wagon. Some films from the 20th century, including Grand Central Murder, The Thin Man Goes Home, Hello, Dolly!, and Beneath the Planet of the Apes used reconstructions of Grand Central, built in Hollywood, to stand in for the terminal.[3] The Bollywood film Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna uses other American train stations standing in for Grand Central. Additionally, the terminal was drawn and animated for use in the animated films Madagascar (2005) and Wreck-It Ralph (2012).[4]

Other films in which the terminal appears include:

Notable documentaries about the terminal include Grand Central, a 1982 film narrated by James Earl Jones and featuring Philip Johnson and Ed Koch.[9]

On October 19, 2017, several of these films were screened in the terminal for an event created by the MTA, Rooftop Films, and the Museum of the Moving Image. The event featured a cinematic history lecture by architect and author James Sanders.[10]

Grand Central Terminal's architecture, including its Main Concourse clock, are depicted on the stage of Saturday Night Live, a long-running NBC television show.[11] Warren and Wetmore designed The soundstage reconstruction of the terminal in Studio 8H was first installed in 2003.[12] [13]

Literature

Literature featuring the terminal includes Report on Grand Central Terminal, written in 1948 by nuclear physicist Leo Szilard; The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger; The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton; Grand Central Murder by Sue MacVeigh, which was made into the eponymous film in 1942; A Stranger Is Watching by Mary Higgins Clark; and the 1946 children's classic The Taxi That Hurried by Lucy Sprague Mitchell. The infrastructure in Grand Central inspired the novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and in turn, the film Hugo.[14] The dangerous life of homeless men and women in Grand Central and its tunnels and passageways inspired Lee Stringer's Grand Central Winter: Stories from the Street and Tina S.'s collaboration with journalist Jamie Pastor Bolnick in the autobiography Living at the Edge of the World: A Teenager's Survival in the Tunnels of Grand Central Station.[15] [16]

Other works

Grand Central Station, an NBC radio drama set at the terminal, ran from 1937 to 1953. Among the video games that feature the terminal are Spider-Man: The Official Movie Game, The Incredible Hulk (2008), Marvel's Spider-Man, , and Tom Clancy's The Division.

A Lego replica of the terminal is situated in Miniland USA, an exhibit at Legoland California. The cutaway model shows elaborate interior details of the station building.[17]

References

Notes

Sources

Notes and References

  1. News: Industry Star of the Month. Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting. October 1, 2005. February 14, 2019. February 15, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190215050510/http://home2.nyc.gov/html/film/html/news/industry_star_mccarthy.shtml. dead.
  2. News: 0362-4331. In a 'Summer of Hell,' Grand Central May Be a Bit of Heaven. Dunlap. David W.. July 5, 2017. The New York Times. December 19, 2018. December 20, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181220231135/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/nyregion/in-a-summer-of-hell-grand-central-may-be-a-bit-of-heaven.html. live.
  3. Winogura. Dale. 1972. Dialogues on Apes, Apes, and More Apes. Cinefantastique: Planet of the Apes Issue. 37. December 24, 2018. July 16, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120716154005/http://pota.goatley.com/magazines/cinefantastique-summer-1972.pdf. live.
  4. News: 'Wreck-It Ralph' dazzles in the Disney way. USA Today. November 1, 2012. Claudia. Puig. June 13, 2020. June 13, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200613150735/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2012/11/01/wreck-it-ralph-review/1654427/. live.
  5. Web site: Hold Your Man (1933). AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. February 10, 2022. February 10, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220210155430/https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/7293. live.
  6. News: Hollywood Visits Grand Central. The Reporter Dispatch. 4C. September 27, 1998. February 12, 2023. February 12, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230212235157/https://www.newspapers.com/image/915466816/. live.
  7. News: Great Performances. The Palm Beach Post. August 7, 1988. February 12, 2023. February 12, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230212235157/https://www.newspapers.com/image/130281986/. live.
  8. Kreps . Daniel . March 9, 2020 . Hear David Gilmour, Guy Pratt's Unreleased Song From 'Hackers' Soundtrack . Rolling Stone . February 13, 2023 . February 13, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230213020434/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/david-gilmour-guy-pratt-hackers-soundtrack-963642/ . live .
  9. News: Dunlop. Beth. June 29, 1983. In praise of Grand Central. The Miami Herald. Newspapers.com. February 13, 2023. February 13, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230213004325/https://www.newspapers.com/image/623804967/?terms=%22Grand+Central%22+%22james+earl+jones%22&match=1. live.
  10. News: Grand Central Terminal transforming into cinema for one day only. Weaver. Shaye. October 11, 2017. AM New York. December 6, 2018. May 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190512192425/https://www.amny.com/things-to-do/grand-central-terminal-film-screening-1.14435315. live.
  11. Web site: Meet SNL's 78-Year-Old "Heart Of The Show". Baker. R.C.. May 19, 2017. Village Voice. December 8, 2018. December 9, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181209165238/https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/05/19/meet-snls-78-year-old-heart-of-the-show/. live.
  12. News: Sachs. Andrea. Meet me at Grand Central for the 100th. The Washington Post. February 21, 2013. November 21, 2020. January 30, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210130183053/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/meet-me-at-grand-central-for-the-100th/2013/02/21/433d7776-7add-11e2-a044-676856536b40_story.html. live.
  13. News: SNL primed for 29. Variety. September 25, 2003. November 21, 2020. January 30, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210130090010/https://variety.com/2003/scene/markets-festivals/snl-primed-for-29-1117893006/. live.
  14. Web site: Exploring Grand Central's Secrets, With the Author of Hugo Cabret – New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News . WNYC . January 6, 2012 . January 24, 2019 . January 24, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190124102127/https://www.wnyc.org/story/286509-exploring-grand-centrals-secrets-with-the-author-of-hugo-cabret/ . live .
  15. Web site: Jiler . John . Street Singer . Movies . The New York Times . June 28, 1998 . February 17, 2019 . February 17, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190217030422/http://movies2.nytimes.com/books/98/06/28/reviews/980628.28jile.html . live .
  16. Book: Levinson, D. . Gale Group . Sage Publications . Encyclopedia of Homelessness . SAGE Publications . A Berkshire reference work . v. 1 . 2004 . 978-0-7619-2751-8 . February 17, 2019 . 25 . February 17, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230217155357/https://books.google.com/books?id=q-PgHH8TJi8C&pg=PA25 . live .
  17. Matter . Interiors . 158 . July 1999 . 71 . 2023-02-13 . 2023-02-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230217155404/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Interiors/6Xg4AQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 . live .

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