Grand Central Subway Station – New York, New York

With many routes to downtown Manhattan, I opted to take the Number 7 three stops to Grand Central and change to the downtown Number 4. The entire trip took about 20 minutes — probably faster than a cab.

Despite looking vaguely similar to Hudson Yard’s, Grand Central’s curved ceiling is considerably older. Grand Central is part of the original 1915 opening of Number 7. Its curved tube-like design is unusual for New York subway stations.

I often passed through it in high school, and even back then thought it looked different. It’s deep underground, lower than most subway lines. You had to climb up the stairs to access the Number 4 train. I grew up during the cold war, and I recall morbid thoughts that Grand Central would be the perfect fallout shelter if the big one ever happened. It’s so unfortunate that in 2022 there are again nuclear whispers in the air. I thought we were past this.

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