Train depots were meant to manage meetings between pedestrians and machinery, but they were rudimentary in their earliest forms and possessed little means of inspiring a sense of security. Political support for the latter-couched in terms of safety, modernization, and degrees of preservation-would eventually drive the rails underground, but that still left the site of the depot to be dealt with. Above-ground rails interrupted the relatively subdued pace of foot-traffic (which, truly, was not so subdued) and forced pedestrians to demand a reconciliation between mechanization and aesthetics. The maturation of the American railroad in this period created challenges in defining spatial boundaries and maintaining their corresponding social codes. People may joke about the unruly state of traffic in New York City today-with the primary charges often leveled against the bright yellow City cabs that have a reputation for recklessness-but things are far better than they were in the late 19th-century. The hustle and bustle that characterizes this space is more than a chaotic scramble to get somewhere, however: Grand Central Station represents an early exercise in New York City's history to contain and tame the Crowd. Visitors to Grand Central Station would not be faulted for thinking that the throngs of bodies (up to 750,000 per day) moving through the cavernous space are focused on little but meeting their trains or getting to their appointments. It is an architectural giant-a famed remnant of the Beaux-Arts era of the City that imposes its sense of elegance and struggles to remain timeless even as the City morphs around it. New York City's Grand Central Terminal can easily overwhelm the unprepared visitor. These patterns are the result of both social "rules" as well as contextual rules, which are formed by the design of the spaces themselves. In the case above, the majority of people may have chosen to look for seats on the right because there are more seats in that area (there may also be a preference for "right," but let's save that for another day). Guesses about crowd behavior aren't certain-particularly when it comes crowds on the New York City transportation systems-but patterns do emerge with regard to how we move in public spaces. If only it were that easy-these calls aren't guaranteed: they're dependent on time of day, direction of commute, the type of commuter rail car, the length of the station platform, whether there are special events (that cause more people to take the trains), and of course, people themselves. "Nicely done," he said as we settled into our seats. We followed the initial surge in and turned to the left where the smaller seating section of the train is located-sure enough, the bulk of the crowd flowed to the right. "These people are going to go right." He looked at me for a minute and then nodded. A group of people nearby moved into position to line up with the door, all likely thinking the same thing: How do I get a seat? "Left," I said. Its opening “helps complete a decades’-long dream of a single complex serving two railroads and counties all over the region in one facility, uniting Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Dutchess, the Bronx, Queens, and Connecticut all under one roof for the first time,” MTA reported."Left or right?" he asked me as we watched the commuter train approach. Grand Central Madison, a facility the length of the Chrysler Building on its side, sits more than 100 feet below Grand Central Terminal’s lower level. 25, history was made when a LIRR train ran from Jamaica station to the new Grand Central Madison, bringing LIRR to the east side for the first time. 2 celebrated the 110th anniversary of Grand Central Terminal, just days after it became the expanded house of the two busiest commuter railroads in the country, Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials on Feb. MTA officials greeted passengers and distributed commemorative stickers. 2, Grand Central Terminal’s 110th anniversary train-a local Metro-North Railroad train from Stamford, Conn., to Grand Central-arrived on Track 27.
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