The Grand Central Escalator: My Story Behind The Travel Photo
- May 5
- 5 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
Your Challenge: a journey from the tracks of the Long Island Railroad at Grand Central Madison to street level outside of Grand Central Terminal.
The Grand Central Madison side of Grand Central Terminal, opening post-Covid 19 pandemic in January 2023, was a project over two years in the making. One purpose was to bring the Long Island Railroad to the east side of Manhattan, saving some commuters the time and effort from getting to that area from Penn Station, which is near West 34th Street.
For a while, the commuters and media focused on the MTA struggling to fine tune the LIRR schedule, sharing tales about commuters missing connections at Jamaica. But almost immediately, new stories hit about the commute of the commute: the walk from the LIRR to any other part of Grand Central Station.
The NYC Traveler Tip for Your Trip: check the MTA app and see if there is a train from or to your destination without a commute. Maybe you can take an earlier or later train.
Posts of annoyed and alternately amused commuters were shared, and still are shared on most social media posts.
The NYC Traveler Tip for Your Trip: time the entire walk. You will need to know how much time you'll need coming back when you catch the train home. Trust me.
Well, the MTA is still fine tuning the schedule and you still have to transfer at Jamaica sometimes. But, we are have learning to incorporate walking time into our commute: from the depths of the LIRR at Madison Avenue and up to the street, towards the 7 train or the shuttle to Times Square or over further east towards Lexington Avenue to catch the 4, 5, 6 up or down the east side and vice-versa on the return trip home.
Your task is to get up to all of those locations via this escalator. Yes, there is an elevator and there are even stairs (!). There are endless photos and videos, mine among them, that are posted everywhere about this now famous escalator. It is by no means the longest one, but I can guess it is becoming one of the most recognizable in New York.
NYC courtesy dictates that you stand to the right on stairs or escalators so that that the more adventurous can walk on the left. Therefore, the challenge, or mission, should you accept, is to walk up the entire 90 feet, if you want a brief workout or if you decide you are in a hurry. Since the escalator ride can take 93 seconds, walking can save you perhaps 30 seconds to a minute.
But it's not over once you get to the top. You're not at street level yet! Head to the right of the escalator and take an elevator or another escalator up to Madison Avenue.
At this level, are some restrooms, one set near the waiting room and another set along the incredibly long corridor leading to the main terminal.
Along the walls between East 47th Street and the main terminal are murals, electronic and static. The electronic display varies, so you can look at it again and again and see something different.
Maybe you need to head to the left of the escalator and then another right and go even higher on the Summit, atop One Vanderbilt, and scan the entire city from the top of that building. Or walk toward more (!) stairs and escalators to the shuttle to the west side and Times Square.
But, as I generally do, you can keep walking from the area that leads to the Summit and head over to the main terminal. Follow the signs and you will see yet, sigh, more stairs and/or another escalator to first, the food court level.
At this point, I need a snack! And there are plenty of places to get one on the concourse level. In fact, the entrance to the famous Oyster Bar is on this level (reservations recommended). New York landmark eateries such as Shake Shack, Magnolia Bakery, Doughnut Plant and Joey Bats. And yes, there is a pizza place!
You are not on the main level of the terminal and there are several options: stairs, elevators, escalators and even a ramp, next to the Oyster Bar, until finally, Grand Central Terminal.
But you're still not finished. Your task is to get to the street and there's even more here to see and do. Do you want to see the famous clock? It's in the center. Do you need high end food? There's the Grand Central Market on the east side, before you exit to Lexington Avenue. Shopping? Specialty stores are scattered throughout the terminal. You can get electronics on an even still higher level if you want to go up one of the side staircases to get a great view of the terminal. And even more tempting, there are New York landmark bakery good you can get: a black and white cookie or a bagel from Zaro's.
Now, where to exit? Do you need the west side? You can actually walk up 42nd Street by exiting near Vanderbilt Avenue. Passing by the NY Public Library and Bryant Park might delay your journey but one long block will get you to the west side.
Do you need to stay east or do you want to head to Rockefeller Center? Done. Come out the same exit and at 5th Avenue, turn right.
Heading further east? Come out at the Grand Central Market and you're on Lexington Avenue.
Or come out through the main terminal parallel to the clock and exit at East 42 Street and Pershing Square. Take a walk down Park Avenue, turn around and see traffic seemingly going through Grand Central Terminal!
(PS: if you're headed north, way north, the Metro North train is in the main terminal. Buy another ticket and continue your journey!).
Congratulations, you made it! If you are in a hurry, that journey could still take 10 minutes with an additional 5 minutes to the east side subways. But if you were sightseeing, and had a snack on the concourse level, you can spend a good half hour or more.
And your only challenge was to make it up the escalator from the LIRR to the street level.
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All photos and videos created and copyrighted by Marcia Crayton, unless otherwise noted.
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