Grand Central’s regal Vanderbilt Hall, she of the “faux Caen stone walls, the Tennessee Pink Marble floors, the white Bottocino marble wainscoting,” according to Metro-North, will close tomorrow for seven months as it undergoes a thorough scrubbing.
(Vanderbilt Hall is the big square room you see when you enter GCT from 42nd; depending on the time of year, it may be hosting a squash tournament, a Christmas fair, or giant Scots tossing logs for Tartan Week.)
“Metro-North is committed to the good stewardship of one of New York City’s most revered buildings. It is a responsibility Metro-North does not take lightly and we will not allow Grand Central to slip into the disrepair of the past,” said Metro-North President Peter Cannito of the $3.6 million job.
Commuters’ routines should not be affected over the course of the next seven months. According to Metro-North, “a painted, fireproofed plywood tunnel will be built across the room from the doors on 42nd Street” to the Main Concourse.
From Bottocino marble wainscoting to painted plywood. Ouch.
Are you having Scotland Village Exhibition this year during Tartan Week?