Add Grand Central Madison, the hub in the heart of Midtown Manhattan for Long Island Rail Road trains, to the list of UNESCO World Heritage train stations which already includes Santa Maria Novella in Florence, the Grand Canyon Depot in Arizona, and Machu Picchu in Peru. The East side terminal was awarded the title of “Prix Versailles Interior 2024” for its interior architecture and design, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
“New Yorkers have known since the day it opened that Grand Central Madison is a world-class terminal–winning the Prix Versailles Interior Award is just la cerise sur le gateau–the cherry on top,” Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber said in a press release. “The project team seamlessly blended innovative engineering and architectural grandeur to create a worthy addition to Grand Central–New York’s temple of mass transit. Congratulations to all.”
Grand Central Station, already a distinctive symbol of the city for its waiting room with a clock in the center and frescoes on the ceiling, opened its Madison terminal in January 2023. Seven hundred thousand square feet of corridors, with access on six streets (East 48th to 43rd), allowing passengers to access the tracks directly without mixing with the rest of the station’s traffic. All decorated with murals, frescoes, and digital artwork by world-renowned artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Kiki Smith, Gabriel Barcia-Colombo, and Jordan Brauner, but also by Long Island students who decided to pay homage to the island.
Schafbergbahn Station in Austria, Bell Station in Australia, Beijing Station in China, Toulouse Matabiau Station in France, and Chiaia Station in Naples, Italy, have also been added to the UNESCO list of the most beautiful stations of 2024.
