It's Grand in NYC

As described in a previous post, my last 2025 trip was a NYC holiday tour that included not only seeing festive lights, but also several of the city's iconic sites, which are grand both in name and fame.

The day of our flight, there had been a significant snowfall (for NYC) snowfall with up to 6 inches. It was enough to play havoc with airline schedules. My flight from Boston to LaGuardia was cancelled and then rescheduled within a few hours. After all passengers were onboard, the plane underwent icing treatment on the runway.

NYC's Central Park was a winter wonderland after the first snow of 2025

Central Park was transformed into a winter wonderland for several days afterwards. This urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in NYC was far from more built-up areas of the city when planning for the Park began in 1850s. Central Park was the first landscaped park in the U.S. It is the sixth-largest park in the city at 843 acres. Additionally, it's the most visited U.S. urban park with an estimated 50 million visitors annually. Central Park is a National Historic Landmark (1963) and a Scenic Landscape of the City of New York (1974).

Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, Central Park influenced the development of urban parks nationwide and is widely regarded a masterpiece of landscape architecture. Central Park is a National Historic Landmark (1963) and a Scenic Landscape of the City of New York (1974). Its 843 acres include wide lawns, woodlands, streams and lakes, experienced by traveling through the park along winding paths, a carriage drive and a bridle path. Over time, more features were added: baseball and soccer fields, bicycle paths, carousel, skating rinks, zoo, formal gardens, theater venues and commemoratives.

Imagine mosaic in Central park is dedicated to John Lennon

A black and white mosaic memorial is dedicated to John Lennon, the British rock musician, peace activist and Beatles co-founder who was killed nearby in 1980. It is located in Strawberry Fields, a five-acre landscape near the West 72nd Street entrance, where many come to pay tribute to Lennon. It is located across from the Dakota Apartments where Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, lived and where he loved to walk, Strawberry Fields is a reference to the 1967 song, Strawberry Fields Forever, that Lennon wrote and performed with the Beatles. Strawberry Fields was officially dedicated on October 9, 1985, the 45th anniversary of Lennon’s birth. The memorial was donated by the city of Naples, Italy.

Exteriors of Central Station in NYC

Another NYC landmark contains the word Central and is also Grand — Grand Central Terminal (known as GCT, Grand Central Station or just Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal at 42nd St and Park Ave in Midtown Manhattan. 

Main hall inside Grand Central Station

The distinctive architecture and interior design of Grand Central Terminal's station house have earned it several landmark designations, including as a National Historic Landmark. Its Beaux-Arts design incorporates numerous works of art. Grand Central Terminal is one of the world's 10 most-visited tourist attractions. The terminal's Main Concourse is often used as a meeting place and has been featured in films and TV. Grand Central Terminal was built by and named for the New York Central Railroad. 

Concourse at Grand Central Station, NYC

Opened in 1913, GCT was built on the site of two similarly named stations, the first dated to 1871. It covers 48 acres with 44 platforms, more than any other railroad station worldwide. Its platforms, all below ground, serve 30 tracks on the upper level and 26 on the lower with 67 tracks total, including a rail yard and sidings; 43 tracks are in use for passenger service, and the remaining  are used to store trains.

Meet me at the clock refers to the timepiece at Grand Central Station 

The iconic GCT clock, a four-faced, brass timepiece atop the Information Booth in the Main Concourse, is famously known as a meeting spot and the phrase, meet me at the clock. Though rumored to be made of solid opal and worth millions, the faces are actually opaline glass, a beautiful, semi-opaque, milky glass popularized in 19th-century France. 

Acorn on GCT clock

The clock was designed by Henry Edward Bedford, a sculptor and executive of the Self Winding Clock Company which built the clock; movements were made by the Seth Thomas Clock Company. The acorn on the top symbolizes the unofficial Vanderbilt family motto, "From a little acorn a mighty oak shall grow," celebrating their legacy and power as builders and financiers of the station. Oak/acorn motifs appear throughout the terminal to symbolize growth from small beginnings. 

The GCT clock is calibrated to the atomic clock at the U.S. Naval Observatory. However, the actual time displayed is set one minute fast for passengers intentionally. This deliberate lag is for safety to help passengers catch trains by creating a buffer for last-minute rushes, reducing accidents and missed connections.

 

Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World

The Statue of Liberty, a grand lady overlooking NYC, stands majestically on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, greeting ships and symbolizing freedom. Years ago offered a first glimpse of America for many immigrants

Formally named The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World, it was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the U.S. was conceived by Édouard de Laboulaye in 1865 and designed by sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi with engineering by Gustave Eiffel. It arrived in NY in 1885 and was dedicated in 1886 on Liberty Island by President Grover Cleveland. The statue was designated a National Monument in 1924. It has been managed by the National Park Service since 1933 as part of the National Parks of New York Harbor office.

Lady Liberty was not always green

Uniquely green in color now, the Statue of Liberty was originally a shiny, reddish-brown color, like a new U.S. penny. Most likely, Bartholdi chose copper because of the metal’s durability and malleability. Copper was not only less costly than materials like bronze and stone, but weighed less, making it easier to transport. After about 30 years, exposure to air, salt water and pollution have caused a natural chemical reaction (oxidation), forming the green patina, or copper carbonate, that’s visible today, a process that was complete by the 1920s. There’s a practical reason to leave the bluish-green patina (known as verdigris) — protects the metal underneath from corroding and degrading.

Artwork showing Ellis Island main facility

Immigrants to the U.S. saw this grand lady when arriving at Ellis Island, which was America's main federal immigration station from 1892 to 1954 and processed more than 12 million people who arrived in the U.S. seeking new lives. It's estimated that over 40 percent of America's population can trace ancestry through Ellis Island (that includes my maternal and paternal grandparents). Passengers who entered the U.S. through the Port of New York were legally and medically inspected at Ellis Island.

The Great Hall or Registry Room could be a loud and confusing place for immigrants

There also were other ports of entry in Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco and New Orleans. Steamship companies like the White Star, Red Star, Cunard, Holland America and Hamburg-America Lines played significant roles in the history of  immigration as a whole. For most immigrants, the Great Hall epitomized Ellis Island. It was here that immigrants underwent medical and legal examinations.

In the 1920s, Ellis Island's role shifted to a detention center due to the passing of restrictive immigration quota acts. In November 1954, it was officially closed by the U.S. government. After closing, the island was declared surplus federal property; the public desire for a memorial led to its preservation as a monument. 

These display items are original to Ellis Island

A sampling of trunks that immigrants traveled with on their sailings

In 1990, the Main Building on Ellis Island reopened after a massive reconstruction and is now a museum dedicated to the history of immigration. Ellis Island became a U.S. landmark when President Lyndon B. Johnson officially added it to the Statue of Liberty National Monument in May 1965, designating it part of the National Park System to preserve its significant history as America's main immigration station.

Currently, scaffolding surrounds the entire main building at Ellis Island

As of late 2025, scaffolding surrounds the entire building for structural repairs, facade restoration, and upgrading building systems. Ellis Reimagined is a $100 million interior overhaul of the museum, that will modernize exhibits and facilities. It's scheduled for completion in 2026. The museum remains open to visitors with some areas closed off.

There's one final, now iconic, NYC landmark that was visited on my December NYC tour., the 9/11 Memorial Museum. It will be the topic of a final NY post in 2026.