Tartinery at Grand Central

 My second sketch at Grand Central was at the food court area downstairs. Tartinery is one of the few food stalls that has actual seating. If you get food from most of the stalls there are standing tables only. It isn't very condusive to eating. I think they did that because previously there were too many homeless people that would come in and sleep in the seats at the tables and the customers had nowhere to eat.

Grand Central Sketch

 My trip into the city last week involved transferring at the Jamaica station to catch the train to Grand Central. Although there should be a direct train from Ronkonkoma to Grand Central is just wasn't running on Saturday...just my luck. The trip took a little longer, but I ended up at my destination. Grand Central is always impressive and I really wanted to sketch in the great hall where the famous clock is. It was super crowded so I looked for a view that was a little out of the way.

I had texted a few friends telling them I was going to be sketching there, but the small group was going to the Metropolitan Museum. I wasn't in the mood to sketch sculptures so I decided to stay put. I told them if anyone was passing through and wanted to stop and say hello to let me know. I sat so that I was at the side opposite the Apple Store. It gave me a view of the clock too. The holiday decorations were still up so I was able to include those too. I tucked myself into a corner near track 32 with my back to the wall so nobody could bump into me. Nobody noticed I was there. It was a great spot except when a lot of people stood in front of me and blocked the entire view. 

When I was done with the sketch I looked at my phone and there was a text from my friend, Mel. He had been there earlier looking for me, but had finished sketching and was heading to the Met to meet the other group. It turns out he was sketching from a spot slightly ahead of me by platform 28. I couldn't see him, but we were on the same side of the hall. It would have been nice if I had found him earlier.

Grand Central

Grand Central was my destination on Saturday. The Long Island Railroad has just started offering train service to Grand Central (at E 42nd St & Park Ave). Previously the LIRR trains all terminated at Penn Station (at 34th St & Seventh Ave). To get from one to the other you needed to take the subway and then a shuttle from the west side to the east side).  The new station for the LIRR is about 15 floors below ground level with an insanely long escalator that made me dizzy. 

I did one sketch on the train going into the city.  I originally planned on sketching part of this woman's friend who was seated opposite her, but I ran out of room and only sketched her one knee. lol

Grand Central was where the NYC Urban Sketchers were meeting. It is a wonderful place for sketching architecture as well as people. I started out on the main concourse where the famous clock where everyone seems to meet is located. The clock is surrounded by a vast and wonderful space. If I had been a little quicker setting up there was a group of 5 dancers performing right in front of me, but I wasn't ready to sketch before they finished. lol

After a break for lunch with the other sketchers, I remained downstairs where the dining hall is located. I sat across from Luke's Lobster to sketch. I had lobster bisque from there for my lunch. The sign says they were voted New York's best lobster roll. I can't say if that is true, but if the lobster bisque was any indication the sign may be right.

At 3 o'clock we gathered for show and tell in an empty area downstairs. Luckily most of our sketchers had their own stools to sit on. 

Pardon my ranting here. My big beef presently is that since they renovated the downstairs food stands ALL the seating has been removed, except for the businesses that have specially roped off areas for their customers. Previously there were many tables and chairs available and long wooden benches in some locations for seating. Those are ALL GONE!!! Commuters who are tired and need a break before their trains, parents with children, seniors who physically may not be able to stand for a long time, and disabled people really have no options for seating. It is disgraceful!!! Tables that you have to stand at are the only options available. Upstairs they constantly make announcements that customers are not allowed to sit on the floor or on the stairs. I guess we are lucky they allowed us to use our chairs/stools. Unfortunately I think this lack of seating is a trend in most large stations.