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[转载]China’s Grand Strategy-RAND REPORT
lixyong 2020-8-3 12:44
China’s Grand Strategy-Trends, Trajectories, and Long-Term Competition Andrew Scobell, Edmund J. Burke, Cortez A. Cooper III, Sale Lilly, Chad J. R. Ohlandt, Eric Warner, J.D. Williams 简 介: 探索美国和中国之间的长期竞争可能会带来什么。到 2050 年,这份报告的作者确定并描述了中国的大战略,国家战略 ( 外交、经济、科技、和军事事务 ) ,并评估了中国在接下来的 30 年里实施这些方面的(战略)成功程度。 问 题: •到 2050 年,中国在实现其宏伟战略目标方面会有多成功 ? 这些目标基于国家层面的外交、经济、科学和技术等领域的战略军事事务。 •美国将会怎样 ? 到 2050 年,中美关系会怎么样 ? 主要结论: 分析的四种情形中的任何一种——胜利的中国,崛起的中国,停滞的中国,或者中国可能在 30 年后崩溃 •一个胜利的中国是最不可能的,因为这样的结果几乎没有犯错的余地从现在到 2050 年没有任何重大危机或严重挫折。 •一个内爆的中国不太可能,因为迄今为止,中国领导人已经证明了组织能力善于应对危机,善于适应和调整变化的条件。 •到 2050 年,中国很可能会经历一些成功和失败的混合,而且是最多的可能出现的情况是,中国崛起或停滞不前。在前一种情况下,中国将在很大程度上成功地实现其长期目标,而在后一种情况下,中国将面临在实施其大战略的过程中,大部分都不会成功。 胜利的中国,崛起的中国,停滞的中国,或者中国可能在 30 年后崩溃这四种情况可能产生美国三种潜在轨迹中的任何一种中美关系 : 平行合作伙伴、相互碰撞的竞争对手或方向分歧 •平行伙伴轨迹是美国现状的延续 2018 年中美关系。这这种轨迹最有可能出现在中国停滞不前、中国可能崛起的情况下。 •竞争对手的碰撞轨迹最有可能在一个胜利的中国场景中表现出来北京变得更加自信和果断。 •在中国内爆的情况下,偏离方向的轨迹最有可能发生,因为北京将专注于日益增多的国内问题。 建 议: •可能的情况需要更多的关注提高联合部队的能力和准备使用更长的物流尾部操作。对美国陆军来说,这意味着要努力优化关键部队以及可用的空运和海运能力,以使士兵迅速进入战斗或提前到达热点战斗爆发了。 •因为中国很可能将有能力在广阔的中东地区的所有冲突领域展开竞争。到本世纪 30 年代中期,作为联合部队的一部分,美国陆军将需要有能力做出反应在各种争论点上的危机或意外事件。在铁丝网里面一场危机或冲突的开始将需要轻型和机动的前沿力量的结合远征军和可互操作的盟军。 •美国陆军和盟军也必须发展和训练强化常规的概念扩大威慑,防止竞争变成冲突。 •打造快速高效、反应灵敏、韧性强的海空军力量压制中国迅速发展的侦察打击系统,以及特殊的特别行动这将在很大程度上决定中国领导层对风险的厌恶程度在考虑用军事手段解决地区争端时。
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衡量和判别学术影响所面临的艰巨挑战
ChaomeiChen 2016-5-18 21:11
SPECIALTY GRAND CHALLENGE ARTICLE Front. Libr. Inf. Sci | doi: 10.3389/flis.2016.00001 Grand Challenges in Measuring and Characterizing Scholarly Impact Chaomei Chen 1* 1 College of Computing and Informatics, Drexel University, USA Setting the study of scholarly metrics and analytics on a holistic and integrative stage is a step towards fostering creative and impactful interactions between distinct perspectives and viewpoints. http://arxiv.org/abs/1603.00812
个人分类: Scholarly Metrics and Analytics|3541 次阅读|0 个评论
Grand CentralTerminal一瞥(B)
黄安年 2015-8-19 04:44
Grand CentralTerminal 一瞥 (B) 黄安年文 黄安年的博客/2015年8月18日下午美东时间;19日凌晨北京时间发布 从5月28日到8月7日,我20次来曼哈顿,其中18次是乘坐火车到 Grand CentralTerminal 转向曼哈顿各地的 , 加上回程实际上经 Grand CentralTerminal 有 36 次 , 但是每次都来去匆匆 , 为了赶路而非刻意观察 , 只是随意拍摄了一些片断。 ( A ) 26 张 , ( B ) 11 张。 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , ***************** Grand Central Terminal From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation , search This article is about Grand Central Terminal. For the New York City Subway station that isunderneath the terminal, see Grand Central – 42ndStreet (New York City Subway) . For other stations with the name, see Grand Central Station(disambiguation) . Grand Central Terminal Inside the Main Concourse, facing east (2006 view) Location 89 East 42nd Street at Park Avenue , New York , NY 10017 Coordinates 40°45′10.08″N 73°58′35.48″W  /  40.7528000°N 73.9765222°W  / 40.7528000; -73.9765222 Coordinates : 40°45′10.08″N 73°58′35.48″W  /  40.7528000°N 73.9765222°W  / 40.7528000; -73.9765222 Owned by Midtown TDR Ventures (leased to Metro-North Railroad ) Line(s) Hudson Line Harlem Line New Haven Line New Canaan Branch Danbury Branch Platforms 44 high-level platforms (43 island platforms , 1 side platform , 6 tracks with Spanish solution ) Tracks 67 Connections MTA New York City Subway : trains at Grand Central – 42nd Street MTA New York City Bus : M1 , M2 , M3 , M4 , M42 , M101 , M102 , M103 Construction Disabled access Yes Other information Station code GCT Fare zone 1 History Opened 1871 Rebuilt 1913, 1994–2000 Services Preceding station Metro-North Railroad Following station Terminus Harlem Line Harlem – 125th Street toward Wassaic Hudson Line Harlem – 125th Street toward Poughkeepsie New Haven Line Harlem – 125th Street toward New Haven – State Street New Canaan Branch Harlem – 125th Street toward New Canaan Danbury Branch Harlem – 125th Street toward Danbury Former services New York Central Railroad 125th Street toward Chicago Water Level Route Terminus 125th Street toward Peekskill Hudson Division Terminus Harlem Division 125th Street toward Chatham Amtrak Yonkers toward Montreal Adirondack Terminus Yonkers toward Niagara Falls, NY Empire Service Yonkers toward Toronto Maple Leaf Croton–Harmon toward Chicago Lake Shore Limited Future services Preceding station LIRR Following station Terminus Grand Central Branch ( City Terminal Zone ) Proposed Sunnyside toward Long Island Grand Central Terminal U.S. National Register of Historic Places U.S. National Historic Landmark NYC Landmark Grand Central Terminal Built 1903 Architect Reed and Stem ; Warren and Wetmore Architectural style Beaux-Arts NRHP Reference # 75001206 83001726 (increase) Significant dates Added to NRHP January 17, 1975 August 11, 1983 (increase) Designated NHL December 8, 1976 Designated NYCL August 2, 1967 Location Grand Central Terminal Location within New York City Grand Central Terminal ( GCT ) is a commuter (and former intercity) railroad terminal at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in MidtownManhattan in New York City , UnitedStates . Built by and named for the New York Central Railroad in the heydayof American long-distance passenger rail travel, it covers 48 acres(19 ha) and has 44 platforms , more than any other railroad station inthe world. Its platforms, all below ground, serve 41 tracks on the upper leveland 26 on the lower, though the total number of tracks along platforms and in rail yards exceeds 100. The terminal serves commuters traveling on the Metro-North Railroad to Westchester , Putnam , and Dutchess counties in New York State ,and Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut .Until 1991, the terminal served Amtrak , which moved to nearby Pennsylvania Station uponcompletion of the Empire Connection . The EastSide Access project is underway to bring Long Island Rail Road service to theterminal. Although the terminal has been properly called Grand CentralTerminal since 1913, it has always been more colloquially andaffectionately known as Grand Central Station, which is the name of theprevious rail station on the same site, and also the name of the U.S.Post Office station next door which is not part of the terminal. Grand Central Station is also sometimes used to refer to the Grand Central – 42ndStreet subway station , which serves the terminal. Grand Central Terminal features both monumental spaces and meticulouslycrafted detail. In a February 2013 BBC News article, historian David Cannadine described itone of the most majestic buildings of the twentieth century. In 2013, Grand Central Terminal hosted 21.6 million visitors, rendering itone of the ten most-visited tourist attractions worldwide. In 2006, Argent Ventures transferred ownership of thestation to Midtown TDR Ventures. The MetropolitanTransportation Authority , the state agency that is the parent ofMetro-North, holds a lease until 2274. Contents 1 Layout 1.1 Main Concourse 1.1.1 Display board 1.1.2 Ceiling 1.2 Dining Concourse and lower level tracks 1.3 Vanderbilt Hall and Campbell Apartment 1.4 Subway station 1.5 Grand Central North 1.6 Platforms and tracks 2 History 2.1 Grand Central Depot 2.2 Grand Central Station 2.3 Grand Central Terminal 2.3.1 Covering Park Avenue 2.3.2 Terminal City 2.3.3 Grand Central Art Galleries 2.3.4 Proposals for demolition and towers 2.4 Bombing 2.5 Restorations and expansion 2.5.1 Donald Trump restoration 2.5.2 Metro-North operation and centennial 2.5.3 Long Island Rail Road access 2.6 Miscellaneous events 3 Influence on design of transit centers 4 In popular culture 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Layout Grand Central Terminal, on 42nd Street Diagram of the Upper Level of the main Terminal (1939) The tracks are numbered according to their location in the terminalbuilding . The upper-level tracks are numbered 11 to 42 east to west. Tracks22 and 31 were removed in the late 1990s to build concourses for Grand Central North. Track 12 was removed to expand the platform betweentracks 11 and 13 and track 14 is only used for loading a garbage train. The lower level has 27 tracks, numbered 100 to 126, east to west;currently, only tracks 102–112, and 114–116 are used for passenger service.Odd-numbered tracks are usually on the east side (right side facing north) ofthe platform; even-numbered tracks on the west. The public timetables for April 3, 2011, show 286 weekday departures: 74 Hudson, 101 Harlem and 111 New Haven Line. Grand Central has restaurants, such as the Oyster Bar and various fast food outlets surrounding the Dining Concourse on the levelbelow the Main Concourse, as well as delis, bakeries, newsstands, a gourmet andfresh food market, an annex of the New York Transit Museum , and more than 40retail stores. Among them are chain stores, including a Starbucks coffee shop, a RiteAid pharmacy and, as of December 2011, an AppleStore . Other chain restaurants include a ShakeShack , which is open as of October 2013 . A secret sub-basement known as M42 lies under the Terminal,containing the AC to DC converters used to supply DC traction current to the Terminal.The exact location of M42 is a closely guarded secret and does not appear onmaps, though it has been shown on television, most notably, the History Channel program Cities of the Underworld and also a National Geographic special. Two of theoriginal rotary converters were not removed in the late20th century when solid-state ones took over their job, and they remain as ahistorical record. During World War II , this facility was closely guardedbecause its sabotage would have impaired troop movement on the EasternSeaboard. It is said that any unauthorized person entering the facility during thewar risked being shot on sight; the rotary converters could have easily beencrippled by a bucket of sand. Abwehr (aGerman espionage service) sent two spies to sabotage it; they were arrested bythe FBI before they could strike. The basements were 49 acres (20 ha), and Grand Central Terminal'sbasements are among the largest basements in the city. From 1924 through 1944, the attic of the east wing contained a7,000-square-foot (650 m 2 ) art school and gallery space called the Grand Central School of Art . Main Concourse Main Concourse (2013) Ticket windows The Main Concourse is the center of Grand Central. The space is cavernous – 275 ft(84 m) long, 120 ft (37 m) wide and 125 ft (38 m) high :74 – and usually filled with bustling crowds. The ticket booths are in theConcourse, although many now stand unused or have been repurposed since theintroduction of ticket vending machines. The large American flag was hung in Grand CentralTerminal a few days after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center . The maininformation booth is in the center of the concourse. This is a perennialmeeting place, and the four-faced clock on top of the information booth isperhaps the most recognizable icon of Grand Central. The clock, designed by Henry Edward Bedford and cast in Waterbury Connecticut , is made from brass. Each of the four clock faces is made from opalescent glass (now often calledopal glass or milk glass ), though urban legend has it that the facesare made of opal and that Sotheby's and Christie's have estimated their value to be between $ 10 million and $ 20 million. A 1954 New York Times article on the restoration of the clock notes that Each of the glass faceswas twenty-four inches in diameter.... Within the marble and brass pagodalies a secret door that conceals a spiral staircase leading to thelower-level information booth. Hercules , Minerva and Mercury , statuary by Jules-Félix Coutan , atop the terminal, with the MetLifeBuilding behind Outside the station, the 13-foot (4.0 m) clock in front of the GrandCentral faade facing 42nd Streetcontains the world's largest example of Tiffany glass. It is surrounded by sculpturesof Minerva , Hercules , and Mercury . The sculptures were designed by French sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan and carved by the JohnDonnelly Company. At its unveiling in 1914, the 48-foot (14.6 m)- high trio was considered the largestsculptural group in the world. The upper level tracks are reached from the Main Concourse or from varioushallways and passages branching off from it. On the east side of the MainConcourse is a cluster of food purveyor shops called Grand Central Market. Display board The original blackboard with arrival and departure information by Track 36was replaced by an electromechanical display in the main concourse overthe ticket windows that displayed times and track numbers of arriving anddeparting trains. It contained rows offlip panels that displayed train information, and became a New York institution, as its many displayswould flap simultaneously to reflect changes in train schedules, an indicatorof just how busy Grand Central was. A small example of this type of devicehangs in the Museum of Modern Art as an example ofoutstanding industrial design. The flap-board destination sign was replaced with high-resolution mosaic LCDmodules manufactured by Solari Udine of Italy, the maker of the original flap boards for train stations andairports. Similar modules are now also used on the trains, both on the sides todisplay the destination, and on the interior to display the time, next station,calling points, and other passenger information. Ceiling Grand Central Terminal ceiling, design conceived by Paul César Helleu The Main Concourse has an elaborately decorated astronomical ceiling, conceived in 1912 by Warren with his friend, French portrait artist Paul César Helleu , and executed by James MonroeHewlett and Charles Basing of Hewlett-Basing Studio, with Helleu consulting. Corps of astronomers and painting assistants worked with Hewlett andBasing. The starry ceiling is astronomically inaccurate in a complicated way. Whilethe stars within some constellations appear correctly as they would from earth,other constellations are reversed left-to-right, as is the overall arrangementof the constellations on the ceiling. For example, Orion is correctly and beautifully rendered,but the adjacent constellations Taurus and Gemini are reversed both internally and intheir relation to Orion , with Taurus near Orion's raised arm where Gemini shouldbe. One possible explanation is that the overall ceiling design might have beenbased on the medieval custom of depicting the sky as it would appear to Godlooking in at the celestial sphere from outside, but that would havereversed Orion as well. A more likely explanation is partially mistakentranscription of the sketch supplied by Columbia Astronomy professor HaroldJacoby. Though the astronomical inconsistencies were noticed promptly by acommuter in 1913, they have not been corrected in any of the subsequentrenovations of the ceiling. The original ceiling was replaced in the late 1930s to correct fallingplaster. The Redstone missile , 1957 There is a small dark circle amid the stars above the image of Pisces . In a 1957 attempt to counteractfeelings of insecurity spawned by the Soviet launch of Sputnik , an American Redstonemissile was set up in the Main Concourse. With no other way to erect themissile, the hole was cut so the rocket could be lifted into place. Historicalpreservation dictated that this hole remain (as opposed to being repaired) as atestament to the many uses of the Terminal over the years. By the 1980s, the ceiling was obscured by decades of what was thought to be coal and diesel smoke. Spectroscopic examination revealed that it was mostlytar and nicotine from tobaccosmoke . A 12-year restoration effort completed in autumn 1996 restored theceiling to its original luster. A single dark patch above the Michael Jordan Steakhouse was leftuntouched by renovators to remind visitors of the grime that once covered theceiling. Dining Concourse and lower level tracks The OysterBar , Grand Central's oldest business The Dining Concourse, below the Main Concourse and connected to it bynumerous stairs, ramps, and escalators, provides access to the lower-leveltracks. It has central seating and lounge areas, surrounded by restaurants.Among them is the Oyster Bar , the oldest business within Grand Central,whose decor includes vaults of Guastavinotile . Vanderbilt Hall and CampbellApartment Vanderbilt Hall, formerly the main waiting room, now used for specialexhibitions and rented for private functions Vanderbilt Hall, named for the family that built and owned the station, serves as the entrance area from 42nd Street at Pershing Square . It sits next to theMain Concourse. Formerly the main waiting room for the terminal, it is now usedfor the annual Christmas Market and special exhibitions, and is rented forprivate events. The Campbell Apartment is an elegantly restoredcocktail lounge, just south of the 43rd Street/Vanderbilt Avenue entrance, that attracts a mix of commutersand tourists. It was at one time the office of 1920s tycoon John W. Campbell and replicates thegalleried hall of a 13th-century Florentine palace. Subway station Ramp to the subway, 1912 Main article: Grand Central – 42ndStreet (New York City Subway) The subway platforms at Grand Central are reached from the Main Concourse.Built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) rather than the New York Central Railroad , the subwayareas of the station lack the majesty that is present throughout most of therest of Grand Central, although the subway station's track levels are insimilar condition to the terminal proper's track levels. The IRT 42nd Street Shuttle platforms wereoriginally an express stop on the original IRT subway , opened in1904. Once the IRT Lexington Avenue Line was extendeduptown in 1918, the original tracks were converted to shuttle use. One trackremains connected to the downtown Lexington Avenue local track but the connection is not inrevenue service. A fire in the 1960s destroyed much of the shuttle station,which has been rebuilt. The only signs of the fire damage are truncated steelbeams visible above the platforms. There are also two other platform levels: the IRT Lexington Avenue Line'splatforms, which are directly below the shuttle platforms, as they were builtsoon after the shuttle opened; and the IRTFlushing Line platform, which was built last, and is deeper than the IRTLexington Avenue Line's platforms. Grand Central North Play media Video architectural tour of Grand Central Terminal ( High-resversion on Internet Archive ) Grand Central North, opened on August 18, 1999, provides access to GrandCentral from 45th Street, 47th Street , and 48th Street. It is connected to the Main Concourse through two long hallways that runparallel to the tracks on the upper level: the 1,000-foot Northwest Passage and1,200-foot Northeast Passage. Entrances are at the northeast corner of East 47th Street and Madison Avenue (Northwest Passage),northeast corner of East 48th Street and Park Avenue (Northeast Passage), and on theeast and west sides of 230 Park Avenue ( HelmsleyBuilding ) between 45th and 46th Streets. A fifth entrance opened in early2012 on the south side of 47th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues. The 47th Streetpassage provides access to the upper level tracks and the 45th Street passage provides access tothe lower-level tracks. Elevator access is available to the 47th Street (upper level) passage fromstreet level on the north side of E. 47th Street, between Madison and VanderbiltAvenues. There is no elevator access to the actual train platforms from GrandCentral North; handicapped access is provided through the main terminal. Throughout these passages, there is an Artsfor Transit mosaic installation by Ellen Driscoll, an artist from Brooklyn . The entrances to Grand Central North were originally open from6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday andSunday. In summer 2006, Grand Central North was closed on weekends, with the MTA citing lowusage and the need to save money. Before it was closed, about 6,000 people used Grand Central North on atypical weekend, and about 30,000 on weekdays. Ideas for a northern entrance to Grand Central had been discussed since atleast the 1970s. Construction on Grand Central North lasted from 1994 to 1999and cost $75 million. Delays were attributed to the incomplete nature of the original blueprintsof Grand Central and previously undiscovered groundwater beneath East 45th Street.As of 2007, the passages are not air-conditioned. The passages in the terminal are the Metro-North Railroad upper level; theNorthwest and Northeast passages; the cross-passages at 47th and 45th Streets;and the Metro-North Railroad lower level. Platforms and tracks The terminal has 44 platforms, the most in any railway station in theworld; 67 tracks are in regular passenger use. The upper level has 42 tracks overall. A balloonloop track circles around 40 of these tracks; ten tracks are used only forstorage. The lower level is smaller, having only 27 tracks, but is also circled byseveral balloon loops. Tracks 116-125 on the lower level will be demolished to make room for the Long Island Rail Road concourse being builtas part of the East Side Access project. The East Side Access project consists of eight new tracks numbered 301through 304 and 401 through 404. Underneath the rest of Grand Central Terminal is a private platform, Track 61 , which was built mainly forformer United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt . He would travel into the city using his personal train into Track 61, thentake a specially designed elevator to the surface. After Rooseveltdied, it was used occasionally. This platform was part of the original design of the Waldorf Astoria. It was mentioned in The New York Times in 1929 but was first usedby General Pershing in 1938. Outline of the general location of Grand Central Terminal tracks andplatforms showing that this underground infrastructure encompasses an area ofroughly 15 city blocks between 42nd and 49th Streets and Lexington and Madison Avenues. The caverns,vent buildings, and concourse referred to in the map are for the EastSide Access project. The GCT building, the only above ground level portionof the complex open to the public, is marked in green. ( Federal Transit Administration ,March 2006) History Looking out the north end of the Murray Hill Tunnel toward the stationin 1880. Note the labels for the New York and Harlem and New York andNew Haven Railroads; the New York Central and Hudson River was offto the left. The two larger portals on the right allowed some horse-drawntrains to continue further downtown. Three buildings serving essentially the same function have stood on thissite. The original large and imposing scale was intended by the New York Central Railroad to enhancecompetition and compare favorably in the public eye with the archrival Pennsylvania Railroad and smaller lines. Grand Central Depot Grand Central Depot brought the trains of the New York Central and HudsonRiver Railroad , the New York and Harlem Railroad , and the New York and New Haven Railroad together in one large station. The station was designed by JohnB. Snook and opened in October 1871. The original plan was for the HarlemRailroad to start using it on October 9, 1871 (moving from their 27th Street depot), the NewHaven Railroad on October 16, and the Hudson River Railroad on October 23, withthe staggering done to minimize confusion. However, the Hudson River Railroaddid not move to it until November 1, which puts the other two dates in doubt. The headhouse building containing passenger service areas and railroad offices was an L shape with a short leg running east-west on 42nd Street and along leg running north-south on Vanderbilt Avenue. The train shed ,north and east of the head house , had three innovations in U.S. practice:the platforms were elevated to the height of the cars, the roof was a balloonshed with a clear span over all of the tracks, and only passengers with ticketswere allowed on the platforms (a rule enforced by ticket examiners). TheHarlem, Hudson and New Haven trains were initially in side byside different stations, which created chaos in baggage transfer. The combined Grand Central Depot serviced all three railroads. Grand Central Station Between 1899 and 1900, the head house was essentially demolished. It wasexpanded from three to six stories with an entirely new faade, on plans byrailroad architect Bradford Gilbert . The train shed was kept. Thetracks that previously continued south of 42nd Street were removed and the trainyard reconfigured in an effort to reduce congestion and turn-around time fortrains. The reconstructed building was renamed Grand Central Station . The exterior of Grand Central Station c. 1904 The interior of Grand Central Station c. 1904 Upper level (mainline) layout, showing a balloon loop Lower level (suburban) layout, showing a balloon loop Grand Central Terminal Excavation for new Grand Central Terminal, September 1907 New York Central Hudson River RR 4 1/2% Refunding ImprovementBond Series A, prominently featuring the then-new Grand Central Terminal. Eagle from Grand Central Station, now perched on Grand Central Terminal Between 1903 and 1913, the entire building was torn down in phases andreplaced by the current Grand Central Terminal , which was designed bythe architectural firms of Reed and Stem and Warren and Wetmore , who entered an agreement toact as the associated architects of Grand Central Terminal in February 1904.Reed Stem were responsible for the overall design of the station, Warren and Wetmore addedarchitectural details and the Beaux-Arts style . Charles Reed wasappointed the chief executive for the collaboration between the two firms, andpromptly appointed Alfred T. Fellheimer as head of the combineddesign team. This work was accompanied by the electrification of the threerailroads using the station and the burial of the approach in the Park Avenue tunnel . The result ofthis was the creation of several blocks worth of prime real estate in Manhattan, which were thensold for a large sum of money. In addition, the terminal itself containssupport structures for a possible future tower to be built above it. The newterminal opened on February 2, 1913. The terminal is made primarily from granite. In fact, so much granite isused, the building emits relatively high levels of radiation on a regularbasis. Covering Park Avenue To accommodate ever-growing rail traffic into the restricted Midtown area, WilliamJ. Wilgus , chief engineer of the New York Central Railroad took advantageof the recent electrification technology to propose a novel scheme: a bi-levelstation below ground. Arriving trains would go underground under Park Avenue,and proceed to an upper-level incoming station if they were mainline trains, orto a lower-level platform if they were suburban trains. In addition, turningloops within the station itself obviated complicated switching moves to bringback the trains to the coach yards for servicing. Departing mainline trainsreversed into upper-level platforms in the conventional way. Burying electric trains underground brought an additional advantage to therailroads: the ability to sell above-ground air rights over the tracks and platforms for real-estate development. With time,prestigious apartment and office buildings were erected around Grand Central,which turned the area into the most desirable commercial office district in Manhattan. The terminal also did away with bifurcating Park Avenue by introducing acircumferential elevated driveway that allowed Park Avenue trafficto traverse around the building and over 42nd Street without encumbering nearbystreets. The building was also designed to eventually reconnect both segmentsof 43rd Streetby going through the concourse if the City of New York demanded it. Terminal City View of Grand Central around 1918 Grand Central Terminal Clock The construction of Grand Central created a mini-city within New York, including theCommodore Hotel and various office buildings. It spurred constructionthroughout the neighborhood in the 1920s including the ChryslerBuilding . In 1928, the New York Central built its headquarters in a 34-story building(now called the Helmsley Building ) straddling Park Avenue on the north side of the Terminal. From 1939 to 1964 CBS Television occupied a large portion of the terminal building, particularlyabove the main waiting room. The space contained two production studios (41 and42), two program control facilities (43 and 44), network mastercontrol, and facilities for local station WCBS-TV . In1958, the first major videotape operations facility in the world opened in aformer rehearsal room on the seventh floor of the main terminal building. Thefacility used fourteen Ampex VR-1000 videotape recorders. The CBSEvening News began its broadcasts there with DouglasEdwards . Many historic news events were broadcast from this location, suchas JohnGlenn 's Mercury-Atlas 6 space mission and WalterCronkite 's coverage of the assassination of John F. Kennedy . EdwardR. Murrow 's See It Now originated from Grand Central,including his famous broadcasts on Senator JosephMcCarthy . The Murrow broadcasts were recreated in GeorgeClooney 's movie Good Night, and Good Luck , althoughthe CBS News and corporate offices were not actually in the same building asthe film implies. The long-running panel show What'sMy Line? was first broadcast from the GCT studios, as were The Goldbergs and Mama .The facility's operations were later moved to the CBS Broadcast Center . In 1966, the former studiospace was converted to a sports club with two tennis courts and was operated by DonaldTrump from 1984 to 2009. The space is currently occupied by a conductorlounge and a smaller sports facility with a single tennis court. Grand Central Art Galleries Medals commemorating the Grand Central Art Galleries' foundation Main article: Grand Central Art Galleries From 1922 to 1958, Grand Central Terminal was the home of the Grand Central Art Galleries , which wereestablished by John Singer Sargent , EdmundGreacen , Walter Leighton Clark , and others. The founders had sought a location in Manhattan that was central and easily accessible, and Alfred Holland Smith , president of the New York Central Railroad , made the topof the terminal available. A 10-year lease was signed, and the galleries, together with the railroad company, spentmore than $100,000 to prepare the space. The architect was William Adams Delano , best known for designing Yale Divinity School 's Sterling Quadrangle. At their opening, the galleries extended over most of the terminal's sixthfloor, 15,000 square feet (1,400 m 2 ), and offered eight main exhibitionrooms, a foyer gallery, and a reception area. A total of 20 display rooms were planned for what was intended as...the largest sales gallery of art in the world. The official opening was March 22, 1923, and featured paintings by Sargent, Charles W. Hawthorne , CeciliaBeaux , Wayman Adams , and Ernest Ipsen . Sculptors included Daniel Chester French , Herbert Adams , Robert Aitken , GutzonBorglum , and Frederic MacMonnies . The eventattracted 5,000 people and received a glowing review from The New York Times . A year after they opened, the galleries established the Grand Central School of Art , whichoccupied 7,000 square feet (650 m 2 ) on the seventh floor of the eastwing of the terminal. The school was directed by Sargent and Daniel Chester French . Its first-yearteachers included painters Jonas Lie and NicolaiFechin , sculptor Chester Beach , illustrator DeanCornwell , costume designer HelenDryden , and muralist Ezra Winter . The Grand Central Art Galleries remained in theterminal until 1958, when they moved to the BiltmoreHotel . They remained at the Biltmore for 23 years, until it was converted into anoffice building. When the Biltmore was demolished in 1981, they moved to 24 West 57th Street. They ceased operations in 1994. Proposals for demolition and towers In 1947, over 65 million people, the equivalent of 40% of the population ofthe United States,traveled through Grand Central. However, railroads soon fell into a majordecline with competition from government subsidized highways and intercityairline traffic. The MetLife Building was completed in 1963 above theGrand Central Terminal. Grand Central was designed to support a tower built above it. In 1954, William Zeckendorf proposed replacing GrandCentral with an 80-story, 4,800,000-square-foot (450,000 m 2 ) tower, 500 feet (150 m)taller than the Empire State Building . I. M. Pei created a pinched-cylinder design that took the form of a glass cylinder with a waspwaist . The plan was abandoned. In 1955, Erwin S. Wolfson made his firstproposal for a tower north of the Terminal replacing the Terminal's six-storyoffice building. A revised Wolfson plan was approved in 1958 and the Pan Am Building (now the MetLifeBuilding ) was completed in 1963. Although the Pan Am Buildingbought time for the terminal, the New York Central Railroad continued itsprecipitous decline. In 1968, facing bankruptcy, it merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad to form the PennCentral Railroad . The Pennsylvania Railroad was in its own precipitousdecline and in 1964 had demolished the ornate Pennsylvania Station (despitepleas to preserve it) to make way for an office building and the new Madison Square Garden . In 1968, Penn Central unveiled plans for a tower designed by MarcelBreuer even bigger than the Pan Am Buildingto be built over Grand Central. Since Grand Central was designed to support atower above it, the Marcel Breuer design would have utilized the existing towersupport structure but would not have preserved the facade or the Main WaitingRoom. The plans drew huge opposition, most prominently from Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis . Is it not cruel to let our city die by degrees, stripped of all her proudmonuments, until there will be nothing left of all her history and beauty toinspire our children? If they are not inspired by the past of our city, wherewill they find the strength to fight for her future? Americans care about theirpast, but for short term gain they ignore it and tear down everything thatmatters. Maybe… this is the time to take a stand, to reverse the tide, so thatwe won't all end up in a uniform world of steel and glass boxes. —Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Six months prior to the unveiling of the Breuer plans, however, the New York City LandmarksPreservation Commission designated Grand Central a landmark.Penn Central was unable to secure permission from the Commission to executeeither of Breuer's two blueprints and filed suit against the city, alleging a taking . The resulting case, Penn CentralTransportation Co. v. New York City (1978), was the first time that the Supreme Court ruled on a matterof historic preservation . The Court saved theterminal, holding that New York City'sLandmarks Preservation Act did not constitute a taking of PennCentral's property under the Fifth Amendment and was a reasonable use ofgovernment land-use regulatory power. Penn Central went into bankruptcy in 1970 in what was then the biggest corporate bankruptcyin American history. Title to Grand Central passed to Penn Central's corporatesuccessor, American Premier Underwriters (APU) (which in turn was absorbed by American Financial Group ). The MetropolitanTransportation Authority (MTA) signed a 280-year lease in 1994 and began amassive restoration. Midtown TDR Ventures, LLC, an investment group controlledby Argent Ventures , purchased the station from American Financial in December 2006. As part of the transaction the lease with the MTA was renegotiated throughFebruary 28, 2274. The MTA pays $2.24 million in rent and has an option to buythe station and tracks in 2017, although Argent could extend the date another15 years to 2032. The transferable air rights remain the property of Midtown TDR Ventures. Bombing See also: 1975 LaGuardia Airport bombing On September 11, 1976, a group of Croatian nationalists planted a bomb in a coin locker at Grand Central Terminal. Thegroup also hijacked a plane . After stating their politicaldemands, they revealed the location and provided the instructions for disarmingthe Grand Central Terminal bomb. The disarming operation was not executedproperly and the resulting explosion wounded over 30 and killed one NYPD bomb squad specialist. This was related to a 1975 bombing of LaGuardiaAirport , which was never solved. Restorations and expansion Donald Trump restoration This section needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2013) Main Concourse Lower Concourse Lower Concourse – Food Court Grand Central and its neighborhood fell on hard times during the financialcollapse of its host railroads and the near bankruptcy of New York City itself. In 1975, Donald Trump bought the Commodore Hotel to the east ofthe terminal for $10 million and then worked out a deal with JayPritzker to transform it into one of the first Grand Hyatt hotels. Trump negotiated various tax breaks and, in the process, agreed torenovate the exterior of the terminal. The complementary masonry from theCommodore was covered with a mirror-glass slipcover faade – themasonry still exists underneath. In the same deal, Trump optioned PennCentral's rail yards on the Hudson River between 59th and 72nd Streets thateventually became Trump Place , the biggest private development in New York City. The Grand Hyatt opened in 1980 and the neighborhood immediately began atransformation. Trump sold his interest in the hotel for $142 million, establishing him asa big-time player in New Yorkreal estate. Throughout this period, the interior of Grand Central was dominated by hugebillboard advertisements, with perhaps the most famous being the giant Kodak Colorama photos that ran along the entire eastside, and the Westclox Big Ben clock over the south concourse. Metro-North operation and centennial Amtrak stopped services in the station on April 7, 1991, with the completion of the EmpireConnection , which allowed trains from Albany , Toronto , and Montreal touse Penn Station. Previously, travelers had to change stations via subway, bus,or cab. Since then, Grand Central has exclusively served Metro-North Railroad . In 1994, the MTA signed a long term lease on the building and began massiverenovations. All billboards were removed. These renovations were mostlyfinished in 1998, though some of the minor refits (such as replacement ofelectromechanical train information displays with electronic displays at trackentries) were not completed until 2000. The most striking effect was therestoration of the Main Concourse ceiling, revealing the paintedskyscape and constellations. The original baggage room, later convertedinto retail space and occupied for many years by Chemical Bank, was removed,and replaced with a mirror image of the West Stairs. Although the baggage roomhad been designed by the original architects, the restoration architects foundevidence that a set of stairs mirroring those to the West was originallyintended for that space. Other modifications included a complete overhaul ofthe Terminal's superstructure and the replacement of the electromechanicalOmega Board train arrival/departure display with a purely electronic displaythat was designed to fit into the architecture of the Terminal aesthetically.The original quarry in Tennesseewas located and reopened specifically to provide matching stone to replacedamaged stone and for the new East Staircase. Each piece of new stone islabeled with its installation date and the fact that it was not a part of theoriginal Terminal building. The exterior was again cleaned and restored, starting with the west facadeon Vanderbilt Avenueand gradually working counterclockwise. The project involved cleaning thefacade, rooftop light courts, and statues; filling in cracks, repointing stones on the facade, restoring the copper roof and the building's cornice,repairing the large windows of the Main Concourse, and removing the remaining blackout paint applied to the windows during WorldWar II . The result of the restoration, which was completed in 2007, was acleaner, more attractive, and structurally sound exterior, and the windows nowallow much more light into the Main Concourse. On February 1, 2013, numerous displays, performances and events were heldto celebrate the terminal's centennial. In 2014, the One Vanderbilt supertall skyscraper was proposed across thestreet. Its construction would include more improvements to Grand CentralTerminal. Long Island Rail Road access East Side Access progress in 2014 Main article: East Side Access The MTA is in the midst of a large-scale project to bring Long Island Rail Road trains into theterminal via the East Side Access Project. The project was spurredby a study that showed that more than half of LIRR riders work closer to GrandCentral than to the current terminus at Penn Station . The East Side Access has resulted in major blasting work under GrandCentral Terminal. Since March 2007, about 1000 workers have completed more than2,400 controlled blasts ending about October 4, 2013. A new bi-level, eight-track tunnel was excavated under Park Avenue , more than 90 feet (27 m)below the Metro-North tracks and more than 140 feet (43 m) below thesurface. Reaching the street from the lowest level, more than 175 feet(53 m) deep, will take about 10 minutes. LIRR trains will access Park Avenue via the existing lower level of the 63rd Street Tunnel , connecting to its main linerunning through Sunnyside Yard in Queens . Extensionswere added on both the Manhattan and Queens sides. Cost estimates jumped from $4.4 billion in 2004 to $6.4 billion in 2006.The MTA said that some small buildings on the route in Manhattan will be torn down to make way forair vents. Cardinal Edward Egan criticized the plan, noting concerns aboutthe tracks, which will largely be on the west side of Park Avenue, and their impact on St. Patrick's Cathedral . The new LIRR terminal may be operational between 2019 and September 2023. Miscellaneous events Beginning during the Christmas season of 1928 and continuing on selectholidays until 1958, an organist performed in Grand Central's North Gallery.Mary Lee Read initiated recitals on a borrowed Hammondorgan . Grand Central management eventually bought an organ and a set ofchimes for the station and began paying Mrs. Read an annual retainer. In addition to the weeks before Christmas, Mrs. Read would play during theweeks before Thanksgiving and Easter and on Mother's Day. A choir composed of Works Progress Administration employees performed with her one Easter. Following Pearl Harbor she attempted to lift spirits by playing The Star Spangled Banner , which brought themain concourse to a standstill. The stationmaster subsequently asked her toavoid selections that would cause passengers to miss their trains, and Mrs.Read became known as the only organist in New York who was forbidden to playthe UnitedStates ' national anthem. After Buddy Holly 's death in a plane crash on February 3,1959, his bassist and future country singer WaylonJennings put Buddy's guitar and amplifier into a locker and mailed the keysto Buddy's wife Maria Elena. Influence on design of transit centers Ramp to the Lower Concourse Colonnade Grand Central Terminal was an innovation in transit-hub design andcontinues to influence designers. One new concept was the use of ramps, ratherthan staircases, to conduct passengers and luggage through the facility.Another was wrapping Park Avenue around theTerminal above the street, creating a second level for picking up and droppingoff of passengers. As airline travel replaced railroads in the latter half ofthe 20th century, Grand Central design innovations were later incorporated intothe hub airport. Grand Central Terminal was listed on the National Register of HistoricPlaces and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976. The Grand Central Terminal ParkAvenue Viaduct was added to the National Register in 1983. In popular culture Grand Central Terminal has been used in numerous novels, and film and TVproductions over the years. Kyle McCarthy, who handles production at GrandCentral Terminal for MTA Metro-North Railroad , said: GrandCentral is one of the quintessential New York places. Whether filmmakers need an establishingshot of arriving in New Yorkor transportation scenes, the restored landmark building is visually appealingand authentic. Live television broadcasts from Grand Central Terminal once originated inthe area now occupied by the Vanderbilt Tennis Club, including news broadcasts,such as The CBS Evening News and See It Now ,and live dramas, such as Mama .The first four episodes of What'sMy Line also originated from Grand Central before the show moved tovarious Manhattantheaters which could accommodate studio audiences. In 1964, CBS movedtelevision operations to the CBS Broadcast Center . Many films also did location shooting in Grand Central Terminal. Filmsfeaturing Grand Central include: Amateur Around the World in 80 Days Arthur The Avengers The Bone Collector Broad City By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept Carlito’s Way Cloverfield Conspiracy Theory The Cotton Club Duplicity Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Falling in Love The Fisher King The Following The Freshman Friends with Benefits Gossip Girl Hackers The House on Carroll Street Hugo I Am Legend K-PAX Little Nicky Loser Madagascar Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Men In Black Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days Midnight Run North By Northwest One Fine Day The Out-of-Towners The Perfect Score The Prince of Tides Revolutionary Road Superman: The Movie Step Up 3 The Taking of Pelham 123 Unbreakable Winter's Tale Additionally, the title sequence of the television series Damages features The Glory of Commerce public sculpture atop Grand Central Terminal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Terminal
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Grand CentralTerminal一瞥(A)
黄安年 2015-8-19 01:05
Grand CentralTerminal 一瞥 (A) 黄安年文 黄安年的博客/2015年8月18日下午美东时间;19日凌晨北京时间发布 从5月28日到8月7日,我20次来曼哈顿,其中18次是乘坐火车到 Grand CentralTerminal 转向曼哈顿各地的 , 加上回程实际上经 Grand CentralTerminal 有 36 次 , 但是每次都来去匆匆 , 为了赶路而非刻意观察 , 只是随意拍摄了一些片断。 ( A ) 26 张 , ( B ) 11 张。 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , ***************** Grand Central Terminal From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation , search This article is about Grand Central Terminal. For the New York City Subway station that isunderneath the terminal, see Grand Central – 42ndStreet (New York City Subway) . For other stations with the name, see Grand Central Station(disambiguation) . Grand Central Terminal Inside the Main Concourse, facing east (2006 view) Location 89 East 42nd Street at Park Avenue , New York , NY 10017 Coordinates 40°45′10.08″N 73°58′35.48″W  /  40.7528000°N 73.9765222°W  / 40.7528000; -73.9765222 Coordinates : 40°45′10.08″N 73°58′35.48″W  /  40.7528000°N 73.9765222°W  / 40.7528000; -73.9765222 Owned by Midtown TDR Ventures (leased to Metro-North Railroad ) Line(s) Hudson Line Harlem Line New Haven Line New Canaan Branch Danbury Branch Platforms 44 high-level platforms (43 island platforms , 1 side platform , 6 tracks with Spanish solution ) Tracks 67 Connections MTA New York City Subway : trains at Grand Central – 42nd Street MTA New York City Bus : M1 , M2 , M3 , M4 , M42 , M101 , M102 , M103 Construction Disabled access Yes Other information Station code GCT Fare zone 1 History Opened 1871 Rebuilt 1913, 1994–2000 Services Preceding station Metro-North Railroad Following station Terminus Harlem Line Harlem – 125th Street toward Wassaic Hudson Line Harlem – 125th Street toward Poughkeepsie New Haven Line Harlem – 125th Street toward New Haven – State Street New Canaan Branch Harlem – 125th Street toward New Canaan Danbury Branch Harlem – 125th Street toward Danbury Former services New York Central Railroad 125th Street toward Chicago Water Level Route Terminus 125th Street toward Peekskill Hudson Division Terminus Harlem Division 125th Street toward Chatham Amtrak Yonkers toward Montreal Adirondack Terminus Yonkers toward Niagara Falls, NY Empire Service Yonkers toward Toronto Maple Leaf Croton–Harmon toward Chicago Lake Shore Limited Future services Preceding station LIRR Following station Terminus Grand Central Branch ( City Terminal Zone ) Proposed Sunnyside toward Long Island Grand Central Terminal U.S. National Register of Historic Places U.S. National Historic Landmark NYC Landmark Grand Central Terminal Built 1903 Architect Reed and Stem ; Warren and Wetmore Architectural style Beaux-Arts NRHP Reference # 75001206 83001726 (increase) Significant dates Added to NRHP January 17, 1975 August 11, 1983 (increase) Designated NHL December 8, 1976 Designated NYCL August 2, 1967 Location Grand Central Terminal Location within New York City Grand Central Terminal ( GCT ) is a commuter (and former intercity) railroad terminal at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in MidtownManhattan in New York City , UnitedStates . Built by and named for the New York Central Railroad in the heydayof American long-distance passenger rail travel, it covers 48 acres(19 ha) and has 44 platforms , more than any other railroad station inthe world. Its platforms, all below ground, serve 41 tracks on the upper leveland 26 on the lower, though the total number of tracks along platforms and in rail yards exceeds 100. The terminal serves commuters traveling on the Metro-North Railroad to Westchester , Putnam , and Dutchess counties in New York State ,and Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut .Until 1991, the terminal served Amtrak , which moved to nearby Pennsylvania Station uponcompletion of the Empire Connection . The EastSide Access project is underway to bring Long Island Rail Road service to theterminal. Although the terminal has been properly called Grand CentralTerminal since 1913, it has always been more colloquially andaffectionately known as Grand Central Station, which is the name of theprevious rail station on the same site, and also the name of the U.S.Post Office station next door which is not part of the terminal. Grand Central Station is also sometimes used to refer to the Grand Central – 42ndStreet subway station , which serves the terminal. Grand Central Terminal features both monumental spaces and meticulouslycrafted detail. In a February 2013 BBC News article, historian David Cannadine described itone of the most majestic buildings of the twentieth century. In 2013, Grand Central Terminal hosted 21.6 million visitors, rendering itone of the ten most-visited tourist attractions worldwide. In 2006, Argent Ventures transferred ownership of thestation to Midtown TDR Ventures. The MetropolitanTransportation Authority , the state agency that is the parent ofMetro-North, holds a lease until 2274. Contents 1 Layout 1.1 Main Concourse 1.1.1 Display board 1.1.2 Ceiling 1.2 Dining Concourse and lower level tracks 1.3 Vanderbilt Hall and Campbell Apartment 1.4 Subway station 1.5 Grand Central North 1.6 Platforms and tracks 2 History 2.1 Grand Central Depot 2.2 Grand Central Station 2.3 Grand Central Terminal 2.3.1 Covering Park Avenue 2.3.2 Terminal City 2.3.3 Grand Central Art Galleries 2.3.4 Proposals for demolition and towers 2.4 Bombing 2.5 Restorations and expansion 2.5.1 Donald Trump restoration 2.5.2 Metro-North operation and centennial 2.5.3 Long Island Rail Road access 2.6 Miscellaneous events 3 Influence on design of transit centers 4 In popular culture 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Layout Grand Central Terminal, on 42nd Street Diagram of the Upper Level of the main Terminal (1939) The tracks are numbered according to their location in the terminalbuilding . The upper-level tracks are numbered 11 to 42 east to west. Tracks22 and 31 were removed in the late 1990s to build concourses for Grand Central North. Track 12 was removed to expand the platform betweentracks 11 and 13 and track 14 is only used for loading a garbage train. The lower level has 27 tracks, numbered 100 to 126, east to west;currently, only tracks 102–112, and 114–116 are used for passenger service.Odd-numbered tracks are usually on the east side (right side facing north) ofthe platform; even-numbered tracks on the west. The public timetables for April 3, 2011, show 286 weekday departures: 74 Hudson, 101 Harlem and 111 New Haven Line. Grand Central has restaurants, such as the Oyster Bar and various fast food outlets surrounding the Dining Concourse on the levelbelow the Main Concourse, as well as delis, bakeries, newsstands, a gourmet andfresh food market, an annex of the New York Transit Museum , and more than 40retail stores. Among them are chain stores, including a Starbucks coffee shop, a RiteAid pharmacy and, as of December 2011, an AppleStore . Other chain restaurants include a ShakeShack , which is open as of October 2013 . A secret sub-basement known as M42 lies under the Terminal,containing the AC to DC converters used to supply DC traction current to the Terminal.The exact location of M42 is a closely guarded secret and does not appear onmaps, though it has been shown on television, most notably, the History Channel program Cities of the Underworld and also a National Geographic special. Two of theoriginal rotary converters were not removed in the late20th century when solid-state ones took over their job, and they remain as ahistorical record. During World War II , this facility was closely guardedbecause its sabotage would have impaired troop movement on the Eastern Seaboard. It is said that any unauthorized person entering the facility during thewar risked being shot on sight; the rotary converters could have easily beencrippled by a bucket of sand. Abwehr (aGerman espionage service) sent two spies to sabotage it; they were arrested bythe FBI before they could strike. The basements were 49 acres (20 ha), and Grand Central Terminal'sbasements are among the largest basements in the city. From 1924 through 1944, the attic of the east wing contained a7,000-square-foot (650 m 2 ) art school and gallery space called the Grand Central School of Art . Main Concourse Main Concourse (2013) Ticket windows The Main Concourse is the center of Grand Central. The space is cavernous – 275 ft(84 m) long, 120 ft (37 m) wide and 125 ft (38 m) high :74 – and usually filled with bustling crowds. The ticket booths are in theConcourse, although many now stand unused or have been repurposed since theintroduction of ticket vending machines. The large American flag was hung in Grand CentralTerminal a few days after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center . The maininformation booth is in the center of the concourse. This is a perennialmeeting place, and the four-faced clock on top of the information booth isperhaps the most recognizable icon of Grand Central. The clock, designed by Henry Edward Bedford and cast in Waterbury Connecticut , is made from brass. Each of the four clock faces is made from opalescent glass (now oftencalled opal glass or milk glass ), though urban legend has it that the facesare made of opal and that Sotheby's and Christie's have estimated their value to be between $ 10 million and $ 20 million. A 1954 New York Times article on the restoration of the clock notes that Each of the glass faceswas twenty-four inches in diameter.... Within the marble and brass pagodalies a secret door that conceals a spiral staircase leading to thelower-level information booth. Hercules , Minerva and Mercury , statuary by Jules-Félix Coutan , atop the terminal, with the MetLifeBuilding behind Outside the station, the 13-foot (4.0 m) clock in front of the GrandCentral faade facing 42nd Streetcontains the world's largest example of Tiffany glass. It is surrounded by sculpturesof Minerva , Hercules , and Mercury . The sculptures were designed by French sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan and carved by the JohnDonnelly Company. At its unveiling in 1914, the 48-foot (14.6 m)- high trio was considered the largestsculptural group in the world. The upper level tracks are reached from the Main Concourse or from varioushallways and passages branching off from it. On the east side of the MainConcourse is a cluster of food purveyor shops called Grand Central Market. Display board The original blackboard with arrival and departure information by Track 36was replaced by an electromechanical display in the main concourse overthe ticket windows that displayed times and track numbers of arriving anddeparting trains. It contained rows offlip panels that displayed train information, and became a New York institution, as its many displayswould flap simultaneously to reflect changes in train schedules, an indicatorof just how busy Grand Central was. A small example of this type of devicehangs in the Museum of Modern Art as an example ofoutstanding industrial design. The flap-board destination sign was replaced with high-resolution mosaicLCD modules manufactured by Solari Udine of Italy, the maker of the original flap boards for train stations andairports. Similar modules are now also used on the trains, both on the sides todisplay the destination, and on the interior to display the time, next station,calling points, and other passenger information. Ceiling Grand Central Terminal ceiling, design conceived by Paul César Helleu The Main Concourse has an elaborately decorated astronomical ceiling, conceived in 1912 by Warren with his friend, French portrait artist Paul César Helleu , and executed by James MonroeHewlett and Charles Basing of Hewlett-Basing Studio, with Helleu consulting. Corps of astronomers and painting assistants worked with Hewlett andBasing. The starry ceiling is astronomically inaccurate in a complicated way. Whilethe stars within some constellations appear correctly as they would from earth,other constellations are reversed left-to-right, as is the overall arrangementof the constellations on the ceiling. For example, Orion is correctly and beautifully rendered,but the adjacent constellations Taurus and Gemini are reversed both internally and intheir relation to Orion , with Taurus near Orion's raised arm where Geminishould be. One possible explanation is that the overall ceiling design mighthave been based on the medieval custom of depicting the sky as it would appearto God looking in at the celestialsphere from outside, but that would have reversed Orion as well. A morelikely explanation is partially mistaken transcription of the sketch suppliedby Columbia Astronomy professor Harold Jacoby. Though the astronomicalinconsistencies were noticed promptly by a commuter in 1913, they have not beencorrected in any of the subsequent renovations of the ceiling. The original ceiling was replaced in the late 1930s to correct fallingplaster. The Redstone missile , 1957 There is a small dark circle amid the stars above the image of Pisces . In a 1957 attempt to counteractfeelings of insecurity spawned by the Soviet launch of Sputnik , an American Redstonemissile was set up in the Main Concourse. With no other way to erect themissile, the hole was cut so the rocket could be lifted into place. Historicalpreservation dictated that this hole remain (as opposed to being repaired) as atestament to the many uses of the Terminal over the years. By the 1980s, the ceiling was obscured by decades of what was thought to be coal and diesel smoke. Spectroscopic examination revealed that it was mostlytar and nicotine from tobaccosmoke . A 12-year restoration effort completed in autumn 1996 restored theceiling to its original luster. A single dark patch above the Michael Jordan Steakhouse was leftuntouched by renovators to remind visitors of the grime that once covered theceiling. Dining Concourse and lower level tracks The OysterBar , Grand Central's oldest business The Dining Concourse, below the Main Concourse and connected to it bynumerous stairs, ramps, and escalators, provides access to the lower-leveltracks. It has central seating and lounge areas, surrounded by restaurants.Among them is the Oyster Bar , the oldest business within Grand Central,whose decor includes vaults of Guastavinotile . Vanderbilt Hall and CampbellApartment Vanderbilt Hall, formerly the main waiting room, now used for specialexhibitions and rented for private functions Vanderbilt Hall, named for the family that built and owned the station, serves as the entrance area from 42nd Street at Pershing Square . It sits next to theMain Concourse. Formerly the main waiting room for the terminal, it is now usedfor the annual Christmas Market and special exhibitions, and is rented forprivate events. The Campbell Apartment is an elegantly restoredcocktail lounge, just south of the 43rd Street/Vanderbilt Avenue entrance, that attracts a mix of commutersand tourists. It was at one time the office of 1920s tycoon John W. Campbell and replicates thegalleried hall of a 13th-century Florentine palace. Subway station Ramp to the subway, 1912 Main article: Grand Central – 42ndStreet (New York City Subway) The subway platforms at Grand Central are reached from the Main Concourse.Built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) rather than the New York Central Railroad , the subwayareas of the station lack the majesty that is present throughout most of therest of Grand Central, although the subway station's track levels are insimilar condition to the terminal proper's track levels. The IRT 42nd Street Shuttle platforms wereoriginally an express stop on the original IRT subway , opened in1904. Once the IRT Lexington Avenue Line was extendeduptown in 1918, the original tracks were converted to shuttle use. One trackremains connected to the downtown Lexington Avenue local track but the connection is not inrevenue service. A fire in the 1960s destroyed much of the shuttle station,which has been rebuilt. The only signs of the fire damage are truncated steelbeams visible above the platforms. There are also two other platform levels: the IRT Lexington Avenue Line'splatforms, which are directly below the shuttle platforms, as they were builtsoon after the shuttle opened; and the IRTFlushing Line platform, which was built last, and is deeper than the IRTLexington Avenue Line's platforms. Grand Central North Play media Video architectural tour of Grand Central Terminal ( High-resversion on Internet Archive ) Grand Central North, opened on August 18, 1999, provides access to GrandCentral from 45th Street, 47th Street , and 48th Street. It is connected to the Main Concourse through two long hallways that runparallel to the tracks on the upper level: the 1,000-foot Northwest Passage and1,200-foot Northeast Passage. Entrances are at the northeast corner of East 47th Street and Madison Avenue (Northwest Passage),northeast corner of East 48th Street and Park Avenue (Northeast Passage), and on theeast and west sides of 230 Park Avenue ( HelmsleyBuilding ) between 45th and 46th Streets. A fifth entrance opened in early2012 on the south side of 47th Street between Park and Lexington Avenues. The 47th Streetpassage provides access to the upper level tracks and the 45th Street passage provides access tothe lower-level tracks. Elevator access is available to the 47th Street (upper level) passage fromstreet level on the north side of E. 47th Street, between Madison and VanderbiltAvenues. There is no elevator access to the actual train platforms from GrandCentral North; handicapped access is provided through the main terminal. Throughout these passages, there is an Artsfor Transit mosaic installation by Ellen Driscoll, an artist from Brooklyn . The entrances to Grand Central North were originally open from6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Saturday andSunday. In summer 2006, Grand Central North was closed on weekends, with the MTA citing lowusage and the need to save money. Before it was closed, about 6,000 people used Grand Central North on atypical weekend, and about 30,000 on weekdays. Ideas for a northern entrance to Grand Central had been discussed since atleast the 1970s. Construction on Grand Central North lasted from 1994 to 1999and cost $75 million. Delays were attributed to the incomplete nature of the original blueprintsof Grand Central and previously undiscovered groundwater beneath East 45th Street.As of 2007, the passages are not air-conditioned. The passages in the terminal are the Metro-North Railroad upper level; theNorthwest and Northeast passages; the cross-passages at 47th and 45th Streets;and the Metro-North Railroad lower level. Platforms and tracks The terminal has 44 platforms, the most in any railway station in theworld; 67 tracks are in regular passenger use. The upper level has 42 tracks overall. A balloonloop track circles around 40 of these tracks; ten tracks are used only forstorage. The lower level is smaller, having only 27 tracks, but is also circled byseveral balloon loops. Tracks 116-125 on the lower level will be demolished to make room for the Long Island Rail Road concourse being builtas part of the East Side Access project. The East Side Access project consists of eight new tracks numbered 301through 304 and 401 through 404. Underneath the rest of Grand Central Terminal is a private platform, Track 61 , which was built mainly forformer United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt . He would travel into the city using his personal train into Track 61, thentake a specially designed elevator to the surface. After Rooseveltdied, it was used occasionally. This platform was part of the original design of the Waldorf Astoria. It was mentioned in The New York Times in 1929 but was first usedby General Pershing in 1938. Outline of the general location of Grand Central Terminal tracks andplatforms showing that this underground infrastructure encompasses an area ofroughly 15 city blocks between 42nd and 49th Streets and Lexington and Madison Avenues. The caverns,vent buildings, and concourse referred to in the map are for the EastSide Access project. The GCT building, the only above ground level portionof the complex open to the public, is marked in green. ( Federal Transit Administration ,March 2006) History Looking out the north end of the Murray Hill Tunnel toward the stationin 1880. Note the labels for the New York and Harlem and New York andNew Haven Railroads; the New York Central and Hudson River was offto the left. The two larger portals on the right allowed some horse-drawntrains to continue further downtown. Three buildings serving essentially the same function have stood on thissite. The original large and imposing scale was intended by the New York Central Railroad to enhancecompetition and compare favorably in the public eye with the archrival Pennsylvania Railroad and smaller lines. Grand Central Depot Grand Central Depot brought the trains of the New York Central and HudsonRiver Railroad , the New York and Harlem Railroad , and the New York and New Haven Railroad together in one large station. The station was designed by JohnB. Snook and opened in October 1871. The original plan was for the HarlemRailroad to start using it on October 9, 1871 (moving from their 27th Street depot), the NewHaven Railroad on October 16, and the Hudson River Railroad on October 23, withthe staggering done to minimize confusion. However, the Hudson River Railroaddid not move to it until November 1, which puts the other two dates in doubt. The headhouse building containing passenger service areas and railroad offices was an L shape with a short leg running east-west on 42nd Street and along leg running north-south on Vanderbilt Avenue. The train shed ,north and east of the head house , had three innovations in U.S. practice:the platforms were elevated to the height of the cars, the roof was a balloonshed with a clear span over all of the tracks, and only passengers with ticketswere allowed on the platforms (a rule enforced by ticket examiners). TheHarlem, Hudson and New Haven trains were initially in side byside different stations, which created chaos in baggage transfer. The combined Grand Central Depot serviced all three railroads. Grand Central Station Between 1899 and 1900, the head house was essentially demolished. It wasexpanded from three to six stories with an entirely new faade, on plans byrailroad architect Bradford Gilbert . The train shed was kept. Thetracks that previously continued south of 42nd Street were removed and the trainyard reconfigured in an effort to reduce congestion and turn-around time fortrains. The reconstructed building was renamed Grand Central Station . The exterior of Grand Central Station c. 1904 The interior of Grand Central Station c. 1904 Upper level (mainline) layout, showing a balloon loop Lower level (suburban) layout, showing a balloon loop Grand Central Terminal Excavation for new Grand Central Terminal, September 1907 New York Central Hudson River RR 4 1/2% Refunding ImprovementBond Series A, prominently featuring the then-new Grand Central Terminal. Eagle from Grand Central Station, now perched on Grand Central Terminal Between 1903 and 1913, the entire building was torn down in phases andreplaced by the current Grand Central Terminal , which was designed bythe architectural firms of Reed and Stem and Warren and Wetmore , who entered an agreement toact as the associated architects of Grand Central Terminal in February 1904.Reed Stem were responsible for the overall design of the station, Warren and Wetmore addedarchitectural details and the Beaux-Arts style . Charles Reed wasappointed the chief executive for the collaboration between the two firms, andpromptly appointed Alfred T. Fellheimer as head of the combineddesign team. This work was accompanied by the electrification of the threerailroads using the station and the burial of the approach in the Park Avenue tunnel . The result ofthis was the creation of several blocks worth of prime real estate in Manhattan, which were thensold for a large sum of money. In addition, the terminal itself containssupport structures for a possible future tower to be built above it. The newterminal opened on February 2, 1913. The terminal is made primarily from granite. In fact, so much granite isused, the building emits relatively high levels of radiation on a regularbasis. Covering Park Avenue To accommodate ever-growing rail traffic into the restricted Midtown area, WilliamJ. Wilgus , chief engineer of the New York Central Railroad took advantageof the recent electrification technology to propose a novel scheme: a bi-levelstation below ground. Arriving trains would go underground under Park Avenue,and proceed to an upper-level incoming station if they were mainline trains, orto a lower-level platform if they were suburban trains. In addition, turningloops within the station itself obviated complicated switching moves to bringback the trains to the coach yards for servicing. Departing mainline trainsreversed into upper-level platforms in the conventional way. Burying electric trains underground brought an additional advantage to therailroads: the ability to sell above-ground air rights over the tracks and platforms for real-estate development. With time,prestigious apartment and office buildings were erected around Grand Central,which turned the area into the most desirable commercial office district in Manhattan. The terminal also did away with bifurcating Park Avenue by introducing acircumferential elevated driveway that allowed Park Avenue trafficto traverse around the building and over 42nd Street without encumbering nearbystreets. The building was also designed to eventually reconnect both segmentsof 43rd Streetby going through the concourse if the City of New York demanded it. Terminal City View of Grand Central around 1918 Grand Central Terminal Clock The construction of Grand Central created a mini-city within New York, including theCommodore Hotel and various office buildings. It spurred constructionthroughout the neighborhood in the 1920s including the ChryslerBuilding . In 1928, the New York Central built its headquarters in a 34-story building(now called the Helmsley Building ) straddling Park Avenue on the north side of the Terminal. From 1939 to 1964 CBS Television occupied a large portion of the terminal building, particularlyabove the main waiting room. The space contained two production studios (41 and42), two program control facilities (43 and 44), network mastercontrol, and facilities for local station WCBS-TV . In1958, the first major videotape operations facility in the world opened in aformer rehearsal room on the seventh floor of the main terminal building. Thefacility used fourteen Ampex VR-1000 videotape recorders. The CBSEvening News began its broadcasts there with DouglasEdwards . Many historic news events were broadcast from this location, suchas JohnGlenn 's Mercury-Atlas 6 space mission and WalterCronkite 's coverage of the assassination of John F. Kennedy . EdwardR. Murrow 's See It Now originated from Grand Central,including his famous broadcasts on Senator JosephMcCarthy . The Murrow broadcasts were recreated in GeorgeClooney 's movie Good Night, and Good Luck , althoughthe CBS News and corporate offices were not actually in the same building asthe film implies. The long-running panel show What'sMy Line? was first broadcast from the GCT studios, as were The Goldbergs and Mama .The facility's operations were later moved to the CBS Broadcast Center . In 1966, the formerstudio space was converted to a sports club with two tennis courts and wasoperated by Donald Trump from 1984 to 2009. The space is currentlyoccupied by a conductor lounge and a smaller sports facility with a singletennis court. Grand Central Art Galleries Medals commemorating the Grand Central Art Galleries' foundation Main article: Grand Central Art Galleries From 1922 to 1958, Grand Central Terminal was the home of the Grand Central Art Galleries , which wereestablished by John Singer Sargent , EdmundGreacen , Walter Leighton Clark , and others. The founders had sought a location in Manhattan that was central and easily accessible, and Alfred Holland Smith , president of the New York Central Railroad , made the topof the terminal available. A 10-year lease was signed, and the galleries, together with the railroad company, spentmore than $100,000 to prepare the space. The architect was William Adams Delano , best known for designing Yale Divinity School 's Sterling Quadrangle. At their opening, the galleries extended over most of the terminal's sixthfloor, 15,000 square feet (1,400 m 2 ), and offered eight main exhibitionrooms, a foyer gallery, and a reception area. A total of 20 display rooms were planned for what was intended as...the largest sales gallery of art in the world. The official opening was March 22, 1923, and featured paintings by Sargent, Charles W. Hawthorne , CeciliaBeaux , Wayman Adams , and Ernest Ipsen . Sculptors included Daniel Chester French , Herbert Adams , Robert Aitken , GutzonBorglum , and Frederic MacMonnies . The eventattracted 5,000 people and received a glowing review from The New York Times . A year after they opened, the galleries established the Grand Central School of Art , whichoccupied 7,000 square feet (650 m 2 ) on the seventh floor of the eastwing of the terminal. The school was directed by Sargent and Daniel Chester French . Its first-yearteachers included painters Jonas Lie and NicolaiFechin , sculptor Chester Beach , illustrator DeanCornwell , costume designer HelenDryden , and muralist Ezra Winter . The Grand Central Art Galleries remained in theterminal until 1958, when they moved to the BiltmoreHotel . They remained at the Biltmore for 23 years, until it was converted into anoffice building. When the Biltmore was demolished in 1981, they moved to 24 West 57th Street. They ceased operations in 1994. Proposals for demolition and towers In 1947, over 65 million people, the equivalent of 40% of the population ofthe United States,traveled through Grand Central. However, railroads soon fell into a majordecline with competition from government subsidized highways and intercityairline traffic. The MetLife Building was completed in 1963 above theGrand Central Terminal. Grand Central was designed to support a tower built above it. In 1954, William Zeckendorf proposed replacing GrandCentral with an 80-story, 4,800,000-square-foot (450,000 m 2 ) tower, 500 feet (150 m)taller than the Empire State Building . I. M. Pei created a pinched-cylinder design that took the form of a glass cylinder with a waspwaist . The plan was abandoned. In 1955, Erwin S. Wolfson made his firstproposal for a tower north of the Terminal replacing the Terminal's six-storyoffice building. A revised Wolfson plan was approved in 1958 and the Pan Am Building (now the MetLifeBuilding ) was completed in 1963. Although the Pan Am Buildingbought time for the terminal, the New York Central Railroad continued itsprecipitous decline. In 1968, facing bankruptcy, it merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad to form the PennCentral Railroad . The Pennsylvania Railroad was in its own precipitousdecline and in 1964 had demolished the ornate Pennsylvania Station (despitepleas to preserve it) to make way for an office building and the new Madison Square Garden . In 1968, Penn Central unveiled plans for a tower designed by MarcelBreuer even bigger than the Pan Am Buildingto be built over Grand Central. Since Grand Central was designed to support atower above it, the Marcel Breuer design would have utilized the existing towersupport structure but would not have preserved the facade or the Main WaitingRoom. The plans drew huge opposition, most prominently from Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis . Is it not cruel to let our city die by degrees, stripped of all her proudmonuments, until there will be nothing left of all her history and beauty toinspire our children? If they are not inspired by the past of our city, wherewill they find the strength to fight for her future? Americans care about theirpast, but for short term gain they ignore it and tear down everything thatmatters. Maybe… this is the time to take a stand, to reverse the tide, so thatwe won't all end up in a uniform world of steel and glass boxes. —Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Six months prior to the unveiling of the Breuer plans, however, the New York City LandmarksPreservation Commission designated Grand Central a landmark.Penn Central was unable to secure permission from the Commission to executeeither of Breuer's two blueprints and filed suit against the city, alleging a taking . The resulting case, Penn CentralTransportation Co. v. New York City (1978), was the first time that the Supreme Court ruled on a matterof historic preservation . The Court saved theterminal, holding that New York City'sLandmarks Preservation Act did not constitute a taking of PennCentral's property under the Fifth Amendment and was a reasonable use ofgovernment land-use regulatory power. Penn Central went into bankruptcy in 1970 in what was then the biggest corporate bankruptcyin American history. Title to Grand Central passed to Penn Central's corporatesuccessor, American Premier Underwriters (APU) (which in turn was absorbed by American Financial Group ). The MetropolitanTransportation Authority (MTA) signed a 280-year lease in 1994 and began amassive restoration. Midtown TDR Ventures, LLC, an investment group controlledby Argent Ventures , purchased the station from American Financial in December 2006. As part of the transaction the lease with the MTA was renegotiated throughFebruary 28, 2274. The MTA pays $2.24 million in rent and has an option to buythe station and tracks in 2017, although Argent could extend the date another15 years to 2032. The transferable air rights remain the property of Midtown TDR Ventures. Bombing See also: 1975 LaGuardia Airport bombing On September 11, 1976, a group of Croatian nationalistsplanted a bomb in a coin locker at Grand Central Terminal. The group also hijackeda plane . After stating their political demands, they revealed the locationand provided the instructions for disarming the Grand Central Terminal bomb.The disarming operation was not executed properly and the resulting explosionwounded over 30 and killed one NYPD bomb squad specialist. This was related to a 1975 bombing of LaGuardiaAirport , which was never solved. Restorations and expansion Donald Trump restoration This section needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2013) Main Concourse Lower Concourse Lower Concourse – Food Court Grand Central and its neighborhood fell on hard times during the financialcollapse of its host railroads and the near bankruptcy of New York City itself. In 1975, Donald Trump bought the Commodore Hotel to the east ofthe terminal for $10 million and then worked out a deal with JayPritzker to transform it into one of the first Grand Hyatt hotels. Trump negotiated various tax breaks and, in the process, agreed torenovate the exterior of the terminal. The complementary masonry from theCommodore was covered with a mirror-glass slipcover faade – themasonry still exists underneath. In the same deal, Trump optioned PennCentral's rail yards on the Hudson River between 59th and 72nd Streets thateventually became Trump Place , the biggest private development in New York City. The Grand Hyatt opened in 1980 and the neighborhood immediately began atransformation. Trump sold his interest in the hotel for $142 million, establishing him asa big-time player in New Yorkreal estate. Throughout this period, the interior of Grand Central was dominated by hugebillboard advertisements, with perhaps the most famous being the giant Kodak Colorama photos that ran along the entire eastside, and the Westclox Big Ben clock over the south concourse. Metro-North operation and centennial Amtrak stopped services in the station on April 7, 1991, with the completion of the EmpireConnection , which allowed trains from Albany , Toronto , and Montreal to usePenn Station. Previously, travelers had to change stations via subway, bus, orcab. Since then, Grand Central has exclusively served Metro-North Railroad . In 1994, the MTA signed a long term lease on the building and began massiverenovations. All billboards were removed. These renovations were mostlyfinished in 1998, though some of the minor refits (such as replacement ofelectromechanical train information displays with electronic displays at trackentries) were not completed until 2000. The most striking effect was therestoration of the Main Concourse ceiling, revealing the paintedskyscape and constellations. The original baggage room, later convertedinto retail space and occupied for many years by Chemical Bank, was removed,and replaced with a mirror image of the West Stairs. Although the baggage roomhad been designed by the original architects, the restoration architects foundevidence that a set of stairs mirroring those to the West was originallyintended for that space. Other modifications included a complete overhaul ofthe Terminal's superstructure and the replacement of the electromechanicalOmega Board train arrival/departure display with a purely electronic displaythat was designed to fit into the architecture of the Terminal aesthetically.The original quarry in Tennesseewas located and reopened specifically to provide matching stone to replacedamaged stone and for the new East Staircase. Each piece of new stone islabeled with its installation date and the fact that it was not a part of theoriginal Terminal building. The exterior was again cleaned and restored, starting with the west facadeon Vanderbilt Avenueand gradually working counterclockwise. The project involved cleaning thefacade, rooftop light courts, and statues; filling in cracks, repointing stones on the facade, restoring the copper roof and the building's cornice,repairing the large windows of the Main Concourse, and removing the remaining blackout paint applied to the windows during WorldWar II . The result of the restoration, which was completed in 2007, was acleaner, more attractive, and structurally sound exterior, and the windows nowallow much more light into the Main Concourse. On February 1, 2013, numerous displays, performances and events were heldto celebrate the terminal's centennial. In 2014, the One Vanderbilt supertall skyscraper was proposed across thestreet. Its construction would include more improvements to Grand CentralTerminal. Long Island Rail Road access East Side Access progress in 2014 Main article: East Side Access The MTA is in the midst of a large-scale project to bring Long Island Rail Road trains into theterminal via the East Side Access Project. The project was spurredby a study that showed that more than half of LIRR riders work closer to GrandCentral than to the current terminus at Penn Station . The East Side Access has resulted in major blasting work under GrandCentral Terminal. Since March 2007, about 1000 workers have completed more than2,400 controlled blasts ending about October 4, 2013. A new bi-level, eight-track tunnel was excavated under Park Avenue , more than 90 feet (27 m)below the Metro-North tracks and more than 140 feet (43 m) below thesurface. Reaching the street from the lowest level, more than 175 feet(53 m) deep, will take about 10 minutes. LIRR trains will access Park Avenue via the existing lower level of the 63rd Street Tunnel , connecting to its main linerunning through Sunnyside Yard in Queens . Extensionswere added on both the Manhattan and Queens sides. Cost estimates jumped from $4.4 billion in 2004 to $6.4 billion in 2006.The MTA said that some small buildings on the route in Manhattan will be torn down to make way forair vents. Cardinal Edward Egan criticized the plan, noting concerns aboutthe tracks, which will largely be on the west side of Park Avenue, and their impact on St. Patrick's Cathedral . The new LIRR terminal may be operational between 2019 and September 2023. Miscellaneous events Beginning during the Christmas season of 1928 and continuing on selectholidays until 1958, an organist performed in Grand Central's North Gallery.Mary Lee Read initiated recitals on a borrowed Hammondorgan . Grand Central management eventually bought an organ and a set ofchimes for the station and began paying Mrs. Read an annual retainer. In addition to the weeks before Christmas, Mrs. Read would play during theweeks before Thanksgiving and Easter and on Mother's Day. A choir composed of Works Progress Administration employees performed with her one Easter. Following Pearl Harbor she attempted to lift spirits by playing The Star Spangled Banner , which brought themain concourse to a standstill. The stationmaster subsequently asked her toavoid selections that would cause passengers to miss their trains, and Mrs.Read became known as the only organist in New York who was forbidden to playthe UnitedStates ' national anthem. After Buddy Holly 's death in a plane crash on February 3,1959, his bassist and future country singer WaylonJennings put Buddy's guitar and amplifier into a locker and mailed the keysto Buddy's wife Maria Elena. Influence on design of transit centers Ramp to the Lower Concourse Colonnade Grand Central Terminal was an innovation in transit-hub design andcontinues to influence designers. One new concept was the use of ramps, ratherthan staircases, to conduct passengers and luggage through the facility.Another was wrapping Park Avenue around theTerminal above the street, creating a second level for picking up and droppingoff of passengers. As airline travel replaced railroads in the latter half ofthe 20th century, Grand Central design innovations were later incorporated intothe hub airport. Grand Central Terminal was listed on the National Register of HistoricPlaces and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976. The Grand Central Terminal ParkAvenue Viaduct was added to the National Register in 1983. In popular culture Grand Central Terminal has been used in numerous novels, and film and TVproductions over the years. Kyle McCarthy, who handles production at GrandCentral Terminal for MTA Metro-North Railroad , said: GrandCentral is one of the quintessential New York places. Whether filmmakers need an establishingshot of arriving in New Yorkor transportation scenes, the restored landmark building is visually appealingand authentic. Live television broadcasts from Grand Central Terminal once originated inthe area now occupied by the Vanderbilt Tennis Club, including news broadcasts,such as The CBS Evening News and See It Now ,and live dramas, such as Mama .The first four episodes of What'sMy Line also originated from Grand Central before the show moved tovarious Manhattantheaters which could accommodate studio audiences. In 1964, CBS movedtelevision operations to the CBS Broadcast Center . Many films also did location shooting in Grand Central Terminal. Filmsfeaturing Grand Central include: Amateur Around the World in 80 Days Arthur The Avengers The Bone Collector Broad City By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept Carlito’s Way Cloverfield Conspiracy Theory The Cotton Club Duplicity Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Falling in Love The Fisher King The Following The Freshman Friends with Benefits Gossip Girl Hackers The House on Carroll Street Hugo I Am Legend K-PAX Little Nicky Loser Madagascar Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa Men In Black Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days Midnight Run North By Northwest One Fine Day The Out-of-Towners The Perfect Score The Prince of Tides Revolutionary Road Superman: The Movie Step Up 3 The Taking of Pelham 123 Unbreakable Winter's Tale Additionally, the title sequence of the television series Damages features The Glory of Commerce public sculpture atop Grand Central Terminal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Central_Terminal
个人分类: 美国纪行见闻(09-11)|3089 次阅读|0 个评论
Grand CentralTerminal及其附近的42街
黄安年 2015-5-30 23:28
Grand CentralTerminal 及其附近的42街 黄安年文 黄安年的博客 /2015 年 5 月 30 日 美东时间上午,北京时间深夜发布 从纽约市郊的卫星城镇进入纽约市区,通常最便捷的方式是乘坐城际地铁或者长途汽车,所以位于 42 街的 Grand Central Terminal 和 BUS Terminal 都是一般乘客经常光顾的地方。 28 日 , 我们由 Chappaqua 专程前来位于 42 街和 11 大道的展览中心参观中国主宾国的纽约书展。需要经由 Grand Central Terminal 中转,我们三人原本打算乘坐 42 路公交车 , 后来等候时间实在太长 , 加上红绿灯及堵车 , 公交车久久不来于是改乘出租汽车费用不超过 13 美元。无论 城际地铁还是市区地铁经过 Grand Central Terminal 都要经过一段‘黑暗又缓慢’行驶, Grand Central Terminal 四通八达,我们的目的地是 42 街 11 大道,到达 42 街路上一片嘈杂声(人流、车流、物流)集合起来形成了超分贝,是种最严重的声响污染。 42 街高楼林立,能够露出一丝阳光的机遇不是很多。中央大厅内外 , 人们行走的步伐明显加快,人们感受到这里的生活快节奏,也感受到工作机会的增多,越来越大城市,也越有可能使得不同的人群寻找到他们希望找到的工作机会,实现自己的梦想。 照片 20 张是 28 日随机拍摄的。 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ,
个人分类: 美国纪行见闻(09-11)|2676 次阅读|0 个评论
[转载]Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master'sInsights on China
热度 1 何毓琦 2013-6-25 19:56
( For new reader and those who request 好友 请求 , please read my 公告 栏 firs t) http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/lee-kuan-yew From BelferCenter Studies in International Security Lee Kuan Yew The Grand Master's Insights on China, the United States, and theWorld By Graham Allison , Robert D.Blackwill and Ali Wyne Lee's powerful intellectis captured in a new book, Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master's Insights onChina, the United States, and the World . It's a collection of interviewswith him by Harvard University professor Graham Allison, Council on ForeignRelations senior fellow Robert Blackwill and Harvard's Belfer Center researcherAli Wyne, while also drawing on other selected and cited writings by and aboutLee. Now 89, officially retired and somewhat frail, Lee has mellowed with age —not unlike his creation Singapore, governed today with a lighter touch even asits citizens grow more vocal. Yet, as the book, and the adaptation here of theChina chapter, reveal, Lee is as sharp, direct and prescient as ever. Thoughthe volume was completed before China's current territorial tensions with itsneighbors, it helps expose, and explain, Beijing's hardball mind-set. Over the years Lee has been called many things —unflattering as well as admiring. But perhaps the single most fittingdescription is: The Man Who Saw Tomorrow. Are Chinese leaders serious about displacing theU.S. as the No. 1 power in Asia and, eventually, the world? Of course.They have transformed a poor society by an economic miracle to become now thesecond largest economy in the world — on track to become the world's largesteconomy. They have followed the American lead in putting people in space andshooting down satellites with missiles. Theirs is a culture 4,000 years old,with 1.3 billion people, with a huge and very talented pool to draw from. Howcould they not aspire to be No. 1 in Asia, and in time the world? The Chinesepeople have raised their expectations and aspirations. Every Chinese wants astrong and rich China, a nation as prosperous, advanced and technologicallycompetent as America, Europe and Japan. This reawakened sense of destiny is anoverpowering force. The Chinese will want to share this century as co-equalswith the U.S. How will China's behavior toward other countrieschange if China becomes the dominant Asian power? At the coreof their mind-set is their world before colonization and the exploitation andhumiliation that brought. In Chinese, China means Middle Kingdom ,recalling a world in which they were dominant in the region, when other statesrelated to them as supplicants to a superior and vassals came to Beijingbearing tribute. Will an industrialized and strong China be as benign toSoutheast Asia as the U.S. has been since 1945? Singapore is not sure. Neitheris Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand or Vietnam. Wealready see a China more self-assured and willing to take tough positions. Theconcern of America is what kind of world they will face when China is able tocontest their pre-eminence. Many medium and small countries in Asia are alsoconcerned. They are uneasy that China may want to resume the imperial status ithad in earlier centuries and have misgivings about being treated as vassalstates having to send tribute to China as they used to in past centuries. tell us that countries big or small are equal; are not ahegemon. But when we do something they do not like, they say you have made 1.3billion people unhappy. So please know your place. What is China's strategy for becoming No. 1? The Chinesehave concluded that their best strategy is to build a strong and prosperousfuture, and use their huge and increasingly highly skilled and educated workersto outsell and outbuild all others. The Chinese have calculated that they need30 to 40 — maybe 50 — years of peace and quiet to catch up, build up their system,and change it from the communist system to the market system. They must avoidthe mistakes made by Germany and Japan. Their competition for power, influenceand resources led in the last century to two terrible wars. The Russian mistakewas that they put so much into military expenditure and so little into civiliantechnology that their economy collapsed. I believe the Chinese leadership haslearned that if you compete with America in armaments, you will lose. You willbankrupt yourself. So, keep your head down, and smile for 40 or 50 years. What are the major hurdles in executing thatstrategy? There willbe enormous stresses because of the size of the country and the intractablenature of the problems: the poor infrastructure, the weak institutions, thewrong systems that they have installed. Straight-line extrapolations from remarkable record are not realistic. China has more handicaps goingforward and more obstacles to overcome than most observers recognize. Chiefamong these are their problems of governance: the absence of the rule of law,which in today's China is closer to the rule of the emperor; a huge country inwhich little emperors across a vast expanse exercise great local influence;cultural habits that limit imagination and creativity, rewarding conformity; alanguage that is exceedingly difficult for foreigners to learn sufficiently toembrace China and be embraced by its society; and severe constraints on itsability to attract and assimilate talent from other . China will inevitably catch up to the U.S. inabsolute GDP. But its creativity may never match America's because its culturedoes not permit a free exchange and contest of ideas. How else to explain how acountry with four times as many people as America — and presumably four timesas many talented people — does not come up with technological breakthroughs? Technology is going to make their system ofgovernance obsolete. By 2030, 70% or maybe 75% of their people will be incities, small towns, big towns, megabig towns. They are going to have cellphones, Internet, satellite TV. They are going to be well informed; they canorganize themselves. You cannot govern them the way you are governing them nowwhere you just placate and monitor a few people because the numbers will be solarge. How do China's leaders see the U.S. role in Asiachanging as China becomes No. 1? Theleadership recognizes that as the leading power in the region for the sevendecades since World War II, the U.S. has provided a stability that allowedunprecedented growth for many nations including Japan, the Asian tigers andChina itself. China knows that it needs access to U.S. markets, U.S.technology, opportunities for Chinese students to study in the U.S. and tobring back to China new ideas about new frontiers. It therefore sees no profitin confronting the U.S. in the next 20 to 30 years in a way that couldjeopardize these benefits. Rather, its strategy is to grow within thisframework, biding its time until it becomes strong enough to successfullyredefine this political and economic order. What impact is China's rise having on itsneighbors in Asia? China'sstrategy for Southeast Asia is fairly simple: China tells the region,Come grow with me. At the same time, China's leaders want to conveythe impression that China's rise is inevitable and that countries will need todecide if they want to be China's friend or foe. China is also willing tocalibrate its engagement to get what it wants or express its displeasure. Will China become a democracy? No, China isnot going to become a liberal democracy; if it did, it would collapse. Of thatI am quite sure, and the Chinese intelligentsia also understands that. If youbelieve that there is going to be a revolution of some sort in China fordemocracy, you are wrong. Where are the students of Tiananmen now? They areirrelevant. The Chinese people want a revived China. Can it be a parliamentarydemocracy? This is a possibility in the villages and small towns. The Chinesefear chaos and will always err on the side of caution. It will be a longevolutionary process, but it is possible to contemplate such changes.Transportation and communications have become so much faster and cheaper. TheChinese people will be exposed to other systems and cultures and know othersocieties through travel, through the Internet and through smart phones. Onething is for sure: the present system will not remain unchanged for the next 50years. To achieve the modernization of China, her communist leaders areprepared to try every method, except for democracy with one person and one votein a multiparty system. Their two main reasons are their belief that theCommunist Party of China must have a monopoly on power to ensure stability andtheir deep fear of instability in a multiparty free-for-all, which would leadto a loss of control by the center over the provinces. To ask China to become ademocracy, when in its 5,000 years of recorded history it never counted heads —all rulers ruled by right of being the emperor; if you disagree, you chop offheads, not count heads. How should one assess new Communist Party chiefXi Jinping? He has had atougher life than Hu Jintao. His father was rusticated, andso was he. He took it in stride, and worked his way up. It has not been smoothsailing for him. His life experiences must have hardened him. He is reserved —not in the sense that he will not talk to you, but in the sense that he willnot betray his likes and dislikes. There is always a pleasant smile on hisface, whether or not you have said something that annoyed him. He has iron inhis soul, more than Hu Jintao, who ascended the ranks without experiencing thetrials and tribulations that Xi endured. He is a person with enormous emotionalstability who does not allow his personal misfortunes or sufferings to affecthis judgment. He is impressive. Adaptedfrom Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master'sInsights on China, the United States, and the World . Interviews andselections by Graham Allison and Robert D. Blackwill, with Ali Wyne. To bepublished by The MIT Press, February 2013. 2013 Belfer Center for Science andInternational Affairs. All rights reserved.
个人分类: 生活点滴|9898 次阅读|3 个评论
科罗拉多大峡谷-Grand Canyon
caohui 2013-5-25 23:14
科罗拉多大峡谷-Grand Canyon.JPG 飞机上拍到- 科罗拉多大峡谷 ( 英语 :Grand Canyon, 霍皮语 : Ongtupqa, 亚瓦派语 : Wi:kaʼi:la )位于 美国 亚利桑那州 西北部,是 科罗拉多河 经过数百万年以上的 冲蚀 而形成,色彩斑斓,峭壁险峻。 1979年 大峡谷被列入 世界遗产 。在许多非权威版本的 世界七大自然奇观 列表上 都有大峡谷的名字。目前由美国 大峡谷国家公园 管理。 大峡谷总长446 公里 ,平均深度有1200 米 ,宽度从0.5公里至29公里不等。 科罗拉多高原 抬升时,科罗拉多河及其支流切割层层 沉积岩 ,由此形成了大峡谷。将近20亿年来的地质变迁史一览无余。-引自维基百科
个人分类: 科学点滴|3571 次阅读|0 个评论
[转载] Grand Opening Celebration at U. Hawaii
zuojun 2013-2-6 04:06
http://www.uhcancercenter.org/about-us/grandopening
个人分类: Uniquely Hawaii|1845 次阅读|0 个评论
[转载]121124 AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY:Grand strategy and critical r
guanyunzhai 2012-11-27 09:35
121124 AMERICANFOREIGNPOLICY: Grandstrategyandcriticalregions EdwinA.Winckler WeatherheadEastAsianInstitute,ColumbiaUniversity Grandstrategy:TheCubanMissileCrisis1 Grandstrategy:Currentglobalgeopolitics2 Criticalregions:EasternAsia3 Criticalregions:MiddleEast4 Criticalregions:NorthAmerica5 ThisweekwasaslowoneforAmericandomesticpoliticsbutafastoneforAmericanforeignpolicy.SothisPOSTturnsabroad. ThefirsthalfofthepostraisessomegeneralissuesofAmericanGRANDSTRATEGY,firstintermsofAmericans’(incorrect)recollectionsoftheCubanMissileCrisis,thenintermsofcurrentglobalgeopolitics.ThesesectionsbegintoprovidesomeFRAMEWORKforthisandlaterpostsonAmericanforeignpolicy.AgeneralthemeismoreversuslessambitiousapproachestoAmericangrandstrategy,oftenreferredtoashardlinersversussoftliners.Bothhereandinthesectionsonregions,wealsonotelikelyfutureinteractionsbetweenAmericandomesticpoliticsandAmericanstrategy.(OnthedomesticpoliticsofAmericangrandstrategy,wedrawimplicitlyonPeterTrubowitz2011 Politicsandstrategy:PartisanambitionandAmericanstatecraft. PrincetonNJ:PrincetonUniversityPress,200pages.ForapplicationofclassicgeopoliticstocurrentAmericangrandstrategy,weexplicitlynoteastillmorerecentbookbyaconservativecommentator:RobertKaplan2012 Therevengeofgeography:Whatthemaptellsusaboutcomingconflictsandthebattleagainstfate. NewYork:RandomHouse,403pages.) ThesecondhalfofthepostthenturnstocurrentcrisesinCRITICALREGIONS.FirstwenoteAmericanmediacommentaryontworegionsthatWEREinthenews(EasternAsiaandtheMiddleEast).Afterthedomesticelection,ObamaimmediatelyreturnedhisattentiontotheforeignprojectthatevidentlyhemostWANTStopursue,namelycopingwithChinabycooperatingwithChina’sneighbors,thisweekthroughapresidentialtriptoSoutheastAsia.Atthesametime,Obamahadtocopewithforeignpolicyproblemsthathemustwishwouldgoaway:theusualconcatenationofcrisesintheMiddleEast(thankstohim,nolongerIraqandAfghanistan,butnowLibya,Syria,Gaza,andpotentiallyIran).FinallywenotethelackofcommentaryonaregionthatwasNOTinthenews(NorthAmerica).Understandably,notyetevenformallybeginninghissecondterm,Obamahasnotyetdoneanything(thatweknowabout)tocopewithwhateventuallymayturnouttobeamoreimmediatethreattotheUSA:thepossibledisintegrationofMexico.Thesearenotjustanythreeregions:theyarethethreethatposeAmerica’s“primarygeopoliticaldilemmas,”withtradeoffsbetweenthemthatrequiredownplayingtheMiddleEastinfavorofEasternAsiaandNorthAmerica(Kaplan2012,page326). (Inthispost,“eastern”AsiarunsfromNortheastAsiathroughEastAsiatoSoutheastAsia.TheMiddleEastisthehistoricalGreaterMiddleEastfromMoroccotoAfghanistan.NorthAmericaincludes,besidesCanadaandtheUSA,MexicoandCentralAmerica.) GRANDSTRATEGY:THECUBANMISSILECRISIS1 TosoundthegeneralthemeofhardlinersversussoftlinersinAmericangrandstrategy,webeginwithathoughtfulcommentaryonthefiftiethanniversaryofthe1962CubanMissileCrisisbyalongtermWashingtonforeignpolicyinsider.(LeslieGelb1211“Themyththatscrewedup50yearsofU.S.foreignpolicy”at foreignpolicy.com/articles .) ThemainstreamAmericanrecollectionoftheCubanMissileCrisisisthatitwasashowdownbetweentheUnitedStatesandSovietUnioninwhichtheUSforcedtheSUtobackdown,withoutmakinganyconcessions.Tohardlinerswhoclaimtobe“realistic”aboutgeopolitics,theimplicationisthat,intheearly21 st century,asimilarlyfirmstancewouldbeagoodwayforAmericatodealwithmajoradversaries–China,forexample. Gelb’spointisthatthatisNOTwhathappenedinOctober1962,asAmericanacademicscholarshiphaslongshown.Instead,inexchangefortheUSSRremovingitsmissilesfromCuba,theUSApromisedtoremoveitsownmissilesfromTurkey,whichitdid.ToavoidmakingtheUSAappearweak,theUSSRpromisedtokeepthatconcessionsecret–which,surprisingly,itdid.ConsequentlymostAmericansSTILLdon’tknowthetruestoryandhavedrawnthewronglesson.Therightlessonwouldbethat,intheearly21 st century,somecompromisewillbeaMORErealisticwaytodealwithothermajorpowers,includingChina. HerewewillraiseafurtherquestionabouttheresolutionoftheCubanMissileCrisis:whatkindofgrandstrategydiditrepresent?.Kennedyrejectedthemosthardlineoptionrecommendedbysomeofhisgenerals,agroundinvasionofCuba.Onecanregardthatrecommendationasanexpressionofa “continentaldominance ”grandstrategythatintervenesintroublespotswithtroops-on-the-ground.Kennedyadoptedoneofthemoresoftlineoptionsavailable,namelyinterceptingRussianmissile-transportingvesselsfaratseathroughanavalblockade.Onecanregardthatoptionasexpressinga“ maritimebalancing ”grandstrategythatintervenesonlyselectively“fromadistance.”(Kennedy’sresolutionoftheCubanMissileCrisisdidnotactuallymobilizeotherpowersto“balance”theSovietUnion,buthisstrategydidminimizetheuseofforceanddidappealtoworldpublicopinion.) Insuchmatters,adifficultyconcernshowtogetthedomesticAmericanpoliticalsystemtoendorsealessratherthanmoreambitiousforeigngrandstrategy.Americansdonotliketobetold–includingbycandidatesforthepresidency–thatthereisanythingtheycan’tdo,particularly“standup”topossiblethreatstotheirsecurityfromothercountries.Nevertheless,Republicanshaveastrongerpreferenceforspendingonforeigndefense,Democratsforspendingondomesticwelfare.ThequestionfortheimmediatefutureiswhetherRepublicans,whoLOSTtherecentpresidentialandSenateelections,canpreventDemocrats,whoWONtherecentpresidentialandSenateelections,fromfurthercuttingdefensespending.Thatissuewillbejoinedinthedebateoverwhetherornottoimplementthesharpcutsingovernmentspendingthathavealreadybeenscheduledfortheendof2012.(ElectionsfortheHouseofRepresentativeswerebasicallyadrawandelectionsforstategovernorsandlegislatureswereactuallyawinforRepublicans.) GRANDSTRATEGY:CURRENTGLOBALGEOPOLITICS2 Americansbadlyneedtodiscusstheirglobalgrandstrategy,soanyintelligentcontributiontosuchadiscussioniswelcome,evenifonecannotentirelyacceptitsanalysis.HereparticularlywelcomeisRobertKaplan’sreassertionoftherelevancetocurrentstrategyofclassicgeopolitics(MackinderontheheartlandoftheEurasiancontinent,Mahanonitsmaritimesurroundings,andSpykmanonthelittoral“rimland”betweenthem).Kaplanhasgonetounusuallengthstovisittheregionshediscusses(Europe,Russia,China,India,GreaterIran,GreaterTurkey,andGreaterMexico).Moreover,Kaplanattemptstoelucidatetheimpactofthespecificgeographiesofeachofthesecountry-regionsontheirparticulargeopoliticalhistoriesandstrategiccultures–notmerelyfromthepointofviewofcurrentAmericaninterests,butfromthehistoricalpointsofviewoftheregionsthemselves,presentedinfullhistoricaldepth.Oneregretsthattoooftentheresultistooverwhelmthereaderwithtoo-longsentencestoofilledwithobscureclassicalallusions,standardhistoricalknowledge,anduniquepersonalexperiences.ThereforemanyofKaplan’sspecificassertionsabouttheeffectsofparticulargeographiesrequiremuchfurtheranalysis. Nevertheless,Kaplanforcesonetothinkaboutmajorissues.The“revenge”inthesubtitleisthatofgeographyagainstAmericanidealistswho,aftertheendoftheColdWar,thoughttheycouldreshapetheworldinAmerica’simage.KaplansomewhatrefurbishesclassicgeopoliticalconceptsconcerninginteractionsbetweentheEurasianheartland,Eurasianrimlands,andsurroundingoceans.Inclassictheory(around1900)thoseinteractionswerebufferedbydistanceandsegmentedintoregions.Kaplanemphasizesthe“collapseofdistance”that(byaround2000)intensifiedtheinteractionsandunifiedthemacrossregions.(HereKaplanfollowsPaulBracken1999 FireintheEast:TheriseofAsianmilitarypowerandthesecondnuclearage. NewYork:HarperCollins.) Kaganstressestheconstraintsthatgeopoliticsplaceongrandstrategies.Heclaimsnottobedeterministicaboutthis:geographydoesNOTcompletelydetermineoutcomes.Tosomeextentgrandstrategycantrytoovercomelimitsandreshapeoptions(the“battleagainstfate”inhissubtitle).However,Kaplanrecommendsthatstatesmenavoidstrategiesthattheirgeopoliticsmakescostlyandconcentrateinsteadonimprovingoutcomeswithintherangeofstrategiesthataregeopoliticallymorefeasible. Likemostanalysts,KaplanconsiderstheUSAfortunateinitsdominationofatemperate-climatecontinent,initsdistancefromforeignpowers,andinitseast-westmaritimeopportunities.Moreover,unlikeanyothercountryintheworld,theUSAisnaturallypositionedtodominateanentirehemispherefromnorthtosouth.Ontheeast-westdimension,evidentlyKaplanismovingawayfromdominationstrategiesandtowardbalancingstrategies(despitehisearlieradvocacyofAmericaninterventioninIraq).Onthenorth-southdimension,KaplanurgentlyrecommendsmoreAmericanconcernaboutitshemisphericposition,particularlyinNorthAmerica,inrelationtoitsimmediateneighborMexico(andCentralAmerica). Incidentally,KaplanconsidersChina,likeAmerica,tobegeopoliticallyfortunate.Itisamajorcontinentalpowerinatemperatezoneadjacenttogloballystrategiclinesofcommunication.Moreover,China,likeAmerica,hastheoptionofbecomingalsoamajormaritimepower,becauseofitslongcoastandgoodharbors.BecausethePRCisnowvigorouslypursingthatoption,thePRCislikelytoincreaseitsinfluenceovertheFirstIslandChain(Japan,Taiwan,Philippines).Accordingly,KaplananticipatestheUSAgraduallyshiftingitslineofnavaldefensebackintothePacificOceantotheeastofthatchain(insteadofcontinuingtotrytomaintainthecapabilitytointervenetothewestofthatchain,betweenthechainandtheAsiancontinent). CRITICALREGIONS:EASTERNASIA3 ItisnoteworthythatpresidentObama,thebusiestmanintheworld,forthesecondyearinarowpersonallyjourneyedtoSoutheastAsia(1)announcingthetripimmediatelyafterthe6Novemberelection,(2)whilethedomesticfiscalcrisisremainedunresolved,and(3)whenotherAmericanforeignpolicyofficialscouldhavegoneinhisstead.Whatevertherealobjectiveofthetrip,evidentlyObamaconsideredittobeofthehighestimportance.Mediacommentaryontherealpurposeofthetriprangedfromcredulitytocynicism. Themorecredulousacceptedtheadministration’sclaimthatthetripwasreallyaboutSoutheastAsia:PROMOTINGdemocracyanddevelopmentthere,alongwithforeigntradethatmightgrowjobsintheUS.(MostNPRcommentary,forexample.)OthersbelievedthatthetripdiddothatbutnotedthatitalsohelpedcounterbalanceChina.(Forexample,most NewYorkTimes reporting,startingfromPeterBaker121108“ObamatovisitMyanmaraspartoffirstpostelectionoverseastriptoAsia”at nytimes.com .)ThemorecynicalarguedthatthetripmightactuallyhaveRETARDEDthedevelopmentofdemocracyinMyanmar/BurmabutopinedthatthetripdidfurtheritsREALgoal,whichwastofurthercounterbalanceChina.(MichaelHirsh121119“Obama’sChinaencirclementpolicy:Whyit’slikelytowork”at nationaljournal.com/whitehouse .) Itwouldseemchurlishtodenythat,onbalance,thetripDIDpromoteSoutheastAsianinternaldevelopment,eventhoughitmayhavebeenalittleprematureintermsofMyanmar/Burma’sdemocratization.Nevertheless,thetripALSOpromotedtheexternaldefenseofbothSoutheastAsiaandtheUnitedStates,againstgrowingChineseinfluence.Assuch,likeitornot,thetripwaspartofanastutebalancingstrategybytheUSAforcopingwiththePRCinthe21 st century. MIDDLEEAST4 NosoonerhadObamacommittedhimselftoatriptoSoutheastAsiathanIsraellaunchedamassiveairassaultonitsPalestiniansintheenclaveofGaza.Asaresult,ObamahadtodispatchSecretaryofStateClintondirectlyfromSoutheastAsiatotheMiddleEast,tonegotiateaceasefire,whichshedid,withmuchhelpfromEgyptianpresidentMohamedMorsi.Thisisanotherconcreteillustrationofhow,evenasAmericaistryingtowithdrawitstroopsfromonthegroundintheMiddleEastinorderto“pivot”tobalancinginEasternAsia,theMiddleEastkeepsdemandingAmericanattention.(Forbackground,see“GazaStrip”at topics.nytimes.com .) TherisktoObama’seffortstoshifttowardbalancingstrategiesisthattheMiddleEastwilldemandnotonlyattentionbutalso“unbalanced”supportforonesideoranother,andmighteventempttheUSAintoagaindeployingtroops-on-the-ground.EvidentlyObamaremainscarefulnottobecomeanymoreinvolvedinMiddleEastaffairsthanisabsolutelyunavoidabletoprotectessentialAmericaninterests.Fortunately,astheUSAmovestowards“energyindependence,”theMiddleEastbecomessomewhatlessessentialtotheUSA’seconomicviability.Unfortunately,thestrengthofsupportforIsraelinAmericandomesticpoliticspreventsObamafrombecomingtruly“balanced”intheMiddleEast.ButprobablyhewillrestrictAmerica’sinvolvementtodiplomacy,exceptPOSSIBLYagainstIran. AsforfurtherconnectionsofAmericanMiddleEastpolicieswithAmericandomesticpolitics,lastweek’sPOST(121117)notedthecurrentfurorsoverGeneralPetraeusandAmbassadorRice.TherewasnopolicysubstancetothePetraeuscase,butitisworthnoting,ashedeparts,thatherepresentedAmericanpreoccupationwiththeMiddleEast(Iraq,Afghanistan).ActuallythereisnopolicysubstancetotheRicecaseeither,sinceallshedidwastoactastemporaryspokeswomanfortheStateDepartment,stickingstrictlytowhatAmericanintelligencetoldhertosay.Nevertheless,theRicecasedoesillustrateamainforeignpolicydividebetweenRepublicansandDemocrats.RepublicansstillconsiderthegreatestthreattoAmericansecuritytobe“terrorism.”EXACTLYwhattheyfaultRiceforisnotIMMEDIATELYconcludingthat“terrorism”wasbehindtheassaultontheAmericanconsulateinBenghazi,Libya.EvidentlyRepublicanleadersSTILLwanttouse“terrorism”toundermineObama,DESPITEObama’ssuccessateradicating“terrorist”leadersanddespitetwoelectionsinwhichamajorityofAmericansendorsedObama’sleadership. NORTHAMERICA5 AsreportedinPOSTS121110and121117,the2012electionhighlightedthegrowingroleofHispanicsinAmericanpolitics.ThatisthemainwayinwhichMexicousuallycomesupinAmericanpolitics,asasourceofunwantedmigrants,anissuelargelyofeconomicsandidentities.However,KaganconcludeshisbookbysharplycriticizingAmericangrandstrategistsforpayinglittleattentiontothedangersthatMexico’spossiblecollapseposestoAmericanSECURITY.TheproblemisthatMexico,proximateandpopulous,mayalsobeadisintegratingnarco-state.Onemightdismissthisashardlineralarmism,exceptthatKaplancreditstheconcerntooneoftheUSA’smostperceptivesoftliners(thealsoconservativeAndrewBacevich).Unfortunately,forthemoment,allonecandoistonotesomeofthequestionsthatthisproblemposes. HowmightrisingHispanicinfluenceinAmericanpoliticsinteractwithAmericans’addressingthepossibleimpactonAmericansecurityofpossibleinstabilityinMexico?WouldconcernaboutMexicanstabilityhardenorsoftenAmericanconservatives’concernaboutMexicanimmigrants?MightconcernaboutAmericansecuritygiveObamasomeleverageintryingtonegotiatecomprehensiveimmigrationreform?CanAmericandomesticpoliticsevenprocessthisissueeffectively,giventhatitisAmericandemandforillegaldrugsandsupplyofillegalweaponsthathasproducedtheriseofarmeddrugcartelswithinMexico?Andgiventhat,sofar,AmericanpoliticshasbeenunabletosolvetheseAMERICANproblems,oreventoaddressthem?HowwouldnorthernMexicansonbothsidesoftheborderreacttodifferentAmericanapproachestobolsteringMexico’sstability?Whatcircumstancesmightintensifythegrowingidentificationof nortenos inMexicowith nortenos intheUSA?Whatcircumstancesmightrevivetheidentificationof nortenos intheUSAwith nortenos inMexico,orwithMexicoasawhole? (ForwarningsbyotherconservativesaboutpotentialdangersfromMexicaninstability,seevariousinterviewsbyTedGalenCarpenterat cato.org ,mostrecently121031“WhyIsMexicoDrugWarBeingIgnored?”Forbackground,see“MexicanDrugTrafficking(Mexico'sDrugWar)”within“Mexico”underTimesTopicsat topics.nytimes.com .ForhisacerbicevaluationofAmericanstrategyintheMiddleEast,seeAndrewBacevich120220“ScoringtheGlobalWaronTerror”at huffingtonpost.com .OnerroneousconclusionsthatAmericanshavedrawnfrom20 th centurywars,seeAndrewBacevich120705“InterviewwithhistorianAndrewJ.Bacevich”at historynet.com ,alectureoriginallydeliveredtotheAmericanHistoricalAssociationandoriginallypublishedin MilitaryHistory .) Kaplanarguesthatregionalurbanagglomerationsdoabetterjobthanwholenation-statesofcoordinatingactivitiesandthatinthe21 st centurysuchsubnationalunitsarelikelytoincreaseinimportance.SoherearesomedataonthetenlargestmetropolitanareasinNorthAmerica(fromWikipedia).Thelargest“metro”isinMexico!ThreeoftheeightlargestmetrosintheUSAareintheSouthwest,increasinglyorientedtowardMexico!(Andthatdoesn’tincludeotheralmostequallypopuloussouthernmetrossuchasMiami,Phoenix,andSanDiego.) METRO POPULATION AREA(km 2 ) COUNTRY MexicoCity 21,163,2261 7,346 Mexico NewYork 18,897,109 17,405 USA LosAngeles 12,828,837 12,562 USA Chicago 9,461,105 24,814 USA Dallas-FortWorth 6,371,773 24,059 USA Toronto 6,054,1911 7,124 Canada DelawareValley 5,965,343 13,256 USA Houston 5,946,800 26,061 USA Washington,D.C. 5,582,170 14,412 USA Topics:Americangrandstrategy.Geopolitics.SoutheastAsia.China.MiddleEast.Mexico.
2315 次阅读|0 个评论
世界上最深的峡谷在哪?
热度 1 毛宁波 2011-10-27 16:14
世界上最深的峡谷在哪?
秘鲁 Cotahuasi 峡谷是世界上最深的峡谷,深度为3354米,是美国大峡谷的2倍左右深(Grand Canyon:1737米).美国最深的峡谷也不是大峡谷(Grand Canyon),而是地狱峡谷(Hells Canyon),深度为2436米. Satellite image of southwestern Peru. The Pacific ocean is in the southwest corner of the mage but covered by a layer of white stratus clouds. Two deep canyons can be seen in the image. The eastern canyon was cut by the Rio Camana river and the western canyon was cut by the Rio Ocona. The large white area between these canyons is the snow-capped peak of Nudo Coropuna, a stratovolcano. At an elevation of 6617 meters it is the highest mountain in the Cordillera Occidental. The snowcap to the west is on Nevado Solimana, another stratovolcano at an elevation of 6117 meters. The main tributary of the Rio Ocona is the Rio Cotahuasi. The bottom of the Cotahuasi Canyon is 3354 meters below the top of the adjacent plateau. NASA Image http://geology.com/records/deepest-canyon.shtml
个人分类: 地球物理勘探进展|3866 次阅读|0 个评论
东游西逛之红土高原
热度 9 zhangt10 2011-10-19 19:30
东游西逛之红土高原
每年的圣诞节假日,拉斯维加斯的亚裔顾客都会很多。不信基督教的同胞们,早就发现了这里其实是最适合搞全国范围的校友或者家庭聚会的地方。 一个LA长大的朋友,整个大家庭每年圣诞都在The Strip上碰头。另一个研究美国民俗的朋友,把赌城当作采风的最佳地点。 上次说到拱门国家公园的时候,提到赌城也是我最喜欢的出行目的地。原因可不仅仅是那里的灯红酒绿。城市西部的亚立桑那和北部的犹他州,有着极美的红土高原风光。地阔人稀,正适合放车飞驰。唔,开140英里/小时那车的,不是我哦。。 翻出来的这次旅行,是某次圣诞家人聚会的记录。 说到这次大峡谷之行大家还是心有余悸 - 从赌城去大峡谷要么是8小时汽车要么是45分钟的飞机。我们选的后者,那小飞机在下午峡谷气流中的颠簸,感觉是最接近死亡恐惧的一次经历了。 再接着是一天开了12个小时把Zion国家公园和Bryce转个圈。Zion的壮观,Bryce的秀丽,也是值得再去慢慢品位的。 飞越大峡谷=在洗衣机一样的气流里颠簸着 美国的旅游胜地人也挺多的呀 这样的壮丽很难拍出感觉来呢。 Zion国家公园的巨岩 Bryce的秀丽 下次来要下去走走! Bryce的hoodoo林
个人分类: 东游西逛|4105 次阅读|20 个评论
[转载]盖茨基金会总金额达一亿美元的“探索大挑战”项目正在申请中
sfw111 2011-9-12 15:58
总金额达一亿美元的“ 探索大挑战 ”(Grand Challenges Explorations,简称“GCE”)是盖茨基金会全球健康领域的项目之一。它面向全球征集并资助大胆而非传统性的研究计划,旨在探索和发现突破性的创新方案,从而帮助应对那些给发展中国家人民带来最大伤害、却很少为人所关注的重大疾病和健康问题。该项目启动于2008年,为期五年,每年两轮。每轮都会针对若干全球健康领域的特定题目征集创新方案。方案一旦入选,即可获得盖茨基金会十万美元的资金支持。 “ 探索大挑战 ”鼓励来自全球各个地区、各个学科、不同年龄的个人或组织提交申请,同时也欢迎非健康领域的个人、团体或企业积极参与。同时,“探索大挑战”最大程度地简化申请流程——申请者只需登录 GCE官方网站 ,在线提交两页纸的英文申请,并不要求提供初步研究数据资料。即使在申请国际资助上没有任何经验的年轻创新者,也可以方便地申请。 基金会方面将与一个独立评估小组共同负责挑选最具创新意义的申请书。对于那些目的仅在于进一步证实现有技术、或是进行传统研究的项目,均无法列入创新之列。评选结果会在申请截止日后约四个月后公布并发放资金。在获奖的创新方案中,有望取得进一步成功的项目还有机会获得一百万美元的追加研究资助。 目前,来自中国的获奖者不仅有研究院的学者和教授,也有大学的本科生和研究生。盖茨基金会期待更多来自中国的创新方案脱颖而出,并热切地希望创新可以为全球健康难题的解决带来曙光。 第八轮申请 现已启动 ,“探索大挑战”官方网站 ( www.grandchallenges.org/Explorations )开始接受对以下5个题目的在线申请。本轮申请的 截止时间为北京时间2011年11月18日凌晨3:30 (美国太平洋时间11月17日中午11:30)。 中国官方网: http://www.sciencenet.cn/gce2011/
个人分类: 科学研究|539 次阅读|1 个评论
美国Grand Canyon之旅
热度 2 zhumengjin 2011-1-25 14:36
美国Grand Canyon之旅
顺便测试一下新版。从拉斯维加斯坐双层巴士,早上6:00出发,晚上9:00返回,一整天的折腾就换来2小时的观光,沿途的戈壁、荒漠、牧场风光倒是赏了个够。 傻瓜相机,傻瓜水平,无法原汁原味呈现出大峡谷的味道。我这个粗人也无法用美妙的文字进行描述,反正就觉得 天倍儿蓝、空气倍儿清新、气温倍儿冷嗖嗖、那条沟真的倍儿大,评个什么遗产还是勉强说得过去 。
个人分类: 社会视窗|6295 次阅读|4 个评论
美国访学见闻(11):壮观的亚利桑纳大峡谷
wangyk 2009-8-10 15:31
王 应 宽 2009-08-09 UTC-6 CST UMN, St Paul 美国访学见闻( 11 ):壮观的亚利桑纳大峡谷 2009 年 6 月 25 日 清晨从拉斯维加斯乘车出发去游览位于亚利桑那州的亚利桑纳大峡谷国家公园( Grand Canyon National Park )。游览结束后当晚返回拉斯维加斯,继续住在云霄塔大饭店。经过导游好一阵忽悠,说什么看了最多后悔一下子,不看将后悔一辈子。本人终于同意不惜血本选择乘坐直升飞机,飞到谷底,然后乘船游览从谷底穿流而过的科罗拉多河 (Colorado River) 。不坐飞机的游客可以选择到高悬在大峡谷上的玻璃桥大峡谷 天空步道 ( Grand Canyon West Skywalk )观光。如果胆小,或不愿意花钱去看据说只有自家阳台那么大的所谓 天空步道 ,就免费自由活动。虽然颇费不少,但总体感觉还是值得的。至少见识宽广,可以多角度拍摄照片。俗话说,外行看热闹,内行看门道。咱不懂地质,也就看看热闹。下面编辑整理一点介绍大峡谷概况的资料(源于网络),然后贴些照片。科学网博主 / 博友中搞地质和懂地质的人数众多,由他们去品评吧。 据载, 1869 年,美国炮兵少校鲍威尔率领一支远征队,乘船从科罗拉多河上游一直航行到大峡谷谷底。他在游记中描绘了沿途目睹的峡谷风光,引起全国的注意。 1911 年建立了科罗拉多国家保护区。 1919 年,美国国会通过法案,将大峡谷最深最壮观的一段长约 170 km 的划为大峡谷国家公园, 1979 年大峡谷国家公园被列入世界遗产名录。大峡谷国家公园中野生动物、植物资源丰富。已发现的动物有 90 余种,鸟类 180 余种。峡谷中桧树、矮松郁郁葱葱,野花茂盛。还有仙人掌、罂粟、云杉、冷杉等植物。 大峡谷位于美国西部亚利桑那州西北部的科罗拉多高原上,分割了科罗拉多河,是世界上最壮观的峡谷和地球上最伟大的地理奇迹之一,它的宽度惊人,向人们揭示了弥足珍贵的地球历史资料。它的地质构造可以追溯到 20 亿年前,同时它也保留了大量的人类适应当时恶劣环境的遗迹。 6500 万前地球漂移的过程中有一块巨大的陆地被抬升到高于海平面 1.5 km ,形成了今天的科罗拉多高原。距今 600 - 1000 万年里,科罗拉多河逐渐侵蚀掉层层岩石;与风、雨、雪、冷、热等因素的腐蚀作用相结合,形成了一条天堑,深 1 英里 ,宽 18 英里 。大峡谷地层多样,显示了地球自 20 亿年前的变更历史。现在科罗拉多河仍在侵蚀着大峡谷。大峡谷大体呈东西走向,东起科罗拉多河汇入处,西到内华达州界附近的格兰德瓦什崖附近。形状极不规则,蜿蜒曲折,迂回盘旋,峡谷顶宽在 6~30 km 之间,往下收缩成 V 字形。两岸北高南低,最大谷深 1500 多米,谷底水面宽度不足千米,最窄处仅 120 米 。峡谷景色壮观。由于河谷地层在结构、硬度上的差异,千百年河水的冲刷,在长长的峡谷间,鬼斧神工般雕凿出许许多多千姿百态的奇峰异石、峭壁石柱。谷壁地层断面,节理清晰,层层叠叠,就像万卷诗书构成的图案,缘山起伏,循谷延伸。 从谷底向上,沿崖壁出露着从前寒武纪到新生代的各个时期的岩系,水平层次清楚,并含有代表性生物化石,被称为活的地址史教科书。由于峡谷两壁的岩石性质、所含矿物质不同,在阳光照射下像一块五彩斑斓的调色板。大峡谷分南、北两岸,中间有水相隔,气候差异很大。南岸的大部分地区海拔 1800~2000 米 ,而北岸比南岸高400~600 米 。南岸年平均降水量仅为382 毫米 ,北岸则高达685 毫米 左右。 准备登机视察大峡谷(瞧瞧这景取得正好与直升机的螺旋桨相切,也算是技术!) 峡谷柔水 大峡谷底科罗拉多河上泛舟 瞧这峡谷与河水,两岸要再点缀些花草树木,就有点像咱家的长江三峡了 河岸边的小树丛就像一眼睫毛 鸟瞰谷底的科罗拉多河(水其实是清澈的,看起来昏黄只因为底部的泥沙和四周倒影) 同机同船的游伴澳大利亚Gary夫妇 直升机上拍摄大峡谷 谷大沟深 咱刚从那下面上来的,但可不能从这儿下去(一失足成千古恨) West Grand Canyon Skywalk 站在谷顶拍摄,这个角度也不错 Colorado River and Grand Canyon (照片来自网络,非本人拍摄) Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River(照片来自网络,非本人拍摄) 秀一下本人的参观证书
个人分类: 游学美国|6295 次阅读|2 个评论

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