Ed Yourdon
Un-Christmasy Grand Central Station, Dec 2011 - 04
More details later, as time permits...
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I've been to Grand Central Station to take photos on four separate occasions in the past couple of years (click here and here and here and here to see the Flickr sets). But it has been almost exactly a year since I was last here with my camera, and I was curious to see whether the Christmas "spirit" would be visible again this year.
Two years ago, I reported seeing large groups of tourists and people (as well as a couple of soldiers) moving quickly from the ticket booth to the trains, hurrying to arrive home for the holidays. There was also an animated "light show" playing all across the ceiling of Grand Central at various intervals; consequently, there were several shots of people staring straight up at the ceiling, with a look of wonder and amazement on their faces...
Last year, the scene was different: I saw dozens of would-be and make-believe Santa Clauses. I was told later that there was a "Santathon" in the city, and that similarly costumed Clauses were in evidence throughout the midtown shopping area. In the Grand Central station, there were also costumed elves, Santa's helpers, and comely young women with decorative antlers on their heads.
And as if that wasn't enough, there was also a bridal party engaged in the serious business of getting photographed in the midst of the crowd. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but the bride and groom looked distinctly Russian; in any case, they were an unusual sight, and I was happy to include them in the overall tableau...
But this year, there was little or no evidence of Christmas spirit -- indeed, the absence was so striking that I made a second visit just to be sure. My first visit was on a Saturday, one week before Christmas; and the second visit was on the Thursday before Christmas (i.e., Dec 22nd), when there should have been lots of evidence of joyful people and Santa-Claus outfits, and maybe even some Christmas carols wafting through the air.
Instead, I saw only the hustle and bustle of busy travelers that one can see almost anytime during the year. Things may have been a little more crowded with the recent opening of Apple's fifth retail computer store, over on the eastern mezzanine of the train station; but even that was somewhat muted, and could easily have been missed or overlooked.
I was tempted to go back one last time today, on the day before Christmas; but then I decided not to push my luck. I've got a dozen photos for you to see; and I can only hope that things look more Christmas-y next year.
Meanwhile, though, I do offer my best wishes to the entire Flickr family of photographers and photo-watchers, for a very happy holiday season and a happy, prosperous, peaceful New Year in 2012!
Un-Christmasy Grand Central Station, Dec 2011 - 04
More details later, as time permits...
************************
I've been to Grand Central Station to take photos on four separate occasions in the past couple of years (click here and here and here and here to see the Flickr sets). But it has been almost exactly a year since I was last here with my camera, and I was curious to see whether the Christmas "spirit" would be visible again this year.
Two years ago, I reported seeing large groups of tourists and people (as well as a couple of soldiers) moving quickly from the ticket booth to the trains, hurrying to arrive home for the holidays. There was also an animated "light show" playing all across the ceiling of Grand Central at various intervals; consequently, there were several shots of people staring straight up at the ceiling, with a look of wonder and amazement on their faces...
Last year, the scene was different: I saw dozens of would-be and make-believe Santa Clauses. I was told later that there was a "Santathon" in the city, and that similarly costumed Clauses were in evidence throughout the midtown shopping area. In the Grand Central station, there were also costumed elves, Santa's helpers, and comely young women with decorative antlers on their heads.
And as if that wasn't enough, there was also a bridal party engaged in the serious business of getting photographed in the midst of the crowd. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but the bride and groom looked distinctly Russian; in any case, they were an unusual sight, and I was happy to include them in the overall tableau...
But this year, there was little or no evidence of Christmas spirit -- indeed, the absence was so striking that I made a second visit just to be sure. My first visit was on a Saturday, one week before Christmas; and the second visit was on the Thursday before Christmas (i.e., Dec 22nd), when there should have been lots of evidence of joyful people and Santa-Claus outfits, and maybe even some Christmas carols wafting through the air.
Instead, I saw only the hustle and bustle of busy travelers that one can see almost anytime during the year. Things may have been a little more crowded with the recent opening of Apple's fifth retail computer store, over on the eastern mezzanine of the train station; but even that was somewhat muted, and could easily have been missed or overlooked.
I was tempted to go back one last time today, on the day before Christmas; but then I decided not to push my luck. I've got a dozen photos for you to see; and I can only hope that things look more Christmas-y next year.
Meanwhile, though, I do offer my best wishes to the entire Flickr family of photographers and photo-watchers, for a very happy holiday season and a happy, prosperous, peaceful New Year in 2012!