A Grand Display of Humanity

Grand Central Terminal is one of New York City’s greatest architectural marvels. It features a Beaux-Arts design with elements from a range of aesthetic sources including classical Greek and Roman forms, as well as Renaissance and Baroque art movements. It is one of the most visited destinations for tourists, and has been widely depicted in film, television and visual art.

In addition to its ornate architecture and elaborate interior design, Grand Central Terminal has several prominent and permanent works of art, including a celestial mural of stars and constellations (by painter Paul César Helleu) spread across the ceiling’s elliptical barrel vault in the main concourse; and the Glory of Commerce, which is a large neoclassical sculpture of mythical figures affixed to the pediment above the station’s front entrance.

But for many New Yorkers who utilize the station as part of their commute, it can be hard to take the time and contemplate the awe-inspiring surroundings of their city. In fact, New York City boasts its unit of measurement known as the New York Minute, which is defined as a fleeting moment in time.

New York photographer Brandon Stanton has helped to slow down the fluctuating and hectic impulses of New York and New Yorkers, through an ongoing series of portrait photographs and accompanying documentary interviews of each subject, called Humans of New York. Since Stanton began the project on Facebook in 2010, it has become a best-selling book and just recently, one of the largest public installations within New York City.

The portraits have resonated with viewers all over the world, who have shared them over social media platforms tens of thousands of times. This is in large part due to how Stanton has honed in on the diversity of the lived experience. The photographs and the accounts told by each individual elicits empathetic responses from viewers who are drawn to see the world from the subject’s perspective. The honesty and authenticity of the compositions are a welcome reminder that the world and our connection to it is precious, ephemeral and worth coming together in unison in an effort to lift each other up.

A selection of photographs from the project have been enlarged and displayed throughout Grand Central Station (and within the subway lines below) through October 19, 2025. The exhibition is titled Dear New York. It is a valiant effort to transfer the contemplative nature of Humans of New York into one of the world’s most bustling environments. Presented as both vignettes and complete portraits, the installation succinctly captures the flux of the city and its citizens in a manner that will likely compel even the busiest commuters to stop and take it in for a bit (even if it is just for a New York Minute). These are portraits of New Yorkers, but they are also a window into the world at large. New York City is a global community, and the international spirit, built by both born and bred New Yorkers and immigrants alike, is what makes it grand. The location is the most apt setting for the project, because Grand Central is a literal and metaphorical hub of interconnectivity; a microcosm of the larger global civilization. On a daily basis, humans from all over the world traverse the station, making it a vessel for an untold and continual amount of memories, narratives and history.

Sometimes public art can be overwhelming. Sometimes it runs the risk of being ego driven and ostentatious. Humans of New York has consistently eschewed the former and latter aspects through focusing on presenting honest reflections of the community, and by giving back to the city that inspired it. One way of doing this is through collaborations. Stanton worked with 600 New York City public school students, who were asked to create portraits of people they wanted to honor. Their contributions, along with photographs from other local photographers, such as Jamel Shabazz, are included in Dear New York. There are also performances by students and alumni from the Juilliard School, playing compositions on a grand piano in the station’s main concourse. And all of the proceeds from the accompanying book are donated to local New York City charitable and non for profit organizations who do work and run programming focused on issues impacting citywide communities.

The exhibition comes at a pivotal moment for cities across the country, where citizens of all backgrounds are uniting in joyful, empathetic and empowering ways in support of human rights. Dear New York is one of the many public facing forms of expression signifying the beautiful, sensitive and moving aspects of humanity; and the importance of cooperation, compassion and care.