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Grand Central Terminal turns 100

Grand Central
Grand Central 07:46

If you're one of the 20 million people who come through Grand Central Station every year, you know that the terminal is not just about traveling from A to B.

Grand Central, which celebrates her centennial this week, is considered New York City's grand dame of train stations and she is a destination all by herself. 60 Minutes correspondent Morley Safer, who chronicled the life of the station in the above video, describes the building as the kind of landmark that conveys an instant understanding--like the Grand Canyon or the Pyramids.

"It's not just a terminal," Safer said, "but a metaphor for grandeur, romance, and America going about its business."

For decades, the station was a sad, neglected place, filled with homeless people seeking refuge from the cold, mean streets of New York City. Then, in 1998, Grand Central was given a $200 million facelift, restoring her to the architectural masterpiece she was on her very first day in business: February 2, 1913.

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