Grand Central v St Pancras: which iconic station steals the romance crown? | The Canberra Times
From the star-studded Kissing Room of New York City’s Grand Central to the Gothic splendor of London’s St Pancras, both boast cinematic romance, but which iconic railway hub wins your heart? Our dueling experts help you decide.
Amy Cooper: “For us Brits, rail transport is like cricket: we invented it but we can’t master it. That’s why we love train spotting.”
In one of my favorite movie scenes ever, the Main Concourse at New York’s Grand Central Terminal transforms into a ballroom. Orchestral music swells, hundreds of passengers begin to waltz beneath the star-covered ceiling, a mirror ball shines above the golden clock. Fisher King’s A lovelorn Robin Williams looks at the girl of his dreams.
It’s a complete cinema magic thanks to its station location. With its sparkling chandeliers, cathedral-scale windows, marble arches and columns, and sky-blue ceiling, the beautician Grand Central has starred in so many love scenes over its 113 years that it should be called Grand Passion. Just a few of the leading men and women: Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck Bewitched; Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind; Cary Grant escapes with glamorous spy Eva Marie Saint North to Northwest.
Train stations are full of romance and nostalgia, farewells and reunions, brief encounters, hope and heartbreak. They’re our last link (if you’ll forgive me) to a golden age when we watched clocks instead of screens and texts replaced meetings.
Of all the eye-catching crossovers, Grand Central packs the most emotion. It’s such a beloved station that a Kissing Room where travelers can say hello or goodbye without blocking the platforms has been built, with a handy elevator in the hotel above ready to take things to the next level.
“Meet at the hour” is how Grand Central comes here. Or you can meet at the Whispering Gallery; Here, sweet nothings are murmured from opposite corners and somehow heard over the noise.
Imagine the appointments witnessed by Grand Central Oyster Bar, a New York institution where four-martini lunches live under a vaulted ceiling. Or the remarks made about Manhattans in Gatsby-style speeches Campbell, once the apartment of a jazz age businessman.
Grand Central has inspired art, songs and literature, such as Elizabeth Smart’s tragic 1940s love story I Sat Next to Grand Central Station and Cried.
I sat beside St. Pancras and wept; Not from the sweet pain of love, but from trains that run with the trust of a baby’s intestines. For us Brits, rail transport is like cricket: we invented it but we can’t master it. This is why we love Trainspotting; The excitement you feel when you see someone is so exhilarating. It’s a good thing St Pancras is amazing too. Depending on what’s delaying the 14.26 train to Sheffield, you could be there for days.
Last month, I walked into Grand Central’s concourse and watched a heart-shaped red balloon rise until it was among the stars on that dazzling ceiling. It was rush hour but people stopped and looked. Some even smiled. I was waiting for them to start waltzing. And I fell in love with Grand Central all over again.
Mal Chenu: “A lounge is a lounge, of course, unless it’s the famous Arcade at St Pancras International, where retail therapy comes in the form of Calvin Klein, Coach and Kate Spade.
Meeting Place It is the symbol of St Pancras International. The nine-metre-tall statue in the main hall depicts an embracing couple, depicting the tearful farewells and joyful reunions that regularly take place at major train stations. Under the station clock on the Grand Terrace is a light installation that reads “I want to spend time with you.” in 2011 Lonely Planet He was on the right track when he described St Pancras as one of the most romantic meeting places in the world.
A concourse is, of course, a concourse, unless it’s the famous Arcade at St Pancras International, where retail therapy in the forms of Kalvin Klein, Coach, Kate Spade, Chanel, Hamleys, Neuhaus, Fortnum & Mason seduces travellers.
The Arcade is just part of the magnificent Grade I listed building called St Pancras, which is the departure and arrival terminal for Eurostar’s high-speed line via the Channel Tunnel to Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
