New York @ Christmas (Day 2)

NYC, 488 Broadway, Dec17 2010 (61)

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The first elevators were operated by steam power to turn the cable drums and the first Otis elevator was installed at 488 Broadway in New York

NYC, Central Station, Dec17 2010

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Vanderbilt Hall, named for the Vanderbilt family who built and owned the station, is just off the Main Concourse. Formerly the main waiting room for the terminal, it is now used and rented out for various events.

NYC, Central Station, Dec17 2010 (3)

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There are two peculiarities to this ceiling: the sky is backwards, and the stars are slightly displaced. One explanation is that the constellations are backwards because the ceiling is based on a medieval manuscript that visualized the sky as it would look from outside the celestial sphere. According to this explanation, since the celestial sphere is an abstraction (stars are not all at equal distances from Earth), this view does not correspond to the actual view from anywhere in the universe. The stars are displaced because the manuscript showed a (reflected) view of the sky in the Middle Ages, and since then the stars shifted due to precession of the equinoxes. Most people, however, simply think that Helleu reversed the image by accident. When the embarrassed Vanderbilt family learned the ceiling was painted backwards, they maintained that the ceiling reflected God's view of the sky.