Grand Central lauded as 'great public space'

Grand Central Terminal is more than a transit hub to an urban planning group that placed the famed station on its list of 10 great public spaces.

The American Planning Association on Friday chose Grand Central Terminal for its "range of innovations that influenced American planning, architecture, engineering and culture for decades."

APA chief executive Paul Farmer lauded the world's largest transit hub, celebrating its 100-year anniversary this year, for its Beaux Arts design, engineering and passenger experience. About 750,000 people visit it each day, according to the APA.

"Grand Central Terminal stands as a triumph of planning, architecture and engineering, and one of the country's earliest examples of transit- oriented development," Farmer said.

Howard Permut, president of Metro-North, which is housed in Grand Central Terminal, welcomed the "fitting" recognition from the APA.