The opening of a new terminal in New York’s Grand Central station last week was marred after a stone plaque featuring a quote from the artist Georgia O’Keeffe was found to include a misspelling of her name.
City officials that oversaw the construction of the hugely delayed LIRR terminal apologized for the mistake and assured New Yorkers a new plaque is in the works.
‘One can’t paint New York as it is, but rather as it is felt,’ read the plaque, which attributed the 1928 quote not to O’Keeffe but to ‘O’Keefe’.
The Long Island Rail Road terminal was finally unveiled last Wednesday after more than a decade of delays and a total cost of around $11billion – more than thrice initial forecasts. It became the most costly rail project in the world, by mile of track installed.
The opening of a new terminal in Grand Central station was marred after a stone plaque featuring a typo misspelling the name of artist Georgia O’Keeffe was unveiled
O’Keeffe was an American painter famous for creating close-up depictions of flowers and Manhattan skyscapes
‘We clearly f-ed this one up and it’s being fixed,’ Tim Minton, a spokesperson for the MTA, told Bloomberg.
O’Keeffe was an American painter famous for creating close-up depictions of flowers and Manhattan skyscapes. The plaque in Grand Central notes beneath the quote that it was made in ‘reaction to criticism of her skyscraper series of paintings.’
The Georgia O’Keeffe museum, based in New Mexico, where she eventually died in 1986, was quick to point out the mishap, sharing news of the misspelling on Instagram, saying: ‘Don’t take spell check for granite!’
The artist’s quote appears etched into a marble concourse wall in the new terminal, alongside other quotes from New York City greats including Toni Morrison and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The opening on January 25 was attended by Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA chairman Janno Lieber. On the day a train began its inaugural journey into the new terminal from Queens, stopping 21-minutes later in Grand Central on the east side of Manhattan.
Historically the Long Island Rail Road train would not stop until Pennsylvania Station on the west side.
Initially service to the new terminal, officially named Grand Central Madison, will only be available from the LIRR station in Jamaica in Queens, with trains running to and fro every half an hour. Full service to Long Island will not be rolled out for at least three weeks, officials said.
The artist’s quote appears etched into a marble concourse wall in the new terminal, alongside other quotes from New York City greats including Toni Morrison and Lin-Manuel Miranda
A train began its inaugural journey into the new terminal from Queens, stopping 21-minutes later in Grand Central on the east side of Manhattan
Construction on the tunnel providing access to the East Side began back in 2001, and it was initially estimated the project would be completed in 2009
Construction on the East Side Access project began back in 2001, and it was initially estimated to be completed in 2009. Hochul celebrated the occasion last week, which she had previously promised would take place in December.
‘This has been a phenomenal, phenomenal accomplishment,’ she said during a press conference on the day. ‘There were so many roadblocks and challenges and detours along the way,’ she added, acknowledging the ten-year delay.
‘I’m literally talking about something that started under eight of my predecessor governors,’ she added. ‘People lived and died never seeing this come to fruition, until now, until this very moment.’
Tracks, which connect to tunnels under the East River were started in the 1960s but left unfinished for decades, according to the New York Times.
Edward Hand, 66, of Brentwood in Long Island attended the opening last week. ‘I’m excited to ride the train. I’ve always been a train buff,’ he told the Times. ‘But as I’ve always said, it was proposed 50 years ago and it’s 50 years late.’
