In 1913, architects Reed & Stern's design for a new terminal were selected in a competition that included submissions by Daniel Burnham and McKim, Mead & White. The subsequent plans of Warren & Wetmore, hired as the associate architect, were largely responsible for the elaborate Beaux Arts structure. Reed & Stern and railroad engineer William Wilgus devised the concept of ramps to connect the various levels of the complex separating automobile, pedestrian, subway and train traffic. The main, southern façade is dominated by a dramatic sculpture by Jules Coulon over a central cornice and clock. The inner space is 275 feet long, 120 feet wide and 125 feet high. A magnificent Zodiac mural by Paul Helleu covers the ceiling that is a plaster vault suspended from steel trusses.
A 1978 Supreme Court ruling involving Grand Central Terminal marked one of the most significant events in the history of landmark preservation. A developer who wanted to build a skyscraper above Grand Central Terminal was refused permission by the landmark Preservation Commission. The ensuing lawsuit went all the way to the Supreme Court which rules that New York's ordinance was constitutional.
The long-awaited renovation of Grand Central terminal is under way. The Terminal functions as a nucleus of a vast inter-city and intra-city transportation network serving over 500,000 people per day. Metro North Commuter Railroad has operated Grand Central Terminal under lease and in 1988, a week before the Terminal's 75th Anniversary, Metro North President Peter Stangl, issued a Request For Proposal for the "Design, Construction and Rehabilitation of the Grand Central Terminal Architectural and Engineering Infrastructure Systems." A consortium consisting of architects Beyer Blinder Belle and Harry Weese & Associates, and engineers STV/Seelye Stevenson Value & Knecht, responded to the request and were selected as the architects and engineers for the project.