Wartime New York City was a very hospitable place for the thousands of enlisted men (and women) going off to fight in World War II or returning home on furlough.
Take Grand Central Terminal, for example. During the war, the East Balcony was turned into a “Service Men’s Lounge” by the New York Central and New Haven Railroads.
According to the back of this postcard, the lounge was “equipped with ping pong and pool tables, library, piano, easy chairs, lunch counter, etc.”
The lounge was “a meeting room for men of all nations,” wrote John Belle in Grand Central: Gateway to a Million Lives. “On any given day, it was not unusual to see a kilted Highlander at the coffee bar learning from an American soldier how to dunk a doughnut.”
In 1943, Life ran this warning about the lounge to travelers: “Busiest on weekends when thousands travel on furlough. To give them more room on weekend trains, plan trips you must make for mid-week.”
Tags: Grand Central Terminal, New York in the 1940s, New York in World War II, Service Men's Lounge Grand Central, soldiers sailors New York City, Vintage postcards New York City, wartime New York
Ephemeral New York 
February 21, 2014 at 7:16 am |
I live in California! I lived in NYC for 9 months in 1970! It is my favorite place to visit……and yours is my favorite blog about NYC!! Treasures abound there…..and you are incredible at revealing them!
I love this blog!
Bravo!
Penelope
http://www.mccormickinteriors.com
February 23, 2014 at 7:55 pm |
Is this the balcony currently occupied by the Apple store? Any ideas how it was accessed back then? Great stuff. This is a wonderful blog.
February 25, 2014 at 5:09 am |
The link to the Life magazine is worth the trip. Check out all of the ads that are basically pro-war in some respects. Most of the whiskey/whisky brands advertised still exist, too!
May 26, 2014 at 4:30 am |
[…] Grand Central played a pivotal role during World War II; part of it was turned into a “Service Men’s Lounge” for soldiers coming and going. […]
May 30, 2016 at 3:23 am |
[…] town at Grand Central, soldiers had this “Service Men’s Lounge” for relaxing, playing pool and ping pong, and reading […]