Grand Central Madison Wins Award for World’s Most Beautiful Passenger Station

The shimmering mosaic murals, crisp white marble walls, and subtle yet colorful wayfinding systems of Grand Central Madison have won the nearly two-year-old train station UNESCO’s 2024 Prix Versailles Interior Award for the World’s Most Beautiful Passenger Station! This international award is granted by a jury of architects, designers, and cultural figures from around the world. Untapped New York Members saw the beauty of Grand Central Madison firsthand during our Art of Grand Central walking tour last year. To celebrate the win this year, we're sharing a peek at the tour from our video archive!

In the video below, Untapped New York's Chief Experience Officer Justin Rivers takes us on a live-streamed tour of the hidden art inside the historic Grand Central Terminal and the stunning new pieces inside Grand Central Madison, from Yayoi Kusama's vibrant mosaic to Kiki Smith's tranquil nature scenes.

Untapped New York Members enjoyed this tour in person and tuned in live for the virtual stream. Every virtual talk and tour is available to view in our archive of over 300 recordings (take a look)! Not a member yet? Gain access to virtual tours like this by signing up at the Fan tier or higher, here.

Grand Central Madison faced some steep competition for the Prix Versailles. Other nominated stations included Schafbergbahn Station in St. Wolfgang, Austria; Bell Station in Melbourne, Australia; Beijing Station in Beijing, China; and Toulouse; Matabiau Station in Toulouse, France, among others. The nominees were judged on innovativeness, creativity, reflection of local heritage, and ecological efficiency.

Learn more about Grand Central Madison in our dispatch from the first train ride in 2023 and check out more photos of the station below!