<P> The flap - board destination sign was replaced with high - resolution mosaic LCD modules also manufactured by Solari Udine . Similar modules are now also used on the trains, both on the sides to display the destination, and on the interior to display the time, next station, calling points, and other passenger information . </P> <P> For safety reasons, every train at Grand Central Terminal departs one minute later than its posted departure time . The extra minute is intended to encourage passengers rushing to catch trains at the last minute to slow down . Of any station in the United States, Grand Central Terminal, with its marble floors, has the fewest slips, trips, and falls . </P> <P> The Main Concourse has an elaborately decorated astronomical ceiling, conceived in 1912 by Warren with his friend, French portrait artist Paul César Helleu, and executed by James Monroe Hewlett and Charles Basing of Hewlett - Basing Studio, with Helleu consulting . Corps of astronomers and painting assistants worked with Hewlett and Basing . The original ceiling was replaced in the late 1930s to correct falling plaster . </P> <P> There is a small dark circle amid the stars above the image of Pisces . In a 1957 attempt to counteract feelings of insecurity spawned by the Soviet launch of Sputnik, an American Redstone missile was set up in the Main Concourse . With no other way to erect the missile, the hole was cut to allow a cable to be lowered to lift the rocket into place . Historical preservation dictated that this hole remain (as opposed to being repaired) as a testament to the many uses of the Terminal over the years . </P>

Who painted the ceiling of grand central station