Whispering Gallery in Grand Central Terminal

The Whispering Gallery in Grand Central is magical! 💫🎤 A hidden gem where you can whisper into one corner and be heard clearly across the arch. Fun, unique, and a must-try NYC experience!

Really easy to find. And unique. Beautiful. And historical

A must see part of Grand Central - if you’re a tourist that is! The beautiful ceilings also have a fascinating feature… If you and a friend stand in opposite corners, facing into the corner, and talk quietly, the sound will travel up and over the ceiling to the other person, as if by magic! You can have secret conversations, even if the room is really busy. It does get quite busy in there at peak times, so expect to wait a few minutes to “have a go”!!

Visit a location where iconic pictures were made. Also good food options and a famous oyster bar. Beautiful structure and a really good place to hang out a little bit.

Iconic and much photographed, this is a must visit as part of your New York trip. From the beautiful ceilings, ornate windows and whispering arches, there is plenty here to see. Don't forget to go downstairs to the dining concourse where there are some fantastic places to eat and drink. Whether it's the well known Oyster bar or familiar food stores, they are all reasonably priced. Go and enjoy.

Went here after seeing it mentioned on Atlas Obscura and apparently was doing it wrong?! I have no idea but apparently you have to stand on opposite corners, diagonally and speak. There was someone in every corner and it just didn't work while I was there on 2/17/2022 This is near the downstairs food court and there were some scary vagrants (unmedicated?) talking to the walls and kind of being menacing. It didn't feel super safe while I was there.

Really cool, free hidden gem! Not easy to find using Google maps, but ask at the info desk!!

An auditory anomaly! You MUST try this out. Speak softly into one corner of this whispering chamber, and your partner can clearly hear you across the way amidst all the surrounding madness. Find it on the way to the dining concourse just outside the oyster bar. On the arch above the chamber it says "Lexington Avenue 42nd Street Subway 4-5 6-7" I read that the famous jazz player Charles Mingus proposed to his wife this way. What a special place. Simple, fun, and free! -Hutch

I read about this online before our visit and was curious if it really worked. I definitely couldn't hear my husband at a whisper, but when he spoke into the corner at a normal voice, it definitely magnified his volume. It would be fun to try with kids. You stand diagonally in the corners and whisper/speak into the corner. It magnify your voice for sure.

It really works! You may have to get up on your tippy toes to get to the right spot on the wall (there's also a bench at Columbia University that has the same concept). Take your date and whisper sweet nothing's in their ear. You can't miss it, it's right near some of the restaurants. 202 #126

Cute spot in Grand Central Station! It's really easy to get lost in this area. Especially with all the trains constantly going by. But this is a place that is worth it to stop for a moment and smell the roses. Or maybe at least hear the whispered secrets! If you stand on one end, you can hear short whispers from the other side. IG: QueenOfAdventureNYC

Whispering galleries are not that all uncommon. The idea comes from what happens when you're in an enclosure like a rotunda, or in this case, the domed intersection of walkways on the lower level of Grand Central Terminal. You're able to place your ear on one side of the open space and hear the person on the other side. That's the concept. Big whoop, right? Jamie W. and I were able to talk to each other even though we were physically several yards from each other. Cool but we could do the same thing a lot closer to home under the rotunda at San Francisco's City Hall. Alas, if you're not close to a whispering gallery, feel free to do it here. Later in the evening is better because people actually lined up. Yep, it works and everybody does it. RELATED - Exploring Manhattan? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: http://bit.ly/2ZvQA2F

It is strange how the Whispering Gallery is located right in front of a restaurant. It is somewhat strange when I was told where it is located. Anyhow, it is a nice place to visit. The design is very smart. If you have one person standing across from other, you can talk and be able to listen to each other even to the quietest whisper. Cool this is is a must visit.

Went here after seeing it mentioned on Atlas Obscura and apparently was doing it wrong?! I have no idea but apparently you have to stand on opposite corners, diagonally and speak. There was someone in every corner and it just didn't work while I was there. This is near the downstairs food court and there were some scary vagrants (unmedicated?) talking to the walls and kind of being menacing. It didn't feel super safe while I was there.

Whoever designed this is a genius!! It's a fun little thing to go to. You can listen to another person who is DIAGONAL from you across the other side. It has to BE DIAGONAL for it to work and for you to listen to each other, unless you just want to talk to strangers that is standing diagonally from you, then that's cool too!!! This is located inside Grand Central Station. It's a bit difficulty to find if it's your first time there. You have to go to down a ramp outside of the Oyster Bar. It's pretty interesting how sound can travel across and diagonally. It can't be traveled next to or straight across. My mom and my aunt was really enjoying this. My aunt has lived in NY for 20 years and never knew about this little hidden gem. I'm glad I found it on Yelp!!

The four corners of the arches in the dining concourse outside Oyster Bar is always a cute stop when you're with someone or a group in Grand Central Station. I remember taking my kids and my BFF's kids here when they were little. My BFF who lives on Long Island had no idea that this beautiful piece of architecture was available to entertain our kids (and ourselves) for for several magical minutes. How we take for granted the wonders that are available in our own back yard. It's funny how people who aren't aware stop and wonder what the heck is going on when they see people with their back turned to the walkway and whispering into the corner. Everyone picks a corner and you talk into the wall and the person on the opposite corner can hear you as if you were standing right next to them due to acoustics.

Go to the lower floor of Grand Central Terminal where near the Oyster Bar Restaurant and you'll discover a secret: a corner-to-corner acoustic phenomenon where you can whisper something while facing the tiles at one of the four archway corners and someone on the opposite can here you. Even the quietest sweet nothing, soft song, or whispered threat can be heard, even over the din of crowds. This remarkable acoustic oddity is caused by the unusually perfect arches that compose theallery. The distinctive tile work from 1913 in the gallery is known as "Gustavino" tiles, named for the patented material and methods of Spanish tile worker Rafael Guastavino, whose meticulous work and herringbone patterns can be admired here and elsewhere in the city. It was not designed to do that but when you combine all the factors like height, density and angle and no sound absorbing materials and then it all comes together. Try it with a friend and be amazed.

The Whispering Gallery inside the Grand Central Terminal is simply amazing! It is a fun place to try it. Basically you face the corner and speak to it in a normal voice. The person standing diagonally across from you and facing the corner can hear you perfectly well, loud and clear. We had fun just trying it out and being marveled by how it worked. We tried recording it but it was not clear. I also found that if you speak standing in the middle of the square, it seemed to be a "surround sound" effect, almost like an echo. Definitely a must visit stop. It is in the basement, right outside the Oyster Bar.

A Very Strange Phenomenon. Years ago my daughter and I were walking through Grand Central. She sent me to a corner and left me. I'm freaked out. She said wait and listen. I did what I was told. That's rare for me! Next thing I knew her voice was coming out of the wall. She was across the room whispering in the other wall. Needless to say I was thrilled. Such a fun thing for her to share with me. If you visit Grand Central whisper with someone. It's fun! And remember it's not a secret anymore once you've whispered it! So don't tell your secrets when you whisper.

This is always a cute little stop if I'm in the area with out-of-town friends or meet tourists nearby who ask me what they should check out. Maybe it's because I'm a dork and think it's the coolest thing, but who wouldn't love checking out the Whispering Gallery? Just so you know, it's not so much a gallery as it is four corners just inside of Grand Central, in front of the John Dory Oyster Bar, outside of the main concourse. You just stand on diagonal corners as your buddy, talk into the wall, and converse with each other like two fools in time-out! Try it! For those curious (as you should all be), the sound is carried by waves that travel around when walls are constructed circularly. The gallery was set up using two parabolic dishes. You could sometimes detect this in caves. It was first discovered in St Paul's Cathedral in London, and has been created multiple times throughout the world (including twice in Central Park). Grand Central may be a mammoth of a railroad station, but even it has its quirks, too!

A short visit to the Whispering Gallery is a fun addition to any NYC trip or a regular day for a local. The four arches in the dining concourse outside the oyster bar are where this unmapped experience is located. From the main concourse, go down the stairs and you'll find the oyster bar on the side opposite the trains. On our first try, we didn't hear one another, but we tried the other corners and that worked well for us! We're short, so if you're looking at the Oyster Bar, the corner to the left and the one diagonal from it may be better for you if you're short. Just our personal experience! You can hear the voices of your across-the-hall friends/family pretty clearly. It's a neat addition to a Grand Central visit! Depending on time of day you may have to wait a little bit to snag a corner. PROS: Fun little experience in the beautiful Grand Central Terminal. Easy way to kill time waiting for a train or your Shake Shack order. Rainy day activity! CONS: None.

An auditory anomaly! You MUST try this out. Speak softly into one corner of this whispering chamber, and your partner can clearly hear you across the way amidst all the surrounding madness. Find it on the way to the dining concourse just outside the oyster bar. On the arch above the chamber it says "Lexington Avenue 42nd Street Subway 4-5 6-7" I read that the famous jazz player Charles Mingus proposed to his wife this way. What a special place. Simple, fun, and free! -Hutch

Definitely file this under rainy day things to do in NYC. If you find yourself in NYC on a cold or rainy day, fret not! There are lots of indoor activities and the best ones are usually free. As with this, the Whispering Gallery. I highly recommend exploring Grand Central if you've never been. This is a cool section of GCT and a great way to kill time. I'm sure it's mostly science but I failed Physics in high school (true story). So I'm not the best person to explain why this is cool, but it is. It's definitely worth checking out.

I am unworthy to write on this subject. I am unworthy to write on many subjects. Don't party too much and fall asleep anywhere near a Sharpie in my presence. While unworthy, I will write on you. This established, note: Grand Central Terminal is a place from which even a daily visitor can't help but derive pleasure. Even if it's unconscious pleasure and I'd not hesitate to agree that there are certainly those days that the pain presses down on the pleasure but thank God for what little pleasure places like this can provide on days like that. Because but for that what would we have? And, I learned this whilst attempting to broaden my horizons on the intentional architecture of the Whisper Gallery. Verbatim, from somebody else's website: The constellations on the ceiling of the Main Concourse are reversed from how they actually appear in the night sky, because the artist, French painter Paul Helleu, modeled it on a medieval manuscript that showed the constellations from God's point of view. Then: The Whisper Gallery is located just outside the main entrance to the Oyster Bar which was closed for renovation to my heart breaking so much the boy in the opposite corner of the Gallery heard the rent and turned to look around such a sad sound. But the Gallery was the silver lining, and I had forgotten precisely where it was, and my scowl at the Bar being closed deepened when the Rangers jersey who by my initial glance was peeing in the corner actually turned out to be actually sharing the acoustic adventure with the lady opposite him and I realized WHISPER GALLERY and immediately my frown turned upside down. My Dad showed me the Gallery when I was very small and as recollection serves I totally understand why I thought the Ranger was peeing. The Gallery back in the day had olfactory as well as auditory delights. Not so much this visit! No. I returned a few days later colleague in tow hoping her corner was clean too and voila - big smiles all around. Why people don't incorporate such things into all they design today is beyond me. This won't rain on my parade, however. Not today. I'm full of a sustained smile thanks to the magic of Grand Central.

I don't know why they call it whispering gallery, since most of the time there's so much noise they should just call it echoing gallery. It's pseudo-subterranean and easy to visit from GCT.

I don't know how you can not like this. There are no signs noting that this hallway is anything special but you will probably see people standing in the corners looking like they're taking to themselves. If you're in the area check it out, it's really a neat little "secret". I wouldn't go far out of my way to visit though. Find the Oyster Bar and you're in the right spot.

Who doesn't love the Whispering Gallery! Well, many wouldn't know it exists unless you notice a crowd gathered as you passed by. I discovered this unique area in Grand Central Station probably 10 years ago. It's a large intersection as you're making your way down to the underbelly of Grand Central to the dining hall. There's times you'll pass through and there will be a line of people waiting their turn to jump into opposing corners to whisper to their friends! I believe that's how many discover this unique architecture that allows you to whisper with utter clarity to your friend across the hall despite the noise of Grand Central! Next time you visit Grand Central, look to whisper to a friend or stranger!

So cool! Such a fun thing to do while visiting Grand Central Terminal. I could hear my partner whisper while being diagonally across him with dozens of people passing by!

Psst... Can ya hear me?!.. Located in an unmarked archway outside of the oyster bar you'll find the "whispering gallery" one of the hidden treasures of Grand Central Terminal. It possesses a totally cool acoustic effect.. voices are telegraphed across the archway when 2 people stand diagonally across and whisper into the corner. Magically you can hear what the person opposite you is saying perfectly and clear as day. It's a unique and fun feature to check out at least once in your travels through GCT.. maybe it'll bring out the kid at heart in you ;-)

This is a fun little diversion if you happen to be in the Grand Central Terminal. Just in front of the Grand Central Oyster Bar, you will find the vaulted ceilings, with no doubt someone "experimenting" with the whispering gallery. Just face the corner, with your cohort in the opposite corner; and, talk normally. The sound carries amazingly well. It works best on the diagonal; but, also parallel to the entrance to the restaurant. Have fun!

Whispering Gallery in Grand Central Terminal Grand Central is an amazing and very FUN place. You can people watch there. Eat a cheep or expensive lunch or dinner. Be in flip-flops and t-shirts or a tux and feel at home. And of course arrive in or leave from NYC here. Just one of the many cool things is the Whispering Gallery. Right by the Oyster Bar is an archway - you stand there, your friend stands at the other end and you can whisper across the way. Try it. Trust me. Just remember, even what you mutter under your breath will be heard across the way.

Uh, how can anybody give this amazing architectural phenomenon less than five stars? Did it disappoint you in some way with it's lack of hospitality or service? Please! The Whispering Gallery is a must visit while you're at Grand Central Station. Located in the hallway in front of the Grand Central Oyster Bar, you'll see people oddly standing in 4 corners of this open "room" seemingly talking to themselves. No, they are not crazy and no, they are not terrorists. Because of physics (I assume that's what's going on here), the sound of your voice travels across the arch of this open space and is able to be heard on the opposite corner as if you were standing right next to that person! Now, I stress opposite corner because apparently some people have messed that part up with accidentally talking dirty to kids and giving out government secrets and whatnot. Don't make that mistake.

Yea this is pretty cool. You can whisper at one end and someone else on the other can hear. Just know not to whisper any real secrets since there's tons of people that know this trick and probably standing near you.

Stumbled upon this when I was looking up Grand Central Station on Yelp. What a gem! It was obvious that others knew what was here though, so it's not exactly hidden. My cousin and I tried it out and I was stoked when I could hear her from across the gallery. You have to stand diagonally across from your partner and you face your head into the corner. It looks silly, but it works!! Check it out if you're checking out the station. :)

Fun and inexpensive way to explore grand central terminal. Talk into the triangle at one of the columns by oyster restaurant.

***make sure to have your friend stand in the corner diagonally across from you!*** I tried it for the first time and it didn't work. I thought this was a joke. Then I realized that your friend need to stand in the corner diagonally across from you. Then it worked! Yeah! Sometimes I see a tourist group here and that means you have to wait in line to try this out. Otherwise, take a minute before your board your train and have some fun with your friend(s)!

I had walked through Grand Central many times and never knew this was here. If you are in the main concourse in Grand Central was downstairs towards the dining level. Then look for the Oyster Bar, which is off to the side. Right outside of the Oyster Bar is a square opening with high ceilings, if you stand in the center of this you can hear a pretty decent echo. Walk to one corner and have someone else go in the other one and speak towards the wall and you can hear each other. It is a pretty cool little thing to see if you are in the area.

Maybe I am the biggest nerd on the planet - but THIS IS SO COOOLLLLL! I wonder how many native to the area just pass by and never look twice (except to laugh at the stupid tourists). Not only is the Whispering Gallery beautiful architecturally, its so awesome. This is a must see if you are a tourist in Grand Central Station. Its not very hard to find, but if its your first time you may have to look around a little bit. Just go down to the dining concourse and hang a left...you will see a bunch of other idiots standing with their faces in the corner. Wait your turn and be amazed. Once your turn has come, stick your face in the corner and have your friend stick their ear in the opposite corner. Say something to your friend, then have them say something to you. Repeat if available but be conscious of the others waiting. My tips for you: -Come up with a code word or phrase to let them know you are done talking and to switch. I like "over and out" or "10-4 ghost rider", but something like "OK your turn" would suffice. -Don't actually whisper, there are typically a lot of other people around making noise, so talk at your normal voice or a bit louder to be sure your goofy friend can hear you.

How did they do that? What a marvel of engineering. I just wanted to check this place out and see for myself that I could have a conversation with someone across the gallery while facing a wall. Lo & behold, it does work. Now that I've seen it for myself, I can move on with my life.

This is very cool and a must check out for every kid at heart going thru Grand Central. You stand at one corner of the wall, someone else stands at a diagonal point, and talk... You hear the echo/ whatever was said thru the wall. The first time I heard this people showed my friend and out of town guests / we had a great time singing a little to each other . Definitely check it out.

Every time I'm going to visit a city, I check yelp's "local flavor" to discover any quirky things to see when I'm in town. This feature always delivers as we've seen a cement troll in Seattle and a crystal shrine to Jesus in Memphis, for example. I still have regret we didn't have time to find the wall of chewing gum in Portland. The other day, we made time to visit the "whispering gallery" in NYC at the Grand Central Station. As yelpers promised, we came upon it to find people already waiting in line to take part in the amazing, free entertainment. Once I convinced (read begged) the teenagers on our trip to join me, we soon discovered it works! Mom: Hi, can you hear meeeeeeeeeeeeeee? (pause) (pause) (pause) Son: Yes, I hear you. SCORE! MAGIC!!! lol my skeptic son is convinced there are hidden mics. Either way, yelp bookmark = DONE!!

I won't bore you with any history on this spot, it's just a cool little thing that few people know about. If you go to Grand Central and go down to the dining concourse level right outside the historic Oyster Bar you'll find the whispering gallery. It's not labeled or anything but if you go during busy times you'll probably see someone looking silly by putting their face in the corner. If there isn't someone at the opposite corner of the arch (about 100 feet away) you should stand clear of this person. The deal is that the acoustics of the arch has created an anomaly in which if one person stands on one side and talks softly, the person standing on the opposite side of the arch can clearly hear that person speak as if there was a little speaker above their head. This absolutely works and is really cool to check out. What's also cool to think about is if there are two other people doing the same thing in the other two corners, you can't hear them or vise versa, the sound waves only seem to go in a very linear direction. (The whispering gallery got a little recent national attention when Emeril Lagasse and the Oyster Bar's Sandy Ingber stuck their faces in the corners and gave the gallery a whirl)

Stumbled upon Grand Central Station today with a friend. Found the Whispering Gallery after some searching for the Oyster Bar. At first, it wasn't working b/c we were standing in diagonal corners but facing each other. Then, we turned around and faced the corner. It worked!! We could totally hear each other!! It was such a strange sensation. I will def. take future guests to the Whispering Gallery the next time we are in Grand Central. I only learned about the Whispering Gallery by perusing "local flavor" on yelp. - Thanks Danielle & Tessa! It was awesome.

One of those places where you can't help but feel like a little kid. Standing and whispering to a loved one across a bunch of oblivious tourists in the middle of oh-so-busy but undeniably beautiful Grand Central is a simple pleasure not to be missed! Just so's you know, yes, it's right outside the entrance to the oyster bar. You stand in one corner (facing either direction), and your friend/lover/dog walker stands in the corner diagonal to you. Then you whisper. AND YOU CAN HEAR EACH OTHER!! I know. I can hear you saying, "So what?" But seriously. Just try it out. You'll be giggling in no time.

As we walked into Grand Central, I kept saying to my guests, "I have something cool to show you." Once I led them through the Main Hall and down the corridor, we arrived outside of the famous Oyster Bar. I positioned my friend at one corner and I went to the one diagonal from her. We started whispering sweet, sweet nothings to one another. All was good, until my friend started yelling her inappropriate sweet nothings into the wall. Little did we know that the people standing in the center could hear us when we yelled. So here's my apology to the kids that were waiting to whisper -- sincerely sorry for teaching you some new words.

Right outside of the Oyster Bar in Grand Central, you'll see people smiling gleefully while whispering into the corners of the beautiful archways in front of the restaurant. Why? Because it's magic! The acoustics in this area allow for people to whisper into the wall of one side of the archway and several feet away, they can be heard from the other corner. My mom and I tried it on a recent vacation. It was very cool. If you're in Grand Central, stop by and have a chat!

Don't knock it until you try it! IT WORKS...IT REALLY DOES! (And apparently the secrets out, and it's quite popular bc in the 5 or so minutes we were there, there were like 3 other groups attempting the same thing). It doesn't work as well if it's really noisy so try to do it when it's not so crowded and loud. In our first attempt, we couldn't hear each other at all. we tried it again once the noise level went down and it worked. It was pretty freaky actually. So bring a friend you're trying to impress...or better yet...bring em here to freak the beegeezus out of them!

This place is so cool! I didn't know about it until I was looking up some "off the beaten path" things to do in NYC. It's right outside the oyster bar in Grand Central Terminal. Stand at one corner and have your friend stand in the corner diagonally across. At first, my boyfriend and I couldn't hear each other, but we kept trying and finally got it! Very fun & exciting! Don't worry about actually whispering...even if you talk at a normal volume the person isn't going to hear you naturally from the other side, only through the echos.

SO COOL! If you try this during rush hour, it gets a little hard to hear your partner at the opposite end of the wall. But this is definitely something I'm glad I've tried. Checked off my TO-DO list in NYC! (Granted, I am a New Yorker.. but still :D )

Yes, it works! It may have something to do with the shape of the ceiling which makes the sound travel from one end to the other. Who knows? Make sure to stand in front of pillars that are ACROSS from one another, and not NEXT to each other. Diagonal, not perpendicular! Stand close and find the right area where you can start hearing the other person's voice. And voila! You've got yourself a wireless string-phone!

Fun and a little strange but mostly just super cool. I think it's worth finding and since you should visit Grand Central anyway (as a tourist) it's a random, quirky thing to add to the list of stuff that's made your NY trip complete! The gallery is right in front of the Oyster Bar, and what's fun (or perhaps annoying?) about this is that a lot of people know about it now and so everyone is trying it out. Pretty straightforward--stand across from each other, look like an idiot talking to a wall, and commence with a conversation. No need to yell or enunciate with precise clarity, the person is definitely going to hear you. I wonder how many hundreds of people have started their pillar conversations with "Hello?" Can you hear me?" then commenced with the joyful laughter and "oh my gods!" When the voice comes through it almost sounds like it's coming from above...so say something original or philosophical, your message will be immortalized in the awesomeness of these telephone pillars. Yelp challenge: #32/365

Without Yelp, I wouldn't of known about this "Whispering Gallery" so thank you! Anyway, I dragged my boyfriend here after seeing it on Yelp so we walked out in the cold around 11PM in search for the Oyster Bar inside Grand Central. We found the corners and already a group was in one corner and "whispered" to the corner and we heard it on the opposite side! Go here whenever you get the chance! Definitely one of many highlights from my trip to New York!

Its the simple things in life that give the most pleasure. In some cases at least. ::::::::::LOCATION:::::::::: Directly in front of the Oyster Bar (along the dining concourse). There are no signs or directives, it is a not-so-secret secret. ::::::::::INSTRUCTIONS:::::::::: Stand in diagonal corners and whisper. Lol yes, sounds strange...admittedly looks strange too, but thats it. The sound travels to the other side and that person can hear you. I didnt tell my baby what the point of it was so he was confused, until I whispered something and he heard me lol. The look on his face was priceless. We laughed and it really was neat and interesting.

This will blow your mind- period. We went really late at night around 130am. I would say it's best to go late as it was empty and we weren't fighting to try to get in the corner. There are only two corners that this actually works in so if you try and don't hear anything switch corners. Don't skip this- it's magic!

The Whispering Gallery is a cute and fun thing to check out IF you're at Grand Central Terminal! I wouldn't necessarily tell someone to come here JUST for the gallery, because it really is somewhat of a "hidden gem". My boyfriend and I were standing in the gallery (right outside of the Oyster Bar) and had to ask the attendant where it was. To our surprise, this was it! Luckily, there were crowds or other people around so my boyfriend and I got to play around with it for a few minutes. It does work, but if its loud in the surrounding area, you might have to stick your head waaaay into the corner hehe. While you're at Grand Central, there are food vendors, gift shops, and public restrooms :p

There is a free tour that takes you to the whispering wall on fridays at 12.30. Meet in the sculpture court at 120 Park Avenue (south east corner of East 42nd Street) across the street from Grand Central at 12:30 on Friday afternoon. For more information call 212-697-1245. clearly this didnt link to the posts i read about it. sorry

Really cool and really lame. Find the people around the large restaurant in the center of station who appear to be talking to themselves in the corner of a wall. It is possible to hear conversations between the diagonal wall speakers. It's kind of fascinating in a disappointing way.