RHIANNON: Let’s look at Grand Central Terminal from the South Side, on Park Avenue. 3 MICHAEL: The Park Avenue viaduct is a roadway that actually goes right through Grand Central and around. It was originally designed for the efficient flow of passengers traveling on the system. RHIANNON: The viaduct carries traffic on Park Avenue from 40th to 46th Street, going around Grand Central Terminal, The Met Life Building, and through the Helmsley Building. The area around the viaduct is called Pershing Square, after World War I General John J. Pershing, and was originally intended to be an open plaza in his honor, occupying a full block. But, with the real estate in New York being what it is, the open space did not last for long. The center of the block was sold off in parcels to the buildings you see around you. The space currently occupied by the Pershing Square restaurant, a popular commuter spot tucked right under the viaduct, was originally built by the city to be a tourist center as part of the 1939 World’s Fair. RHIANNON: During World War 2 the space was taken over by the USO before being returned to the convention and visitor’s bureau after the war. It went through many changes up until 1997 when it opened up as the restaurant you see today. You might recognize this spot from the first Avengers movie from 2012. DANNY: My name is Daniel Masciana. I'm a supervisor for Structures in Grand Central Terminal Track 100. So I have three daughters, and we were watching the First Avengers, and there's a scene where you have the superheroes fighting right on Park Ave. And they're throwing missiles and all these type of explosives, and the terminal is depleted. And my daughter's like, Wow, you have a lot of work to do tomorrow when you come in . So that's probably one of my favorite memories. But, yeah, I mean, anything from Men in Black, we see Will Smith jump off of the Pershing Square, the Viaduct up there, and you see him running, and then two seconds later he's in Central Park.