Colorama Returns to Grand Central Station
By: Tina Shively
Updated: July 23, 2012
They were called Colorama, and they're part of the centennial celebration for the world famous terminal.
No doubt millions of commuters remember the 18 x 60 foot backlit marvels of technology that once towered over them at Grand Central Station.
Travelers went out of their way to catch a glimpse of the pictures, changed every three weeks between 1950 and 1990.
At first, the super sized advertising campaign depicted subliminal instructions of what should be photographed, and who should take the pictures.
The later ones were giant travel billboards of scenes from around the globe.
The Senior Curator of Photographs and Exhibitions at the George Eastman House says the photos recall a time when Kodak was indistinguishable from color photography.
Alison Nordstrm said "It reminds us all how important the technology of Kodak was to the way America understood itself, remembers itself. That this was an advertising campaign but it was also a technical tour de force, we should appreciate it on both levels."
The exhibit is part of Grand Central's 100th birthday celebration.
The phots will be smaller versions of the giant originals.
The exhibit starts in the New York City terminal's New York Transit Museum on Saturday, July 28 and will last through October.
