Rather than canoodling in a dimly lit cocktail bar booth, young Gothamites are flocking to a long-lost corner of Grand Central Terminal to privately lock lips.<\/p>\n
Back in the day, the Biltmore Room, better known as the \u201cKissing Room,\u201d allowed travelers to steal a goodbye smooch from a loved one without clogging busy train platforms.<\/p>\n
In its heyday, the historic alcove, designed in 1913 and once tucked beneath the now-shuttered New York Biltmore Hotel, even featured a cheeky warning: \u201cno kiss longer than five seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n
In its early days, the Biltmore Room \u2014 aka the \u201cKissing Room\u201d \u2014 let lovers lock lips without jamming up busy train platforms. The 1913 hideaway was beneath the now-closed New York Biltmore Hotel. Getty Images<\/p>\n
But after years stuck behind construction walls, the Kissing Room \u2014 now located on the commuter hub\u2019s main level, near the Grand Central Oyster Bay bar \u2014 is back in plain sight, bigger than it once was. And NYC historian John Friia<\/a>, who has spent years digging into Grand Central\u2019s hidden past, says once New Yorkers spot the mysterious \u201cBiltmore Room\u201d sign, the history hunt begins.<\/p>\n \u201cSo many of us carry these storybook visions of romance, and this city keeps making room for them,\u201d he told The Post.<\/p>\n After years lost behind plywood and scaffolding, the Kissing Room has finally stepped back into the spotlight \u2014 bigger, brighter, and ready for its close-up. Emmy Park for NY Post<\/p>\n Friia says the space feels ripe for revival now since it reopened in May 2023 after years of renovation to include the LIRR at Grand Central.<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever younger New Yorkers discover any aspects of New York City\u2019s history, I think it is incredible because so much of our city\u2019s history and identity has been lost or forgotten,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n For Bedford-Stuyvesant resident Noelani Buonomo, 25, stumbling upon the Kissing Room with her boyfriend Dustin Chase, 27, felt like a throwback antidote to swipe culture.<\/p>\n \u201cAs the world becomes increasingly digitized, it\u2019s so important to maintain spaces that are specifically built for analog connection,\u201d the Brooklynite said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we can always use a reminder to slow down and connect with our partners.\u201d<\/p>\n The UX designer admits the irony isn\u2019t lost on her \u2014 she met her boyfriend, Dustin Chase, on Tinder \u2014 but says their relationship quickly jumped offline, with museum dates, film photo shoots in Central Park and city wandering.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Noelani Buonomo (right), finding the long-lost Kissing Room with her boyfriend, Dustin Chase (left), was a real-life romance moment in a swipe-right world. Emmy Park for NY Post<\/p>\n Learning about the Kissing Room\u2019s romantic past made those IRL moments feel even more meaningful.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s bittersweet, too. It also makes me think about the context of the era, since it\u2019s my understanding couples would often greet each other as one returned from war,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it also speaks to the humanity of the city \u2026 It\u2019s awesome to have a reminder that underneath a busy and commercialized city, there\u2019s an underpinning of something really human.\u201d<\/p>\n That sense of history-meets-heart is exactly what\u2019s captivating younger New Yorkers, says Friia.<\/p>\n \u201cTo understand why the Kissing Room existed, you have to remember the time it was around,\u201d Friia explained to The Post.<\/p>\n Learning about the space\u2019s love-soaked past made their visit hit harder, Buonomo said \u2014 especially knowing it once served as a reunion spot for couples greeting partners home from war. Emmy Park for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea for the room was simple: a space to show affection to your loved one boarding or departing a train while not disrupting the flow of people constantly rushing around Grand Central.\u201d<\/p>\n Back then, public affection was tightly policed \u2014 literally.<\/p>\n \u201cThe kiss could not last longer than 5 seconds, absolutely no tongue, and you only kiss in the \u2018Kissing Gallery,\u2019\u201d Friia said.<\/p>\n \u201cEven the chief engineer of the Grand Central Terminal, George Kittredge, referred to the room as the \u2018perfunctory peck spot.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Friia says his fascination with the Biltmore Room started with a detail most commuters walk right past.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a special blend of nostalgia and romance that\u2019s hooking younger New Yorkers, John Friia said, adding that the Kissing Room was a product of its time. Emmy Park for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever I traveled out to Long Island, I would enter Grand Central Madison from the Biltmore Room and notice this chalkboard sign with train times behind glass. It really piqued my interest, so I started to do some research on it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The board \u2014 a relic from Grand Central\u2019s pre-digital days \u2014 still displays the names of trains that once ruled the rails. <\/p>\n \u201cThe names of the trains that are currently on the board are the same trains you would have found departing or arriving from Grand Central in the 1960s, like the Murray Hill, Yankee Clipper and the Knickerbocker.\u201d<\/p>\n For Sunnyside, Queens, resident Jenna Murray, the romance of the Kissing Room lies in the anticipation \u2014 something she says modern dating often lacks.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s romantic that New York once built an actual room in Grand Central just for kissing,\u201d Murray told The Post.<\/p>\n \u201cSomething we\u2019re missing in modern day is the excitement of anticipation. Having a certain time you had to meet someone and a space meant just for that feels really sweet.\u201d<\/p>\n For married Sunnyside residents Jenna Murray and Brian Murphy (above), the magic of the Kissing Room is all about anticipation \u2014 a spark she says modern dating has lost. Emmy Park for NY Post<\/p>\n The 30-something photographer and her husband, Brian Murphy, met working at a bar near Grand Central and spent years sneaking off on low-key dates inside the terminal \u2014 including the iconic Oyster Bar on the lower level.<\/p>\n \u201cI love that couples kissing goodbye before getting on trains was actually a real thing and not just something from old movies,\u201d added Murray, who told The Post he is in his early 40s.<\/p>\n \u201cKnowing the space was meant for that makes it feel more special.\u201d<\/p>\n More than a century after its creation, the Kissing Room is once again doing what it was built for \u2014 carving out a pocket of intimacy in the middle of New York\u2019s constant rush.<\/p>\n In fact, lovebirds will have even more of a chance to connect \u2014 and smooch \u2014 in the Kissing Room this weekend: The venue will host a joyous, no-pressure\u201d speed-dating event<\/a> (RSVP is required) and Valentine\u2019s Day-themed \u201ccurated market\u201d from 3-7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13.<\/p>\n More than 100 years later, the Kissing Room is back to its original job \u2014 as Murray and Murphy, above, would agree \u2014 giving lovers a breather from the city\u2019s chaos. Emmy Park for NY Post<\/p>\n As Friia put it, in a city that never stops moving, this forgotten corner offers something rare: permission to pause.<\/p>\n \u201cIn those small, perfectly romantic moments, the city keeps rushing past, but time feels like it belongs only to you.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t