A scavenger hunt game in New York City’s Grand Central Terminal features Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ “ghost” as a guide.
Participants in the new Grand Central Scavenger Hunt from Museum Hack will find the former first lady appearing on a smartphone video providing them with clues for their hunt.
Participants of the game are divided into teams for the 90-minute hunt and given clues directing them to various places in the terminal to uncover secrets and challenges. The players are loaned cameras to take photos of what they find.
Read More: Jackie Kennedy loved Ireland and her old Irish priest
So why does Jackie O appear in the game? The players’ assignment is to save Grand Central Terminal from a NYC developer who wants to tear it down — a scenario taken from 1975, when the city landmark was nearly demolished and replaced with an office tower. Jackie was instrumental in saving the historic Beaux-Arts building.
Grand Central Terminal concourse. Credit: Wikipedia/MTA/Patrick Cashin
Jackie led the fight to save the building by forming the Committee to Save Grand Central Station and participating in rallies to save the terminal. She also traveled to Washington, DC, with other campaigners to bring attention to the Supreme Court Hearing.
In a letter she wrote to New York Mayor Abraham Beame, urging him to fight the development plans, she said:
“Dear Mayor Beame…is it not cruel to let our city die by degrees, stripped of all her proud moments, until there is nothing left of all her history and beauty to inspire our children? If they are not inspired by the past of our city, where will they find the strength to fight for her future? Americans care about their past, but for short term gain they ignore it and tear down everything that matters…”
Read More: How Jackie Onassis Kennedy saved New York's iconic Grand Central station
The elegant station was saved and refurbished,and Jackie continued to advocate for the preservation of other Manhattan landmarks.
For more information on the Grand Central Scavenger Hunt, visit here.
H/T: CityLab, New York Post
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