For decades the zodiac ceiling of the imposing and much loved concourse of Grand Central was largely invisible. It was covered in thick layers of nicotine tar, the result of countless cigarettes smoked by generations of commuters making their way to the station’s 67 platforms set below the imposing Beaux-Arts style building designed by Warren and Wetmore, and Reed and Stern. Based on medieval astronomical maps, it was painted by the French artist Paul César Helleu and New York’s Charles Basing with a team of assistants. The signs of the zodiac were outlined in gold leaf on a blue-green backdrop evoking autumn and winter night skies of Greece and Southern Italy. The cleaned and restored ceiling was unveiled in 1998.