Grand Central and the surrounding neighborhood became dilapidated during the 1970s , and the interior of Grand Central was dominated by huge billboard advertisements , which included the Kodak Colorama photos and the Westclox " Big Ben " clock . In 1975 , Donald Trump bought the Commodore Hotel to the east of the terminal for $ 10 million and then worked out a deal with Jay Pritzker to transform it into one of the first Grand Hyatt hotels . Grand Central Terminal was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and declared a National Historic Landmark in the following year . This period was marked by a bombing on September 11 , 1976 , when a group of Croatian nationalists planted a bomb in a coin locker at Grand Central Terminal and hijacked a plane ; the bomb was not disarmed properly , and the explosion injured three NYPD officers and killed one bomb squad specialist
hijacked a plane
TWA Flight 355
Grand Central Terminal