New York ( CNN ) -- Celebrities , city officials and everyday commuters gathered at Grand Central Terminal Friday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the New York landmark . Mayor Mike Bloomberg told the crowd , `` It 's a symbol of all that is great about our city . It 's rooted in an incredible history while also being thoroughly modern . It represents beauty and art , but also commerce and industry . `` It 's an innovative and visionary place , and it has the same power to inspire awe and wisdom whether you walk these corridors every day or you 're visiting here for the first time . '' In his speech he referenced Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis , the former first lady , who led a campaign in the 1970s to preserve the building that was in danger of being razed for hotel development . Listen : Grand Central turns 100 . Onassis 's daughter , Caroline Kennedy , was present at the centennial celebration and spoke of her mother 's efforts to save the architectural masterpiece . `` As a native New Yorker , she cared deeply about this city . She was so upset when Penn Station was torn down , the Metropolitan Opera house , and when it came to Grand Central it was just too much . She cared about its neighborhoods , its families , its artists , its dreamers . '' iReport : Photos from the centennial celebration . The terminal which has been the background of dozens of Hollywood movies and television shows throughout the years , brought out several celebrities , including former Mets star Keith Hernandez and Grammy award singer Melissa Manchester to speak and perform . Actress Cynthia Nixon of `` Sex and the City '' fame , said `` Grand Central is everything that New York is . It 's big , its loud , its functional , its dysfunctional , it 's crowded , it 's noisy but it is something that New York is too that we sometimes forget : It is so beautiful . '' As the formal program for the celebrations wrapped up , a cake in the form of the terminal 's clock was rolled out and the entire grand hall of people sang `` Happy Birthday . ''
Historic building feted as a New York original . Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis praised for saving the architectural masterpiece . Score: 7