Meeting under the clock in Grand Central Station

Factual Questions
1

Years ago it used to be said that if you waited under the clock in Grand Central Station long enough you would eventually meet anyone you wanted to meet. This was obviously a mammoth exaggeration; most Americans have never been to New York, let alone been in Grand Central Station. But thinking about that saying has gotten me wondering: within the United States what location is actually passed on foot by more Americans than any other? I suspect it is a spot in New York City or Washington, D.C. , but I really don’t know. And further, what spot in the entire world is passed on foot by the most people? Lenin’s Tomb? The Eiffel Tower? Some site in China?

2

The entrance to the Kabba shrine in Mecca seems a good guess, also the main entrance to Disney World.

Both are probably more then a foot wide though.

3

I would say the Denver airport

4

???

5

In, like, forever? Or, in the last year?

Hasn’t Paris (or the site upon which modern Paris now sits) been continuously populated for 2000+ years? That’s lot of people walking by the same spot. Some ancient Chinese city? Rome?

Also, unique visitors? Or does the same person walking by twice count twice? The same commuter through Grand Central would generally pass that clock twice per day, or ten times per week.

6

Almost certainly an airport.

7

Heh, read the OP as the place which more people have passed within a foot of, rather then that which they’ve passed on foot. Sorry.

8

I think Damascus is the oldest continuously populated city. If they built the main mosque on the site of an older religious shrine, which is the usual practice, then that would be a good contender.

9

I’ve got some vague idea that we’ve done this before. I think the favorite answer was some spot on a Tokyo pedestrian crossing (or something).

10

Atlanta airport is the world’s busiest now and has been for a short while. 89 million passengers in 2007.

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport - Wikipedia

In the South an old joke is when you die on your way to Heaven you need to change planes in Atlanta.

11

But in the case of a Tokyo pedestrian crossing or the like, wouldn’t a lot of that traffic be by the same local persons going about their daily lives? I would think an airport, or the entrance to Walt Disney World, would have a lot more unique visitors.

(P.S. It’s Grand Central Terminal.)