Terminal value

There are reports, including this one in The New York Observer,  that Apple Computer is planning to open its largest retail store yet in New York's Grand Central Terminal. Pointing out that no one has confirmed the report, the Observer says of the potential project:

"Apple is most famous for its glass cube on Fifth Avenue (the fifth most-photographed site in New York City) and a similar store on the Upper West Side. But the company also has a track record of historically sensitive design: namely, its first New York store, inside a Soho post office, its warehouse store in the Meatpacking District, and one in historic Georgetown, in Washington, D.C. "

If things work out, Apple would join a list of merchants from "The Art of Shaving" to "Zocalo Bar and Restaurant" , with a "Eddie's Shoe Repair" thrown in somewhere in the middle to keep it real.

The company is rumored to be interested in locating inside the terminal itself which over the nealy 100 years of its existence has been home to everything from Redstone missiles to Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest."

In the vernacular of Apple's industry, the venerable Terminal is a perfect "platform" for the company's showcase of digital media. It is also yet another example of how the company has brought its vision to life time and again, and become the most second most valuable public company on earth, behind Exxon Mobil. Some analysts predict they will be number one before too long.