6. Smith-Ninth Streets at the Gowanus Canal

The Smith-Ninth Streets Station stands proud at 91 feet tall, the highest elevation in the MTA system. In 1933, it was constructed at this height due to laws around clearance for high-masted ships traveling across the Gowanus Canal. These ships would have carried the resources such as oil, grain, coal, and lumber important for the industrial development of the 1930s. Now, the people who brave the waters of the Gowanus include artists trying to make a statement about its dire state and modern-day explorers in Brooklyn boating clubs. Still, the recently renovated station is a sight to behold, and if you go inside, you can check out old nautical maps etched on the station’s windows.