As riders of the New York City City, we’re all familiar with the rats and supposed mole-people, the trash and mold, and have come to ignore–or accept–the many unpleasantries of the NYC subway. What we often forget is that the MTA had originally planned for a ride on the subway to be a luxurious experience, as evidenced by the glorious (and decommissioned) City Hall subway station. By combining art and technology, New Yorkers back in 1904 had high hopes for their new underground.
The original Interborough Rapid Transit Company pulled in artists to create civic works specifically to enhance the subway experience. At the time of the international Arts and Crafts Movement, architects and artists designed ceramic ornament for subway signage. The signs not only announced the name of the stop, but planners also hoped that color, design elements, and eventually illustrations would be recognizable by non-English speakers so that they could orient themselves. Most of the tile designs were done by Heins & LaFarge (1901–1907) and Squire Vickers (1906–1942).
There are constantly additions being made by artists, local schools, and others, but we’re sharing with you some of our favorite original Arts and Crafts/Beaux Arts-style ceramics from around when the subway first opened in 1904. For more on subway art, we’re also hosting our first NYC Subway Art walking tour this weekend, May 13th. Join us for the event:
Catch these impressive terra-cotta reliefs at the Brooklyn Borough Hall station on the R train.
3. Chambers Street
Though obscured somewhat behind layers of grime, the Chambers Street tiles show King’s College, the forerunner to Columbia University which was located nearby. The mosaic was designed by the architect Squire J. Vickers, successor to the team of Heins & LaFarge.
4. Astor Place
The Astor Place station, named for John Jacob Astor, is adorn with ceramic beavers in honor of the wealthy fur-trader. Above ground, there’s a replica of the cast-iron subway entrances that once adorned every stop on the IRT line.
5. South Ferry
We love this example of subway art as signage. Imagine an early-1900s foreigner in New York–an underground trip could be made easy with the simple instruction to “get off when you see a boat, and you will be at South Ferry.”
6. 116th Columbia University
7. Columbus Circle
Aside from these great ornamental textual signs, there are also miniature tile images of Christopher Columbus’ ship, easily missed in this busy station. This photograph shows the station while under renovation, when original prototype tiles hidden away for more than a century were discovered. See more of them here.
8. 79th Street
For SubwayNut‘s complete documentation of the often overlooked 79th Street Station, click here.
Of course, we didn’t forget the decommissioned City Hall station in Downtown Manhattan. For more photos of the incredible tile work by Guastavino at this hidden gem, see our Touring the Old City Hall Station.
Artist Adam Chang took it upon himself to digitally illustrate every ceramic design at all 118 subway stops in Manhattan. He also includes a fun fact about each sign/station. His virtual tour project is called NY Train Project, which he plans to extend to the outer boroughs in the near future. For more on Adam Chang’s work, see Beautiful Graphics of NY Train Project Celebrates NYC Subway Tile Mosaics. We’re also hosting our first NYC Subway Art walking tour this weekend.
