Over the past six weeks, I've been teaching the Bill of Rights to 16-18 year old incarcerated juveniles in the Rikers Island Prison as part of the Rikers Island Project, an advocacy and legal workshop run by Fordham Law School. .
On Saturday, I checked out the substation at 53rd Street and 8th Avenue, across from Roseland Ballroom for Open House New York. As a member of the Transit Museum, I get first dibs on cool tours like this and the inaccessible Old City Hall Subway Station. This substation was part of the original IRT subway line and was built in 1904. It's still in use and is currently undergoing a renovation.
Untapped correspondent and photographer, Augustin Pasquet, took a ride on some vintage Parisian subways last week. Once a year Les Journées du Patrimoine runs a series of events featuring the retro subway cars.
Before the world knew about the abandoned City Hall subway station, I photographed it on a tour with the Transit Museum. This is a station unlike any other in New York, filled with stained glass, Roman brick, tiled vaults, arches and brass chandeliers.
One of the few original details remaining in the 66th Street Lincoln Center subway stop are the plaster rosettes and molding on the ceiling. The station was constructed in 1904 and renovated in 2004, when vintage looking tiles were added to the walls. Despite the recent renovation, water damage has caused much of the plaster detailing to deteriorate.
The W train will die on the night of June 25th, just short of its 9th birthday. To memorialize its passing, join some local organizations on the last car of the W train at Times Square Station at 7:30pm for the W train funeral, ending at Astoria Blvd Station for food and drinks at Astoria's Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden.