How to Make a Subway Map with John Tauranac

Event Highlights:

• Learn about the process of creating the official MTA subway map of 1979, the basis of the map we use today
• Get behind-the-scenes insight into the creation of Tauranac's latest map which shows weekday, weekend, and late-night subway service
• Discover how Tauranac transforms complex information into easy-to-read visuals
• Moderated by Untapped New York's Chief Experience Officer and resident subway expert, Justin Rivers

About this Event:

How can you build a better subway map? John Tauranac is going to show us! Tauranac chaired the MTA’s subway map committee for the bulk of its existence in the 1970s, and he was the creative director, or “guiding light,” of the official New York City Subway Map published in 1979.

After leaving the MTA, Tauranac kept making maps. His latest subway map was released in 2020. Join us for a deep dive into the map's creation and learn how to read the new symbols and visual cues Tauranac has created.

About John Tauranac:

John Tauranac writes on New York City’s social- and architectural history, he teaches the subject, he lectures on the city, gives tours, and he designs maps. Tauranac books include Manhattan's Little Secrets: Uncovering Mysteries in Brick and Mortar, Glass and Stone, The Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark, Essential New York: A Guide to the History and Architecture of Manhattan’s Important Buildings, Parks, and Bridges (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1979) and many more. Tauranac has been teaching New York’s architectural history for over 30 years at NYU's School of Professional Studies, where he is an adjunct associate professor. John lives on Manhattan's Upper West Side with his wife, Jane Bevans, an artist and lawyer. They are both native New Yorkers.