In 2014, we mourned the death of Massimo Vignelli, the Italian graphic designer who created the famous 1972 subway map — so loved that it sits in the Museum of Modern Art’s postwar design collection. Since the Modernist map was replaced in 1979, design aficionados have called for its return, and it looks like the request has temporarily been answered.
A vintage Vignelli map, noted for its clean, abstract aesthetic, has been uncovered at the 57th Street/6th Avenue F train subway station (see photos here). The relic has not been taken down since Forgotten NY originally spotted it there in 1999. Coming across the find, he wrote: “A mid-1970s Transit Authority map is still in place, albeit behind a modern map and shielded behind plexiglass!”
It’s thanks to this protective plexiglass that no one has stolen the map, Gothamist reports. Instead, the glass has been covered in other posters and papers over the years, which have now faded away to reveal Vignelli’s masterpiece. Before it’s lost to time again, we suggest transit and design buffs make a quick pit stop to the station.
Next, read more about Massimo Vignelli’s Famous 1972 Subway Map and see a chronological history of NYC subway maps from 1924 to today.
