nyc subway | times square (1/2/3)
by sam on 05/31/2015Times Square is a major transfer station. Rather than trying to capture everything at once, I thought I would capture the particular areas on several trips through, which would inevitably happen as I was traveling along various lines anyway. So this set of pics is largely the area around the 1/2/3 platform, although there are a few shots that veer toward the shuttle and the n/r lines, given their proximity. Above ground, Times Square is sometimes referred to as the “Crossroads of the World”, and the subway station beneath is no different. In addition to the lines that are part of this station “proper”, the MTA has built connecting tunnels to additional trains that are actually under the Port Authority, so that you can transfer for free (buy hiking through some very long tunnels) between what were actually different, competing subway systems before the integration of the IRT (Interboro Rapid Transit), BMT (Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit) and IND (the city-owned Independent) by the MTA. For a good explanation of the history of the IRT, BMT and IND, see nycsubway.org. (That site also catalogs a significant amount of subway art, including the artists where known, but I will not be deterred from my own project!).
The artwork here brings in several themes that are fairly obvious – there is the theater district, new years eve revelers, and the general tourist-centrism of the area. I particularly like the little light boxes which each have a different aspect of times square (theater, burlesque, restaurants, etc.) in tiny caricature. Probably the most well-known artist to contribute here is Roy Lichtenstein, who created the pop art work near the shuttle platform. One of the many things that 99% of the people streaming through the station don’t stop to notice on their way through the station on a daily basis (including me!).
Station opened: June 3, 1917
Original system: IRT
Trains: 1/2/3
Source: Wikipedia
