Subway Style: 100 Years of Architecture & Design in the New York City Subway - Hardcover

New York Transit Museum; Anthony W Robins; Garn, Andrew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 158479349X ISBN 13: 9781584793496

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, 2004

Synopsis

More than 250 extraordinary photographs--including both newly commissioned color photographs and period images from the New York Transit Museum archives--chronicle one hundred years of architectural and design history from the New York City subway system, including everything from the interiors of the trains and architectural details of the stations to the development of the token and mosaic signage. 25,000 first printing.

About this title

Review

Unlikely as it may seem, the 100th anniversary of the New York City subway system was the impetus for a handsome book, Subway Style: 100 Years of Architecture & Design in the New York City Subway. Produced by the New York Transit Museum, this abundantly illustrated design history traces the origins and development of subway cars and stations, including ceramic and metalwork detailing, ticket booths, signage, route maps and advertising. Treated in a merely dutiful way, this material would probably be of interest only to subway buffs. But Subway Style boasts high-quality photographs, an inviting design, and a succinct and wryly amusing text that relates subway developments to other cultural happenings and isn't too proud to explain specialized terms. It's the kind of book that makes the evolution of turnstiles sound fascinating. With a contractual mandate to instill "beauty" into "a great public work," the IRT--the first of three subway lines--originally featured elaborate Beaux Arts ceramic detailing displaying historical scenes or symbolizing local landmarks. Gracious bronze grilles served as ticket windows, and station names were painstakingly spelled out in glass mosaic tiles. Succeeding generations morphed these features into increasingly streamlined versions utilizing the latest technology and design trends. Wood station seats gave way to cast terrazzo perches cantilevered from the wall, then to molded fiberglass, polyurethane and finally back to wood. Usable maps were a long time in coming. In 1958, 18 years after the three lines were united, the Transit Authority finally published a single guide showing the entire system. Massimo Vignelli--whose bold, color-keyed station signage was a major innovation--later produced an abstract, all but useless map that was, as the book says, "emblematic of New York’s 1970s retreat from urban life." The chapter on subway ads is (naturally) the most fun, ranging from Amelia Opdyke "Oppy" Jones' expressive cartoon characters--caught in the act of dropping gum wrappers or propping their feet on the seats--to head shots of women hoping to be voted "Miss Subways." —Cathy Curtis

About the Author

The NEW YORK TRANSIT MUSEUM is one of only a handful of museums in the world dedicated to urban public transportation. The Museum's collections of objects, documents, photographs, films, and historic rolling stock illustrate the story of mass transit's critical role in the region's economic and residential development since the beginning of the 20th century. The Transit Museum's main facility is located in a decommissioned 1936 subway station in Brooklyn Heights, an ideal setting for the Museum's 20 vintage subway and elevated cars, and wide-ranging educational programs for children and adults. A gallery annex in Grand Central Terminal presents changing exhibits relevant to the millions of commuters who use mass transit every day.

Photographer Andrew Garn has exhibited his work in galleries around New York City and across the country. His photographs are also held in numerous museum and private collections.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 158479349X
• ISBN 13: 9781584793496
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 252