4 train, Union Square
G train, Broadway
N train, Manhattan Bridge
A train, Broadway Junction
Despite my utter infatuation with the New York City Subway, I've never made it the subject of a post. It took me a while to come to terms with its run down aesthetic. When a friend who had recently moved to town asked me, "What's your favorite station?" I had no answer. It's a very reasonable question in any other city, but strangely inappropriate for New York.
At first glance they all look the same: filthy chipped bathroom tiles, gum-splattered floor, painted I-beams, standardized black and white signage. You really have to spend a lot of time using the system to actually notice any particularities. But eventually I came to appreciate certain details, like the little signs at the 28th Street stop on the 1 train that don't say "28th Street" or even "28 Street," but simply read "28." Or the cantilevered walkways above the platforms at the 181st Street stop on the A. Or the view of the Gowanus Canal from Smith & 9th on the F.
In honor of the subways idiosyncrasies, let me take this opportunity to mourn the death of one of my favorite photoblogs: Express Train. Travis Ruse posted one photo a day documenting his subway commute from Park Slope to Midtown. How he mustered the guts to take close up shots of New Yorkers on the train (and never get his ass kicked) I'll never know. When his job moved downtown he began commuting by bicycle, thus ending Express Train's three year run.
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