Friday, June 25, 2004
A history of subway art
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
Anyone who uses the 14th Street subway station – third largest in the city
according to my ancient statistics – is at some point struck by the nice little country
scene portrayed in glazed porcelain mosaic on the walls of the BMT line. Here is
the story, long version.
Around 1900 the chief engineer of the Rapid Transit Commission, William
Barclay Parsons, gave the architect firm of George C. Heins and Christopher
Grant LaFarge a contract to design the subway stations. Two faience
porcelain firms – Grueby Faience of Boston and Rookwood of Cincinnati –
were chosen to prettify the tunnel oases with faience (glazed ceramic)
mosaics. This resulted in the long inlaid strips of vibrant earth-color
mosaics with contrasting moldings running alongside the top edges of subway
station walls, bits of Classic Greek design that have survived nearly a hundred
years, interlaid with panels spelling out the stations' names. Touches of unobtrusive beauty that we have taken for granted and only miss when they are replaced with bathroom tile and cartoon characters, as seen on some modern renovations.
There were also more ornate decorations – the majestic Grueby eagles embracing the simple “33” on the 33rd Street BMT (related to the original 71st Armory above the station, built in 1889 and burned down in 1906), and the beavers at Astor Place, symbolizing J.J. Astor’s original source of wealth, the beaver pelts of Hudson's Bay. The landmarked Astor Place station was extensively renovated in 1986, adding some new panels by Milton Glaser that complement the original design elements. The new cast iron entrance at Astor Place is a replica of the original Hecla Iron Works artifact.
Atlantic Terra Cotta, a provider of less expensive art, was an added starter, responsible for
the terra-cotta cartouches at Canal Street and other stations. At this point historic plaques were came into use at 14th Street and elsewhere, inspired by a new engineer, Squire J. Vickers, who joined Rapid Transit in 1906 and spent the next 32 years with the system (later State Public Service and then NY Board of Transportation).
The Union Square BMT scenics are faithful copies of the Lossing-Barritt
drawing in the Common Council Manual of 1865 .. They portray the union, or confluence, of Broadway
and Bowery Road, as it was in 1828. There are tall trees and three chimneys over the
roofs of the houses at the NW edge of an area that later expanded to be the Union
Park. The mark of Jay Van Eberen is included to the right of the date. Jay
was a Cornell schoolmate of Vickers, and did the bridge composition for the
walls of the 125th Street Station. Another cityscape, portraying the Metropolitan
Life Tower, for 23rd Street Station, was not used. You can see them at the
Whitney. Interestingly, in the recently completed renovation of the Union Square station six Grueby eagles clutching the 14th Street emblem were uncovered, and are exhibited in the station's IRT to BMT passageway; alas, three have lost their heads and only the pedestals are remaining.
The above-mentioned Manuals of the Corporation of City of New York, best known as Valentine’s Manuals, published starting in 1841 by the eponymous David T., clerk of the Common Council, and continued by various hands nearly annually into the 1920s, are wonderful sources of city lore and a collector’s delight, with their engravings and lithographs of old scenes.Benson J. Lossing (1813-91), a prolific writer and artist who produced many multi-volume histories, including one of NYC, was a contributor.
It should be noted that October 27, 1904, 100 years ago, is the date of the opening of the subway system. With streets clogged by traffic, an elevated railway system was put into effect in 1868, and a Rapid Transit Board started planning a subway system in 1894, following a referendum that approved the use of taxpayers’ funds to finance it. They took ten years to implement the first IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit) line, and the entire system was active by 1908. The BRT (Brooklyn Rapid Transit), later BMT (Brooklyn- Manhattan Transit) started functioning in 1913, with both systems operating 123 miles of track and collecting a 5-cent fare. The systems were operated by private companies.
In 1925 Mayor John F. Hylan (who worked as a transit motorman while attending law school), disgusted with the company problems and bankruptcies, obtained approval for an IND (Independent Subway System) that added 51 miles of tracks between 1932 and 1940. When the IRT became bankrupt, it was bought by the city. A state- controlled New York City Transit Authority ran the subway and bus systems starting in 1953, when the fare grew to 15 cents (from 10 cents in 1948). In 1968 it became the MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority). By 1977 ridership had deteriorated to inder 1,000 million, with panhandlers, fare-beaters, graffiti-ridden cars and serious deterioration in equipment intimidating the riders. Serious repairs and upgrades of equipment were installed. The lines grew to 255 miles, and the fare grew from 75 cents to $1.25 between 1981 and 1992. reaching $2 after the turn of the century. Happy Centennial, MTA, we are linked by your umbilical cords, er, lines, from birth to death!
The ceramics info is mostly from subway preservationist Lee Stookey’s fine book, Subway Ceramics, 2nd edition in 1994, $16, copies available at the City Store in the Municipal Building, or directly from the author, now retired to Vermont (stookey@sover.net). Subway history is mainly thanks to Kenneth Jackson’s Encyclopedia of NYC.
Anyone who uses the 14th Street subway station – third largest in the city
according to my ancient statistics – is at some point struck by the nice little country
scene portrayed in glazed porcelain mosaic on the walls of the BMT line. Here is
the story, long version.
Around 1900 the chief engineer of the Rapid Transit Commission, William
Barclay Parsons, gave the architect firm of George C. Heins and Christopher
Grant LaFarge a contract to design the subway stations. Two faience
porcelain firms – Grueby Faience of Boston and Rookwood of Cincinnati –
were chosen to prettify the tunnel oases with faience (glazed ceramic)
mosaics. This resulted in the long inlaid strips of vibrant earth-color
mosaics with contrasting moldings running alongside the top edges of subway
station walls, bits of Classic Greek design that have survived nearly a hundred
years, interlaid with panels spelling out the stations' names. Touches of unobtrusive beauty that we have taken for granted and only miss when they are replaced with bathroom tile and cartoon characters, as seen on some modern renovations.
There were also more ornate decorations – the majestic Grueby eagles embracing the simple “33” on the 33rd Street BMT (related to the original 71st Armory above the station, built in 1889 and burned down in 1906), and the beavers at Astor Place, symbolizing J.J. Astor’s original source of wealth, the beaver pelts of Hudson's Bay. The landmarked Astor Place station was extensively renovated in 1986, adding some new panels by Milton Glaser that complement the original design elements. The new cast iron entrance at Astor Place is a replica of the original Hecla Iron Works artifact.
Atlantic Terra Cotta, a provider of less expensive art, was an added starter, responsible for
the terra-cotta cartouches at Canal Street and other stations. At this point historic plaques were came into use at 14th Street and elsewhere, inspired by a new engineer, Squire J. Vickers, who joined Rapid Transit in 1906 and spent the next 32 years with the system (later State Public Service and then NY Board of Transportation).
The Union Square BMT scenics are faithful copies of the Lossing-Barritt
drawing in the Common Council Manual of 1865 .. They portray the union, or confluence, of Broadway
and Bowery Road, as it was in 1828. There are tall trees and three chimneys over the
roofs of the houses at the NW edge of an area that later expanded to be the Union
Park. The mark of Jay Van Eberen is included to the right of the date. Jay
was a Cornell schoolmate of Vickers, and did the bridge composition for the
walls of the 125th Street Station. Another cityscape, portraying the Metropolitan
Life Tower, for 23rd Street Station, was not used. You can see them at the
Whitney. Interestingly, in the recently completed renovation of the Union Square station six Grueby eagles clutching the 14th Street emblem were uncovered, and are exhibited in the station's IRT to BMT passageway; alas, three have lost their heads and only the pedestals are remaining.
The above-mentioned Manuals of the Corporation of City of New York, best known as Valentine’s Manuals, published starting in 1841 by the eponymous David T., clerk of the Common Council, and continued by various hands nearly annually into the 1920s, are wonderful sources of city lore and a collector’s delight, with their engravings and lithographs of old scenes.Benson J. Lossing (1813-91), a prolific writer and artist who produced many multi-volume histories, including one of NYC, was a contributor.
It should be noted that October 27, 1904, 100 years ago, is the date of the opening of the subway system. With streets clogged by traffic, an elevated railway system was put into effect in 1868, and a Rapid Transit Board started planning a subway system in 1894, following a referendum that approved the use of taxpayers’ funds to finance it. They took ten years to implement the first IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit) line, and the entire system was active by 1908. The BRT (Brooklyn Rapid Transit), later BMT (Brooklyn- Manhattan Transit) started functioning in 1913, with both systems operating 123 miles of track and collecting a 5-cent fare. The systems were operated by private companies.
In 1925 Mayor John F. Hylan (who worked as a transit motorman while attending law school), disgusted with the company problems and bankruptcies, obtained approval for an IND (Independent Subway System) that added 51 miles of tracks between 1932 and 1940. When the IRT became bankrupt, it was bought by the city. A state- controlled New York City Transit Authority ran the subway and bus systems starting in 1953, when the fare grew to 15 cents (from 10 cents in 1948). In 1968 it became the MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority). By 1977 ridership had deteriorated to inder 1,000 million, with panhandlers, fare-beaters, graffiti-ridden cars and serious deterioration in equipment intimidating the riders. Serious repairs and upgrades of equipment were installed. The lines grew to 255 miles, and the fare grew from 75 cents to $1.25 between 1981 and 1992. reaching $2 after the turn of the century. Happy Centennial, MTA, we are linked by your umbilical cords, er, lines, from birth to death!
The ceramics info is mostly from subway preservationist Lee Stookey’s fine book, Subway Ceramics, 2nd edition in 1994, $16, copies available at the City Store in the Municipal Building, or directly from the author, now retired to Vermont (stookey@sover.net). Subway history is mainly thanks to Kenneth Jackson’s Encyclopedia of NYC.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 5:45 AM 
