Subterranean Art
There has been quite a splash of media lately about Manhattan's new South Ferry Station
subway stop near Battery Park. The artist/brother team of Doug and Mike Starn have created a site-specific installation for the $530 million dollar station. The art ran to about $1 million of that total, and according to the brothers, a net loss for them given the time they've put into the project. I know that seems like a lot of money to "fancy-up" a subway stop, but for the amount of time people spend standing on platforms waiting for trains, or just zipping through the station itself - I say good for you New York MTA.
Spending money to make the underground experience as pleasant as possible for the
commuter has a long history in New York. When the IRT opened the city's first subway in 1904, the inaugural run commenced at the City Hall Station beneath City Hall Park. When you look at the picture panel above, you can see that the owners of the IRT line spared no expense when it came to making sure that the stop would claim the title as "the most beautiful subway station in the world." The arches and vaults in the ceiling were covered in Gustavino tile, with contrasting colors to highlight the vault's ribs. Leaded art glass ceiling panels let in natural light from shafts cut through to the surface. Brass chandeliers augmented the suns rays, and elaborate wooden ticket booths sat at the entry gate. By the 1940s, subway ridership had reached such huge proportions that the city had to increase the number of cars per train. Most of the existing stations had to be lengthened to allow for the longer trains, but the City Hall stop had a curved platform which was a part of the loop that allowed trains to turn around and head back in the other direction. There was no way to reconfigure the stop so it was closed in 1945. The station was opened to the public for one brief, shining moment in 2004 to celebrate the centennial of the city's subway system. It remains closed, though the #6 IRT still takes the curve as it travels past the platform, as it has for 104 years.
designslinger]
I don't think any city, anywhere, will ever create the architectural splendors of the Moscow
subway. Construction started in the early 1930s during the reign of the despotic tyrant Josef Stalin. The idea for a subway in Moscow began during the reign of the last Tsars, but Stalin was the autocrat who got the ball rolling. Sparing no expense, and with an unlimited labor pool, "Uncle Joe" and his transportation chieftains designed the most elaborate subway stations in the world. The first platform opened in 1935 and construction went on right through the 1950s.
It would be unfair to compare New York's newest subway station to the over-the-top
"Peoples' Palaces" created for Muscovites. But, the artistic inspiration that motivated the IRT to create a station sensation under City Hall Park, has been reignited by the MTA under Battery Park.
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