20 Original Examples of NYC Subway Art

Since the 1980s, the MTA has installed hundreds of site-specific works of art throughout the subway system. These pieces of art have been designed by world-famous artists in order to create a beautiful underground art museum for the millions of daily subway riders.

The Arts for Transit program was a continuation of the philosophy established by the founders of the subway system that “every design element in the system should show respect for our customers and enhance the experience of travel.”

The original subway art was composed of terra cotta and mosaic and often depicted scenes that once graced the surrounding neighborhood. According to one account, they served as a map for tourists and the illiterate. Here are some of the best examples that can still be found in some of the subway’s oldest stations.

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1. Wall Street (IRT) Station

The Wall Street IRT subway station contains mosaics that depict an image from the founding days of New York City. The foreground depicts the eponymous wall that was constructed by the Dutch to keep the British out. In the center is what appears to be a stereotypical Dutch stapled colonial house. The wall began as a picket fence in 1653 before the Dutch slowly expanded it to a 12-foot-high barrier over the years. Unbeknownst to most, the wall was almost destroyed by pigs!!!

2. Fulton Street (IRT) Station

The Fulton Street IRT subway station‘s mosaics honor the station’s namesake, Robert Fulton. Fulton, with backing from Robert R Livingston, developed the first commercially successful steamboat. Pictured above is the North River Steamboat (today known as the Clermont) which left New York City on August 17, 1807, on its maiden voyage to Albany. The original ship was retired in 1814 and its whereabouts remain a mystery. Make sure to check out the rest of Untapped New York’s finds inside the Fulton Street Subway Station, including historic pieces moved from elsewhere.

3. Chambers Street (BMT) Station

The Chambers Street BMT subway station has a few terra cotta depictions of the Brooklyn Bridge. It is surprising that the bridge is not shown from its more iconic front view. The Brooklyn Bridge, which was designed by John Augustus Roebling and opened in 1883, remains a favorite of New Yorkers and tourists alike. However, most are unfamiliar with these secrets of the Brooklyn Bridge.

4. Chambers Street (IRT) Station

The Chambers Street IRT Subway Station possesses terra cotta images of Kings College. The tiles depict two robed figures walking along a path towards a three-story, red-brick, Federal-style building. The structure has rows of windows and is topped by a weathervane and a cupola that touches a blue sky. The building is College Hall, which was located between Murray and Church Streets near Park Row and constructed in 1760. During the Revolutionary War, King’s College closed, and the hall was transformed into a hospital. After the war, King’s College was renamed (or became depending on who you ask) Columbia College, which continued using College Hall until the school moved in 1857 to a campus in Midtown. That same year, the building was demolished.

5. Astor Place IRT Station

The terra cotta panels at the Astor Place IRT Subway Station are a small reminder of the wildlife that was once populated New York and much of the United States until the 19th century. The beaver is especially fitting in this station since John Jacob Astor, the station’s namesake, became the first American multi-millionaire from the beaver -pelt trade. While you are there, make sure to check out the station’s vintage subway entrance.

6. South Ferry (IRT) Station

The South Ferry IRT Subway Station contains tiles depicting a sloop (or some similar type of boat) on a serene body of water with clouds in the horizon. It is a reminder that this is the only station with a direct rails to ship transfer (Staten Island Ferry Terminal/Battery Maritime Building). Since the City constructed a new subway station, which is currently being rehabilitated, it is unknown how much longer you will have to view these tiles since they are located in the original IRT subway station. There are also 200-year old artifacts from a stone wall found in the station on view.

7. Borough Hall (IRT) Station

The Borough Hall IRT Subway Station has one of the most interesting and anachronistic tiles in the subways system. The tiles depict Brooklyn Borough Hall, except if you look closely, you will notice that the image is not actually the same as the building situated above the station. The spire shown in the terra cotta was destroyed in 1895 by a fire that began in a garbage can in a third-floor closet. Additionally, the statue shown surmounting the spire, while in the original plans, was not installed until 1989. If you are in the area, make sure to check out the Borough Hall Skyscraper Historic District.

8. Grand Central (IRT) Station

The terra cotta mosaics in the Grand Central IRT Subway Station connect the subway station with the adjoining Grand Central Terminal and its predecessor Grand Central Depot. The steam locomotives were never used on the subway and were only in operation for roughly three years in Grand Central Terminal before they became a relic of the past, making it one of the only stations to possess a contemporary (though now bygone) image.

9. 125th Street (IRT) Station

The bridge depicted in mosaic in the 125th Street Station is one of the most obscure bridges in New York City history. In 1790, a charter was given to Lewis Morris to build a bridge that would cut the travel time to Morrisania (the name of Morris’ estate in the Bronx) from Manhattan. Morris was permitted to collect tolls for 60 years, after which ownership of the bridge would revert to the state. The bridge, a wooden bridge with a turntable draw span, was ultimately opened in 1797 and named after John B. Coles, Morris’ business partner. The Third Avenue Bridge, which has been rebuilt multiple times, was last reconstructed in 2004.

10. Columbus Circle (IRT) Station

The 59th Street Subway Station aptly has terra cotta tiles that relate to the eponym of the roundabout under which the subway station is located, Christopher Columbus. The tiles depict ships, which are usually described as being Columbus’ caravel (a highly maneuverable 15th century sailing ship), the Santa Maria. However, some of the more nautically inclined individuals who study such minutia argue that it is either a different ship, or attention was not paid to detail. When the station was restored a few years ago, some early prototype tiles were discovered, which the MTA pledged to exhibit (though they still appear to be hidden). Check out our previous coverage of the hidden secrets of the Columbus Circle Subway Station.

11. 137th Street (IRT) Station