Where is this blue tile in the New York subway?

Where is this blue tile in the New York subway? - Interior of modern restroom with ceramic white sink and mirror hanging on white and blue tiled wall

Mostly blue tiles in a subway station interior

About three years ago I took this picture inside a subway station somewhere in New York, either in Manhattan or Brooklyn. Now that I'm back in New York for a short while, I'd like to track down this place once more. Which station could I find this blue-tiled wall in?



Best Answer

My first inclination was to guess that it came from one of the station signs, as at 23rd St, but the tiles in your photograph seem to be smaller and more irregular, as well as brighter, and so may have come from a larger mosaic.

As such, I don't have a definite answer for you, but will point you to the most comprehensive collection of NYC Subway art I could find, from unofficial/fan site NYCSubway.org. They currently have 295 works in their Subway Art Guide.

Tile mosaics featuring large swathes of dark blue include Blooming by Elizabeth Murray at Lexington Ave / 59th Street (4/5/6/N/R/W services), and Happy City by Peter Sis at 86th Street Lexington (4/5/6 services), but again the pattern does not quite match. There are a few others with expanses of blue tile, like at Court Street or at Eastern Parkway, but you say you didn't spend any time in those parts of the city.

So the best I can offer is to look through station-by-station to see if anything jogs your memory. It's also possible that the photo you took is not technically of part of the station, but part of a pedestrian accessway from a building or other structure.




Pictures about "Where is this blue tile in the New York subway?"

Where is this blue tile in the New York subway? - Swimming pool with clear water placed in spacious room at wall with blue illumination and staircase in contemporary luxury house
Where is this blue tile in the New York subway? - Lobby of modern office with armchair
Where is this blue tile in the New York subway? - Interior of hall of contemporary workspace



What do the colors on the NYC Subway mean?

It is located beneath the magnificent Municipal Building at the intersection of Centre Street and Chambers Street. Because the downtown-bound 6 train must make a U-turn to head back uptown, the train makes a loop through this secret station. Here's how to see it: Take the 6 train heading downtown.

Which NYC building has a secret subway station?

Heins and Christopher Grant La Farge created the distinctive 3\u2033 x 6\u2033 rectangles for the very first station of New York's then brand-new subway in 1904. The Victorians, you see, were obsessed with hygiene, and one advantage of tiles was that they didn't stain and were easy to clean.

How old are the tiles in NYC subway?

Did you know there are over 400 mosaics installed on subway platforms in the 5 boroughs of New York City? I sure didn't until I took a subway mosaics tour with mosaic artist Cathleen Newsham and saw some of New York City's finest.



Secrets of the New York City subway system




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Images: Max Vakhtbovych, Max Vakhtbovych, Max Vakhtbovych, Max Vakhtbovych