3 men end 29-hr all-466-station subway ride in NYC subway &nbsp;

Hurricane Irene was the 1st ever mandatory evacuation of coastal areas followed by 7 inches of rain and winds of 65 mph. The storm cost the city an estimated $100 million in damages.

Photo by Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Marjorie Anders.

Bing Lee's whimsical "Empress Voyage 2.22.1794" uses simple, stylized, and witty takes on traditional Chinese icons to illustrate and celebrate the inaugural voyage of the Empress of China, an American trade ship that returned to New York in 1794 carrying luxurious goods like silk and porcelain. An MTA Arts for Transit project.

Platforms and passageway, Canal St station

Empress Voyage 2.22.1784

Brown's seven glass mosaics are given a whimsical quality, as the artist creates aquatic creatures that act like humans as they wait for the train to arrive at their underwater station. A realistic beluga whale slides behind a commuter to read the newspaper headlines, and in another scene, a manatee waits patiently for a train seen approaching in the tunnel. Turtles dive off a subway platform in the title piece of the series. "I wanted to explore the analogy between subway travel and the movement of our fellow creatures through their natural environment," Brown says. "Underwater creatures navigate a complex spatial array of undersea passageways, much as we maneuver through our own manmade systems. I thought it would be provocative to portray them in a part of our world most closely resembling their own, but involved in activities familiar to us."

Platform Diving

Mel Chin worked with Peter Jemison, a member of the Seneca tribe, to design this sculpture and mosaic piece for the Broadway - Lafayette subway station. It commemorates the rich native history in the area, which was once a center for trade. The "campfires" at the base of the mezzanine's support pillars glow brighter when a train approaches. An MTA Arts for Transit project.

South mezzanine, Broadway - Lafayette St/Bleecker St station

Signal

The subdued and elegant geometric mosaic wall border and floor pattern that Laura Bradley first designed for the 96th St. station were eventually put into use across the subway system. This is a MTA Arts for Transit project.

Platform/signage/railings, 96th St station

City Suite

Manuel Vega's childhood memories of life in New York City provide the basis for this colorful, pattern-filled mosaic. The mosaic's four patterns are organized around the "four elements": air, fire, earth, and water. This is a MTA Arts for Transit project.

Sabado en la Ciento Diez

The artist visited the Washington Heights community and saw a diverse neighborhood, filled with children. His response was a glass mosaic of a soaring couple dancing in an idyllic landscape and two faceted glass windows of children at play. The artist says that he wanted something that would be uplifting and that he was inspired by the imagery and symbolism of early Renaissance murals, especially those of Piero della Francesca, known for their serenity and clarity. According to artist Raúl Colón, "The couple represented dancing is ethnically diverse...."


Primavera

The abstract artist Robert Blackburn's last major project, a colorful and vital mosaic, can be found on the platform of the 116th St station. Blackburn and his assistant Mei-Tei-Sing Smith created maquettes of the images, which were then enlarged and fabricated in ceramic and glass. An MTA Arts for Transit project.

In Everything There is a Season

This is one of the capital improvement projects that came out of the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan after the 9/11. The linchpin of all the multiple planning projects were the infrastructure improvements. The Port Authority rebuilt the Path Terminal and the MTA began redoing their two large terminals at South Ferry and Fulton Street. Fulton was the biggest challenge since a spider web of subway lines intersect at that point with dank corridors and staircases connecting them. It was a huge challenge to incorporate new standards for accessibility and make the subterranean spaces feel more welcoming. The solution was a huge skylight covering a 3 story atrium with upscale retail.

Fulton Street Station

Fulton Street Transit Center

Oculus is located in passageways under the World Trade Center and was largely untouched by the events of 9/1l. Oculus will also be visible at the Cortlandt Street Station after construction is completed. Jones and Ginzel's work consists of over 300 unique mosaic renderings that use the oculus - the eye - as the central symbol. In their words, "Oculus was created to personalize and integrate the stations. Eyes are both subtle and strong - they engage passing individuals, allowing for meditation or inviting dialogue." The eyes are from the artists' photographs taken in New York , which were selected for the diversity of the subjects' eyes. An enormous central eye set in the floor, grounds the composition and serves as the centerpiece of a map of the world which radiates outward.

Oculus

Andrew Ginzel and Kristin Jones on "Oculus," their Arts for Transit murals in the Church St. subway station, which stretches from the World Trade Center to Park Pl. to Chambers St. Ginzel and Jones created the project by photographing New Yorkers' eyes and translating the images into glass and stone for the subway walls.

29-Hour Ride Covers All of New York’s 466 Stations

29-Hour Ride of all New York’s 466 Stations

The New York City Transit Authority is a public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City. Part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the busiest and largest transit system in North America, the NYCTA has a daily ridership of 8 million trips.

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NYC MTA stops token redemption at subway stations.

MTA - NYCT

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