2004-10-27
MASS TRANSIT
New York City's Subway is 100 years old! | Today is the anniversary of the opening of the NYC Subway system | So here's a brief tribute to this erstwhile transport marvel |
New York's subway system was among the first, but it led to many others built around the world, with varying degrees of success | They may all get used, but some may question whether or not they help minimize urban sprawl | In New York, there's probably no doubt that subways help contain unchecked development |
When I lived in New York City I never got lost on the subway | But then, I'm an inveterate map reader and have a good sense of direction, and I can't say this of 
others | I even moved the contents of an entire apartment from Brooklyn to Staten Island using the subway and ferry system | I had my share of other adventures, too, on the subways | Or, more accurately, on the platforms and attendant underground spaces, but those tales I'll reserve for some other occasion |
But the subway system isn't just the platforms and vehicles themselves | And there are folks who do share their adventures and explorations into the nether spaces without hesitation | Forgotten New York has written about the subway system extensively | Photographer David Gallager has photos online of tunnels and trails accessible to the public | Julia Solis has written a book, New York Underground, about less visible parts of the system |
Perhaps the most endearing of all the subway sites I came across, and one that has a totally fresh perspective is Sporkworld's Subway Poem, which rambles and meanders every bit as much as the Nw York sumbay system itself | Go see for yourself |
New York City's Subway is 100 years old! | Today is the anniversary of the opening of the NYC Subway system | So here's a brief tribute to this erstwhile transport marvel |
New York's subway system was among the first, but it led to many others built around the world, with varying degrees of success | They may all get used, but some may question whether or not they help minimize urban sprawl | In New York, there's probably no doubt that subways help contain unchecked development |
When I lived in New York City I never got lost on the subway | But then, I'm an inveterate map reader and have a good sense of direction, and I can't say this of others | I even moved the contents of an entire apartment from Brooklyn to Staten Island using the subway and ferry system | I had my share of other adventures, too, on the subways | Or, more accurately, on the platforms and attendant underground spaces, but those tales I'll reserve for some other occasion |
But the subway system isn't just the platforms and vehicles themselves | And there are folks who do share their adventures and explorations into the nether spaces without hesitation | Forgotten New York has written about the subway system extensively | Photographer David Gallager has photos online of tunnels and trails accessible to the public | Julia Solis has written a book, New York Underground, about less visible parts of the system |
Perhaps the most endearing of all the subway sites I came across, and one that has a totally fresh perspective is Sporkworld's Subway Poem, which rambles and meanders every bit as much as the Nw York sumbay system itself | Go see for yourself |
PIX CREDITS Old Subway: Forgotten New York | A Train: oursbrun's travel archives | Tunnel Pix: New York Underground | The map is from a Japanese site's list of maps || FINALLY... for info on adeventures into the urban underbelly [not just subway systems], check out Ars Subterranea or Dark Passage |
¶ 11:56
