Subway-Color-Archive                                                                            
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The S-C-A aims to chronicle the layered chromatic and sensory-based elements of MTA platforms. 8th Avenue IND stations between 207th St. and Jay St. Metrotech have nearly a century of color history to be dissected and revisited. 

Studies from 2023-24 highlight the columns that support this massive system and their expansive colorscapes. This NYC-based color archive pursues tactile forms of color+chroma reconstruction, supplemented by interviews, events, and surveys, leading to the creation of archive-inspired print memorabilia and color reconstruction references. All outputs, physical and digital, aim to uncover and promote chromatic histories in a publicly accessible format:

(Preorder) 2023-4 mailer

S-C-A 3D Scan, September 2023


 The Subway-Color-Archive is supported by the Architecture + Design Independent Projects program, a grant partnership of the New York State Council on the Arts and The Architectural League of New York. Independent Project grants are made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State legislature.

This project and site are not affiliated with or monitored by the MTA.
Stations:

207 St
Dyckman St
190 St
181 St
175 St
168 St
163 St-Amsterdam Av.
155 St
135 St
116 St
110 St
103 St
96 St
86 St
81 St - AMNH
72 St
50 St
42 St-Port Authority
23 St
Spring St
Chambers St
High St
Jay St. Metrotech



2023-24 route map
 The city owned and operated the Independent Subway (IND) between 1932 and 1940. The IND contributed six significant lines to the New York Subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and Q. Architect Squire J. Vickers designed an art deco-inspired wall tiles system in which the color of stations shift at express stations to aid underground navigation. Columns at these stations do not follow this pattern, but occasionally, they match.


Contact subway.color.archive@gmail.com for questions, comments, and image rights.

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