A Forest of Columns, Below Ground

Photo by myself at the 59th Street subway station.

Daylight and fluorescent light intersect at the station at 59th Street, on the Upper West Side.

These tracks are very tidy, a highly uncommon sight. Usually in between the tracks are enormous brown puddles and litter. And rats, of course. Don't forget them.

Some subway stations, like this one, are located directly under the street. The light comes in from grates in the sidewalk, like skylights. Rain falls directly onto the tracks.

Other subway stations, serving more than one subway line, have layers of tunnels. You have to navigate among stairways or escalators and pedestrian tunnels. For those with baby carriages, wheelchairs or crutches, you can use the scary elevators. Good luck. Nice knowing you! ;-)

Mark tells me that one of the deepest subway station occurs at Lexington and 63rd Street. F trains are coming in from below the East River from Queens, while the street level in Midtown is high.

I made the mistake of getting out at 63rd and Lex once, late for a meeting at 63rd and Madison. I had to run up two monster escalators to another escalator to reach the real world. It felt like I was emerging from the center of the earth.

Related posts: The Elevated Tracks, in Park Slope, Brooklyn, Moving on Up and Across the Tracks.