Abandoned City Hall Subway Station with Julia Solis
November 1, 2006
6:30PM
FREE

Place: Described as the most beautiful subway station in the world, the City Hall Subway Station, the "apotheosis of curves," as Houseasdas and Garden magazine termed it, was meant as a way to show off the splendor and glamour of New York's first subway line, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company. Succumbing to its unique design, which could not accommodate longer trains, the station saw its last day of passenger service on December 31, 1945, 41 years after it was inaugurated. It has been closed to the public ever since.

Talk: Julia Solis is an urban archaeologist who explores the subterranean mysteries and ruins of New York City and other locales. For years, she's chronicled her adventures through photographic evidence and essays posted on her Dark Passage website. Now, Routledge has published New York Underground, a stunning monograph of Solis's journey into the underworld. After a brief introduction to the history of the station and the practice of urban spelunking, Julia organized a simple game for all in attendance. Based on the ornamentation inside the station, each guest was presented with a riddle and asked to wander around the platform, looking for details in the tiles or lighting in order to piece together an answer.

Note: Tours we are not leading any future tours of this location. If you are interested in seeing the City Hall Subway, please contact the MTA Transit Museum.

Presented in partnership with the New York Transit Museum.