The subway we know today started out as three separate companies, all building stations at different times.
No wonder the signage at the entrance of each station—behind the MTA’s standard subway typeface, that is—varies so much.
As you duck into the station at 28th Street and Park Avenue South, you’re greeted by this lovely blue and white Roman numeral mosaic.
A Financial District IRT stairway looks like an original. The IRT was purchased by the city in 1940.
This 57th Street entrance is inside an office building that dates from the 1920s or 1930s. The lettering looks Art Deco.
I like this dignified Dyckman Street entrance in Upper Manhattan. It’s chiseled, subtle, not flashy.
Ephemeral New York 