A vintage subway sign hangs on in the Village

It’s been more than a year since this old-school sign was uncovered after the removal of a newsstand in front of a subway entrance at Sixth Avenue and West Fourth Street (Gothamist scored the details in September 2011.)

Amazingly, the MTA hasn’t yet covered the slightly tattered but very charming sign. Could it be here to stay—a ghost from New York’s transit past reminding riders that the A, C, and E used to be part of the Independent Subway System, opened in 1932?

The IND ran as a separate network from the privately owned IRT and BMT lines for eight years, until all three lines merged into one enormous city-run system in 1940.

The iconic subway signs of New York City

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.