Thursday, March 10, 2011

Brooklyn, baby!

A Facebook friend mentioned that I had not covered her home station yet, so I felt inspired to take the trip to the Flatbush Ave - Brooklyn College station, endpoint of the 2, 5 lines... And I really enjoyed my trip! So, I'd be happy to take more requests! ;)



This was not in Brooklyn though... This is the 127 St entrance to the 125 St station (A, B, C, D lines). I could have shot this almost everywhere but I went there to get another shot and almost succeeded... Love the detail on this one though!



M for museum...



Interesting that they picked the "M" for museum as the station ID.



Flatbush Av detail... Amazing detail!



Same plate, more close up!



Station decal...



Looks old style, but is as above (and below) part Muriel Castanis'
"Flatbush Floogies" (1996)...



Lovely texture and colors! The air shafts seem to be in part responsible for this...



Detail of art piece...



Other side of the piece... No faces!



And another detail!



Exit from one into two stairways...



Making my way back to the island... Some stations have this style tile still left in some of the more remote parts of their layout...



N is for Newkirk Ave station (2, 5 lines).



Maybe this is part of said new church?



Usual layout. Not that common though in the more outer stations of the network as the stations seem to be more narrow there...



Two sticky stripes! Orange and yellow!



A toilet or restroom or whatever you want to call it... Unfortunately closed at this station... There was a usable one though at Flatbush Ave...



Beverly Road sounds fancy, doesn't it? I mean the Beverly part at least! ;)



B for Brooklyn! Err, no: Beverly!



Original mosaic was destroyed (would be my guess) and replaced by random other mosaic?



B, B and exit...



Outside that station... Not too fancy here!



Old style bench? Have not seen this before! I have been told that the recent style benches were designed to prevent people from sleeping on them, this style has more space between the dividers...



Stairs! Really? I mean I'm a big fan of good signage and icons, but putting a stair icon on the stairs themselves?



Spherical mirror, type 2: Seems more efficient but less sturdy, usually only installed in locations that are more prominent and under supervision...



C - hurch Av: Quite fancy tile work under station ID!



Fancy yellow stripe and additional green tile...



LED exit sign...



Old bank building... Lovely, but unfortunate use of signage!
I guess this is the other extreme that warrants exceptions to the subway theme... Really pretty or really NOT!



Winthrop St station...



Old meets new...



I like the mosaic exit signs!



Double stairwell on Brooklyn bound side... Unusual!



Sterling St station... Bench neatly mounted between doors...



Sterling St station...



Formerly white tiles at Sterling St...



Was trying to get a "stairway up" shot like this for a while now... This time the layout worked... Sometimes the setup is just too narrow or just not interesting at all...



Generous exit!



President St station: Usually I find middle platform stations not as interesting as the design and decoration tend to be more simple... I like this though!



Looking up at fire escapes...



I guess I'm a sucker for not straight layouts... I guess the irregularity makes me pay more attention somehow...



Still at President St station...



Botanic Garden station (S line)... Too many people for any other shots at that station this time... Need to revisit at some point...



Outside the Franklin Ave - Botanic Garden stop... Big station with really interesting outside settings...



Another one at said station... Need to revisit as well!



I love this! And this is part of the recently renovated Atlantic Ave station (actually combined with the Pacific St station it is enormous: B, D, N, Q, R, 2, 3, 4, 5 lines and access to the LIRR).
So I just stopped by very quickly as there were tons of people traveling at that time...



Mosaic detail at Atlantic Ave station: Wow! Remembering the mood of that station before the renovation rose and flowers would have not come up, that is for sure!



On the same platform. Weird combo of old and new style... Not too sure about this one...



Last station in Brooklyn before packing up...
Clark St station on the 2, 3 lines... This is a very curved tunnel and it's very unevenly lit...
Even with today's technical advancements hard to shoot hand held... Love the detail though... Was tough to see in person but quite stunning actually...



Sticky stripes orange and yellow, part 2: This time though on newer style floor tiles... This seems to fit to the 70s tile style that's still left over in some stations...

On my way home I saw a great guy on the train... Wiry, older man... Coming home from work... Carrying a worn out leather case on his knees... Hands stained... Worn out and somewhat grumpy, tired looking... I would have loved to photograph him... He actually got off at my station, but I didn't have the heart to ask him then... I didn't want to bother him... Maybe I will meet him again... He would have been the perfect subject to start the portrait part of this series...

9 comments:

  1. Loved your series showing beauty in the urban landscape.

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  2. Hey, I live at Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum station! Too bad you didnt come up the stairs and see some of the beautiful terracotta architectural fragments placed in the station by the Brooklyn Museum.

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  3. Thank you, J.J. & Kei!
    @Ashraf: Thank you for letting me know! I was on my way to Flatbush Ave changing trains and waiting for a 2 train, so I didn't go outside that station yet. Will do that at a later point!

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  4. Wonderful photos. Brings back so many memories of when I lived in NYC. I look forward to seeing more or your work.

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  5. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. @Fleeting Glimpse: Thank you for your feedback! I'm glad that you enjoyed the ride! Sorry, I had misspelled your name in the comment before! ;)

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  7. @Fleeting Glimpse: These were taken with the Canon 5D II.

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