A display of old subway wall decorations in the Union Square Subway Station near the stairway to the downtown number 6 train.

I didn’t see a plaque or anything, but it looks like they cut the whole thing out when doing a renovation. I see a layer of brick, concrete and maybe a bit of Manhattan bedrock, or is that more concrete?

14th Street-Union Square Complex

Mary Miss Framing Union Square, 1998

Glass, enameled steel, and aluminum frames highlighting historic and architectural elements throughout station complex

Mary Miss worked with architect Lee Harris Pomeroy to use the rehabilitation of Union Square station as an opportunity to uncover hidden structural elements, cables, and conduits - some still functional and others replaced by new improvements. Old decorative work reappeared during construction, such as mosaics, pilasters, name plaques, and six terra cotta eagles from the 1904 station, once presumed lost.

I found the red framing annoying trying to get good shots of the pillars without the red steel intruding, but I guess bright red does alert travel-trance eyes to the art.

Subway Art on the GammaBlog

What looks like an unofficial memorial, listing the names of those killed at the World Trade Center, printed labels adhered to the tiles. From the state of discoloration and deterioration of the labels, I suspect that these have been here for several years.

New York has some great subway mosaics. This is not one of them, it is just too cute.and reeks of NYU public relations. N, R, W line at 8th Street and Broadway.

Tiny people populate the Fourteenth Street, Eighth Ave subway station. Tom Otterness is the artist, they are subtly subversive and cute.
More Otterness

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