Photo by Patrick Cashin/MTA from Flickr.

The Interborough Rapid Transit of New York City opened its first subway line in 1904. 468 stations and 24 subway lines make up the tapestry of what we now know as the New York City Subway. Here is a list of those stations that stand out as unique in both their history and appearance. The original 28 subway stations had beautiful fare control houses designed by George Heins and Christopher LaFarge, some can still be seen at Atlantic Avenue, Bowling Green, 72nd Street and other spots. But as the subway expanded, subway station style evolved to adapt to Manhattan’s geography and evolving architectural and design styles.

This gem of a Washington Heights subway station at 190th Street Overlook Terrace houses the A train, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of the last subway stations with its construction overseen by Squire J. Vickers, chief architect of the New York City Subway System from 1906 to 1942. A painter and a poet, Vickers’ style was romantic and informed by medieval Tudor architecture. The station is right next to Fort Tryon Park and the Cloisters, where history buffs can revel in medieval art and even the ruins of a turn-of-the-century mansion. The train platform is also the 2nd deepest in NYC, at 140 feet below street level!

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