This 23rd St. Subway Station at Madison Square Park, where Broadway and 5th Avenue intersect is…read moreserviced by BMT Broadway Line trains (i.e., those marked yellow between Brooklyn and Queens or Uptown) when they're running local in Midtown Manhattan. [That service, subject to change for multiple reasons, presently includes: R at all times except night, W on weekdays, N weekends and nights, as well as Q at night.]
Really fun mosaics of various hats historic hats worthwhile to check out line both platforms!
Pleasantly surprised to learn more about them. While I originally thought they're tied to milliners situated in the late 1800s "Ladies' Mile" District, a closer look revealed that each whimsical head cover connects to a figure whose time in New York crossed 23rd Street when it was a big cultural district between 1880 and 1920! (FYI - That's when Madison Square Garden was actually located at E. 26th St. and Madison Avenue off its namesake Madison Square Park.) Small signage under each hat indicate whose head the hat may have appeared on or flown off!
London-born later New Yorker artist Keith Godard, created this "Memories of 23rd Street" 2003 piece. Apparently at one point, he lived at the nearby Chelsea Hotel which seeded his interest in the characters that frequented this neighborhood. To add, rumors circulated that the height of the above 1902 "skyscraper" Flatiron (a.k.a. Fuller) Building caused the area to be more windy, impacting people's clothing.
You'll notice headwear of still well-known figures such as: Mark Twain, Harry Houdini, Thomas Edison, Marie Curie, O'Henry, Eleanor Roosevelt, Florenz Ziegfeld, Lillie Langtry, plus John and Ethel Barrymore. The top hat of P.T. Barnum was juxtaposed to reflect the height disparity with a cap of his performer General "Tom Thumb!" Figures lesser known today are also accounted for. Of course, since it's subway art, it includes William Barclay Parson, Chief Engineer of the Rapid Transit Commission!
Godard indicated that today's subway passengers might enjoy envisioning people waiting for trains on the opposite platform donning hats they are beneath.
Given this station provides the closest subway access to Madison Square Park, the iconic Flatiron building, local shopping and other businesses, not to mention a major crosstown street, it could benefit from MTA installing elevators! People who cannot easily navigate the stairs, such as with strollers, carriages, or wheelchairs cannot easily use this subway station! MTA, make this 23rd Street Subway Station accessible to everyone!