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Enter The 1966 Subway System, Through Photographer Danny Lyon's Lens
By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 17, 2014
Modified Dec 17, 2014
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Dec 17, 2014
Modified Dec 17, 2014
Share
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The MTA is bringing a little old school New York back underground, where they've installed a new exhibit featuring photos by Danny Lyon, who captured 1960s and 1970s NYC in vivid color after returning from other parts of America.
The photos on display were all taken in the subway system in 1966, when Lyon was 25 years old and living in a loft on the corner of Beekman and William Streets. Upon settling back into the city, he took this advice from his mother: “If you’re bored, just talk to someone on the subway.”
These photos have never been exhibited before, and can now be found inside the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center. Lyon told Co.Design, "Many of these pictures were made on a single night—New Year's Eve of 1966. That’s why one of the men is all dressed up, holding a party horn."
For more, check out Lyon's book, The Destruction of Lower Manhattan. The photos included were taken around the same time, but chronicle the area where the World Trade Center was about to go up, photographing nearly every building that was to be replaced by the coming Center.
Tagged
flashback
MTA
history
danny lyon
1966
1960s
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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