NYC’s subway map isn’t an accident, but a century of contentious argument about more than just wayfinding. Peter Lloyd takes us on a ride through the history of New York City’s subway maps, exposing a world of visionary ideas, big personalities, and public opinion battles. The NYC subway map wasn’t just drawn up overnight—it’s the product of decades of creative tension, with each iteration capturing a new chapter of the city’s growth.

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Show notes & links

• Find Peter Lloyd at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
  
  
• Read Peter’s work at a recent paper at The Cartographic Journal: Henry Beck’s Map Style in New York City and his published book Vignelli: Transit Maps
  
  
• Towards A Better Way: The “Vignelli” Map At 50
  
  
• Celebrating 50 years of the Chrystie Street Connection
  
  
• Wikipedia crawl: Subway History, Chrystie Street Connection
  
  
• NYC Subway Historical Maps
  
  
• The New York Subway Map Debate Edited by Gary Hustwit published by Standards Manual & video: Massimo Vignelli and “The Map”
  
  
• Music for this episode:
  • Bee’s Knees (1922) by The Original Memphis Five; Lopez and Lewis, courtesy of the Internet Archive
    
    
  • Swingin’ For A Swiss Miss (1920) by WILLIE LEWIS and his ORCHESTRA, courtesy of the Internet Archive
    
    
  • Chill Vibra Jazzy by danydory
    
    
  • Music with sitar, tanpura and sarangi by ShidenBeatsMusic

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Episode Takeaways

1. Subway Maps as Cultural Icons: Subway maps serve not only as navigation tools but also as representations of the city’s identity, similar to how the London Tube map by Harry Beck or Paris Metro maps are instantly recognizable icons of those cities.
   
   
2. History of NYC Subway Maps: NYC’s subway map evolved through a series of changes from individual company maps to an integrated citywide map, with each phase reflecting the technology, aesthetics, and social attitudes of its time.
   
   
3. Role of Individuals in Map Design: Key figures like Arthur Weindorf, Andrew Hagstrom, George Salomon, Massimo Vignelli, and John Tauranac each influenced the subway map’s design at different times, driven by their unique visions and experiences.
   
   
4. Vignelli’s Minimalist Approach: Massimo Vignelli’s 1972 subway map, with its clean lines and minimalist design, became iconic, though it sparked mixed reactions. His emphasis on function over geographical accuracy set a new standard for map design.
   
   
5. Challenges of Integration: As NYC’s subway networks merged, creating a unified map became challenging. Designers struggled with how to represent various lines with a consistent color scheme and iconography.
   
   
6. Function vs. Form Debate: Different maps emphasized either diagrammatic clarity (ideal for point-to-point navigation) or geographic realism (offering context within the city’s layout). This balance continues to drive subway map design today.
   
   
7. 1978 Map Debate and Public Opinion: Although the MTA held a public debate in 1978 over the Vignelli map, public opinion had little impact on the decision. The MTA had already decided to move toward a geographically accurate map.
   
   
8. Weekend & Digital Maps Revival: The need to show altered routes for weekend maintenance led to a digital adaptation of Vignelli’s style in 2011, allowing the MTA to showcase changes dynamically in real time.
   
   
9. Emotional Connection to Maps: Subway maps hold personal meaning for residents, reflecting their experiences and memories within the city. Changes to the map are often taken personally, as it represents more than just transit information.
   
   
10. Subway Maps as Visual Poems: Maps are described as “visual poems,” offering a narrative that captures one’s relationship with the city, blending functionality with a deep sense of place and personal history.

Guest Bio

Peter Lloyd is, by profession, a software engineer. In the mid-1990s, however, he started collecting maps of underground railway systems, starting with London, where he lived, but branching out into a worldwide hunt. By the mid-noughties he had begun more seriously researching the New York City subway map – trawling archives and interviewing designers of the map. In 2012, Rochester Institute of Technology published his book, Vignelli: Transit Maps. Since then he has been working on a complete multi-volume history of the NYC subway map.

1958 George Salomon map

1967 Chrystie Street Connector

1972 Unimark Map

1979 the Tauranac map

NYC Subway Map prototype based on the Vignelli design

“ The subway map matters more than just it’s a navigation tool because it gives us a picture of the city we live in. Every map is a poem, a visual poem in a way. It’s a story, it’s a narrative about one person’s understanding of what’s out there.”
– Peter Lloyd

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