@norbertobriceno: Kinda Interesting Things #370: “Memories of 23rd Street” by Keith Godard at the 23rd St. Subway Station If you're taking the R or W train at the 23rd Street Subway Station in the Flatiron District, you'll notice a variety of mosaic hats installed throughout the station walls. But these aren't just random hats. Each one represents a real person who might have passed through this neighborhood over a century ago. Installed in 2002 as part of the MTA's Arts for Transit and Urban Design program, the installation consists of 120 mosaic hats, with 60 along each platform. Each hat represents a notable figure who might have frequented this neighborhood between 1880 and 1920. You'll find hats representing Eleanor Roosevelt, Oscar Wilde, Harry Houdini, Mark Twain, Scott Joplin, P.T. Barnum, W.E.B. DeBois and dozens of other artists, performers, writers and public figures. But here's the fun part: the hats are installed at roughly the height of the person who would have worn them. Godard described the installation as an “interactive, playful and witty landmark,” suggesting that passengers waiting for the train might imagine the people on the opposite platform actually wearing the hats above them. And I love that subway art doesn't always have to be serious. Sometimes it can just be weird and fun, giving you something unexpected to notice while you're waiting for your train. Sources: “23rd Street Subway Mural” (Flatiron Nomad, 2014) “Memories of Twenty-Third Street, Keith Godard” (MTA) “At the foot of the Flatiron” (Library of Congress, 1903) “Ladies’ Mile Historic District” (New York Preservation Archive Project, #nyc #DidYouKnow #thingstodoinnyc #History

Norberto Briceño

Open In TikTok:

Region: US

Sunday 01 November 2026 14:06:12 GMT