underground secrets
The map 10 secret subway tunnels in New York City, created by the Curbed New York website, shows the location of a dozen of the most emblematic abandoned tunnels and stations in the city . They are so because of the use they had in their day, because of the second life that has been given to them or because of the milestone they marked with their birth.
Split between Brooklyn and Manhattan , among the enclaves that appear on the map are tunnels converted into graffiti murals or art galleries, stations that hosted parties or points of the metro network that broke records.
Some of them can be visited. This is the case of Track 61, a station located under the Waldorf-Astoria that allowed customers to get directly to the hotel using private cars. Once they got off the train they could take an elevator, also private, to access the building. Franklin D. Roosevelt or Andy Warhol were some of the clients who in their day did not hesitate to benefit from this service. At Grand Central Station, behind-the-scenes tours are organized that include passing through this tunnel.
Another option is to visit New York's first subway station. City Hall Station opened to the public in 1904. It was part of the Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) and was in operation until 1945, when the Brooklyn Bridge Station came into use. Members of the New York Transit Museum can tour it.
The oldest subway tunnel in the world is also represented on this map. This is the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, which in 2010 entered the Guinness Book of Records. It was built in 1844 to improve traffic and was sealed in 1861, until rediscovered by a Brooklyn resident in 1981. Tours are not available, but parts of its structure can be seen in the Le Boudoir bar, where areas of the tunnel have been incorporated into the bathroom.