Virtual Tour: The Subway Design of Squire J. Vickers

Although approximately three quarters of the New York subway system’s stations were designed by the architect and painter Squire Joseph Vickers, he is virtually unknown to most New Yorkers. Vickers acted as chief designer for the subway from1906 to 1942, influencing the design language of two phases of major expansion: the Dual Contracts from 1913-1927, which he rendered in the Arts & Crafts style, and the Independent System (IND) from 1925-1940, which he designed in a style recognized as Machine Age Modern.

Join architectural historian and AIA member John Kriskiewicz as we explore Vickers’s integrated design approach, marked by structural expression and wayfinding that we would recognize today as a hallmark of Modernism.