Squire Joseph Vickers (1872–1947) was an "underground Renaissance man", according to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''. He was a chief architect of the
New York City subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
system.
Vickers began work in the subways in 1906, as a young
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
, and worked for 36 years, until 1942. A 2007 show organized by the
New York Transit Museum
The New York Transit Museum (also called the NYC Transit Museum) is a museum that displays historical artifacts of the New York City Subway, bus, and commuter rail systems in the greater New York City metropolitan region. The main museum is loc ...
described how he was responsible for more than 300 stations, the most of any architect. He was the system's lead designer for almost 30 years.
[
Vickers was also an accomplished painter.
]
Works
His works include the following New York City subway infrastructure. Additionally, all of these are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.[New York City Subway System MPS]
In Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
:
* 181st Street subway station (IND), Fort Washington Avenue between 185th and 181st Streets;
* 190th Street subway station (IND), under Fort Washington Avenue between Fort Tryon Park (Cabrini Boulevard) and W. 190th Street;
* 86th Street subway station (Dual System IRT East Side), under Lexington Avenue, between E. 85th and E. 87th Streets;
* West 28th Street subway station (Dual System IRT West Side), Seventh Avenue between W. 26th and W. 29th Streets;
* West Fourth Street subway station (IND), under Sixth Avenue between W. 3rd Street and Waverly Place;
* Chambers Street subway station (Dual System IRT), under West Broadway between Warren, Chambers and Reade Streets;
In Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
:
* Ninth Avenue station (Dual System BMT), 38th Street and Ninth Avenue near the junction of New Utrecht Avenue;
* Avenue U station (Dual System BMT Sea Beach), between Avenue U and Avenue T and Seventh and Eighth Streets;
* Bay Parkway station (Dual System BMT Sea Beach), above Bay Parkway at 86th Street;
* New Utrecht Avenue station (Dual System BMT), beneath the junction of New Utrecht Avenue with 15th Avenue and 62nd Street;
* Ocean Parkway station (Dual System BMT), above the junction of Brighton Beach Avenue and Ocean Parkway;
* Wilson Avenue subway station (Dual System BMT), Chauncey Street at Wilson Avenue;
In the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
:
* Pelham Parkway station (Dual System IRT), junction of White Plains Road and Pelham Parkway;
* Westchester Square station (Dual System IRT), above Westchester Avenue, from Overing Street to Ferris Place;
* Woodlawn station (Dual System IRT), junction of Bainbridge Avenue and Jerome Avenue;
In Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
:
* Court Square Station (Dual System IRT), above 23rd Street between 44th Drive and 45th Road, Long Island City
Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...
;
* Main Street subway station (Dual System IRT), near junction of Roosevelt Avenue and Main Street, Flushing
Flushing may refer to:
Places
* Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom
* Flushing, Queens, New York City
** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens
** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens
** Flushing ...
;
See also
*New York City Subway tiles
Many New York City Subway stations are decorated with colorful ceramic plaques and tile mosaics. Of these, many take the form of signs, identifying the station's location. Much of this ceramic work was in place when the subway system originally o ...
References
Further reading
*''Paintings By Squire Vickers (1872-1947): Designing Architect of the New York Subway System'', by Elisabeth and Robert Kashey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vickers, Squire J.
History of the New York City Subway
American architects