Cincinnati’s Forgotten Subway System
(Images: Cincinnati-Transit.net)Cincinnati isn’t simply home to a few ghost stations, but an entire abandoned rapid transit system. Incredibly, as cities look towards cleaner transport solutions and traffic reduction, Cincinnati boasts an entire subway system, complete with four stations directly beneath the downtown, that has never hosted a paying customer.
Described as “one of the city’s biggest embarrassments”, subway construction began during the early twentieth century but was halted by the Great Depression, World War Two and the rise of the automobile. Numerous attempts to revive the project have failed, but on a positive note the Cincinnati Subway conducts bi-annual tours, offering a golden opportunity for historians, photographers and urban explorers to take a look around.
Mir Mine is a former open pit diamond mine, now inactive, located in Mirny, Eastern Siberia, Russia. The mine is 525 meters (1,722 ft) deep and has a diameter of 1,200 m (3,900 ft), and is the second largest excavated hole in the world, after Bingham Canyon Mine. The airspace above the mine is closed for helicopters because of incidents in which they were sucked in by the downward air flow. (via)
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The Long Abandoned City Hall Subway Station in New York
The City Hall station was meant to be the crown jewel in the city’s new subway system. It was opened in 1904 as the southern terminal of the Manhattan Main Line (which is now part of the IRT Lexington Avenue Line). Located beneath the public area in front of City Hall, the station has always been considered the most beautiful in the city.
Using an unusually luxurious style of architecture along with colored glass tile work, beautiful skylights and dignified brass chandeliers, the station was undoubtedly unique. Although it was the focus of the subway system groundbreaking ceremony in 1904, City Hall station eventually fell into disuse.
By 1945, only around 600 people per day were being served by the elegantly appointed station. As the trains grew longer and added doors in the middle of the cars, the City Hall platforms were no longer suitable. There were now unsafe gaps between the train cars and the platform; in other stations, the platforms were rebuilt or extended, but this wasn’t an option in the tightly-curved City Hall station.
Rather than undertaking a very costly renovation of the station which was hardly used by the public, the city decided to close it down. The station’s last day of service was December 31, 1945.
Recently, the MTA changed the rules to allow passengers to ride through the gorgeous City Hall station. Although the station is still closed to passengers, you can get a glimpse of the former glory of this interesting piece of New York history by sitting back and relaxing while the number 6 makes it loop.
(via abandonedography)
(Source: abandonedography)
