Monday, May 4, 2009

E/J Trains - Jamaica Center-Parsons/Archer (Day 9, stop #364)


Out:  From the outside I can see here the exit stairs from the subway are covered by some unusual skylights.  Right next to the stop here there is a large bus terminal, a shopping center that looks pretty new, and a number of office buildings.  The people outside are a mix of black and Hispanic, for the most part.  The housing looks mostly tenement-style.  There is a decent amount of traffic, but it is at the tail end of rush hour.  Also, it looks like many of the buildings around may be municipal/administrative and the stores aren’t open yet, so it’s not surprising there aren’t many people around.


In:  This station has a very unusual design inside.  There are high ceilings composed of reflective metal panels.  The station is dimly lit but has flood lights hung from high off the ceiling as opposed to the usual tube fluorescents.  The benches are also made of a reflective metal, and the floor is made of brick.  There are beige square tiles on the walls with very few station signs.  It looks like what someone in the ‘60’s would have thought a futuristic version of the subway would have looked like.  The J runs on the lower level here, but it’s also dingy with concrete ceilings and yellow tile platforms.  It’s ugly.  The mezzanine is a little better, but still covered with ugly brown tiles.  I still need to walk up some long staircases to exit here.  This station definitely reminds me of a MARTA station in Atlanta, which is extremely atypical for the NYC subway.