On this journey I finally complete the 1 line by venturing out to the last 7 stops uptown. Today, is probably one of the coldest days of the year and the wind is fierce. I jump on the train and pray that most of the stops will be underground. Well, first stop is Dyckman Street. Guess what?! It is above ground. The platform itself was quite long and the train comes out of the underground tunnel which is much warmer than standing on the cold platform waiting for the wind to hit your face. I take my pictures that I need and jump on the next uptown train. Next stop is 207th Street/10 Avenue. Once again this stop is above ground. I can't catch a break can I? On this trip I am using two cameras. My Nikon digital camera and the Diana plastic film camera. I have never used a camera like that before and wanted to see what came out of it. Needless to say my hands are freezing but I gotta keep going and hope that the next stop is underground. This stop was pretty typical but what I am really liking about each of these stops is the fact that there are no tall buildings so therefore I can see for miles. I love taking pictures in that way. Next stop is 215th Street/ 10 Avenue. Once again above ground. I really can't catch a break here. Good thing that the 1 train is very efficient and runs about every 3-5 minutes. This stop overlooks the NYC Department of Sanitation Plant which is in fact huge. Never thought I would be discovering that. Also, the station entrances look quite old and I always like to this on my journey, some preservation of how the subways looked long ago. Ok, so I am hoping now maybe I could get an underground stop because at this point my hands are numb and it is getting harder and harder to take pictures especially with two cameras. 225 Street - Marble Hill is the next stop and above ground. My luck. This stop however is really beautiful and you can see for miles. The Metro North trains are nearby and you can see them the midst of their routes. The subway crosses the Broadway Bridge and the station is on the Bronx side. Goodbye Manhattan for the remainder of the trip. The body of water that is crossed is called the Harlem River Ship Canal. Never heard of that in my life and that is why I love doing this project soo much. Who knew?! The canal is also called the Spuyten Duyvil Creek which is a one-mile-long channel connecting the Hudson and Harlem Rivers in New York City, separating the island of Manhattan from the mainland. This stop also has some artwork. It is about time. I haven't seen a lot of artwork on this journey and I was wondering if all my pain and suffering due to the cold would allow me to see some subway art. Elevated Nature I-IV, by Wopo Holup in 1991 depicts fossil-like imprints above the station seats as you will see in my pictures. Onto the next stop because by this time my hands are popsicles. This stop is 231st Street which also had some great artwork and also is another above ground stop. This artwork is very recently done in 2007 by Felipe Galindo called Magic Realism in Kingsbridge. It is beautiful stained glass works that are throughout the station. I really love stained glass and love the colors that were used for this layout. Next stop is 238th Street which didn't have any art but had tons of these huge lamp post about a foot away from each other on both the downtown and uptown platforms. The look of them just made the whole station a piece of art. Not sure if it was beautiful art or just plain ugly. You will have to see for yourself. Once again it was above ground. Onto the next stop which is the last stop on the 1 line called Van Cortlandt Park - 242 Street. This stop looked quite old and the area where you would walk to street level was a wooden porch-type corridor. In this area you felt like you were out off of some expressway in Long Island. Manhattan is long forgotten up in these parts. The subway station is literally above a highway. You have to take a bus to get to shops and restaurants in that area. Well, at this point in my travels my hands are blue and my whole body is just freezing due to each and every stop being outside but physical pain aside these stops were some of my favorites thus far. I felt like I was in a totally different world and I can't believe I live a half hour or so away from all of it. The 1 line is completed now onto the express lines of the 2 and 3!
