Many urbanophiles are aware of the Door to Nowhere on the north Times Square Shuttle platform, emblazoned with the word “Knickerbocker” that long ago opened to a staircase leading directly to the Knickerbocker Hotel, which stood above the station.
However, if you walk to the other end of the same platform, you will find, near the ceiling, a remnant of a brick arched doorway. That one led to the 1904 Times Tower and was used for freight deliveries from subway cars, or work trains, into the building. It was bricked up decades ago. The Times Tower still stands there, but now it’s used as a giant billboard.
8/27/13