THOUGH Teddy Roosevelt has left the entrance of the Museum of Natural History on Central Park West (he is going to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, ND in 2026) , this pair of iron subway entrance lamps can still be found on Central Park West at about where 78th Street would be if the museum wasn’t in the way. The name of the station is actually 81st Street-Museum of Natural History and there is an entrance on 81st, but without the special lamps; instead there’s standard IND-type lamps there, which are also handsome in their way.
These lamps are slightly smaller versions of post-top special lamps that can be found at the curb in front of the museum along Central Park West. Actually, the IND, known for its uniform approach to station design when opened mainly between 1932 and 1940, does have some playful approaches to station entrance lighting, especially around parks such as Central, Prospect and Morningside; I should do a survey of these specials as soon as I’m able to visit them. The BMT gets into the act, too, with special entrance lamps along Central Park.
I never really run out of material!
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5/31/23