Forgotten Fan Steve Stein passes along an image of an IND-style subway exit stanchion, marked by red glass, and some railing at a place where no exit can be found, between 1222 and 1224 60th Street (between 12th and 13th Avenues) in Borough Park. This is about midway between the Ft. Hamilton and New Utrecht stations on the Sea Beach line (N train).
Steve’s image shows the bit of railing better than the Street View picture. 1224 is Hamaspik Center for Human Services, a Hasidic service organization. 1222 is a wholesaler of some kind (there is no sidewalk sign at present) and in the past has been home to a custom rubber stamp dealer and design printer. With any of these businesses, one of the owners may have liked the subway lamp and railing and acquired and installed it. I’d have to go and knock some doors to find out, and since the stanchion has been there for several years, probably wouldn’t get a satisfactory answer. If anyone can solve the mystery, Comments are open.
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12/20/26
18 comments
It’s a subway station for a place called Willoughby.
Ha ha! Love that reference!
Good one, Sunnysider! I recently viewwed most “Twilight Zone” episodes cable Channel Me TV (ch 6 on DirecTV) & the Willoughby episode (season 1 or 2) was a stand out..
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=next+stop+willoughby+twilight+zone&qpvt=next+stop+willoughby+twilight+zone&mid=4313994B6256F263660A4313994B6256F263660A&churl=https%3a%2f%2fwww.youtube.com%2fchannel%2fUC_m1v524j67ZyrQLUzPiqJA&FORM=VCGVRP
Excellent!
…And not the street in downtown Brooklyn of the same name! [Good one! Thanks for the laugh- My very favorite TZ!]
One of my favs, too.
There’s a hidden disused station like at 76th St. in Queens? 😉
The half colored globes were introduced in the 1990s. So this had to be installed around that decade sometime. I think your guess is correct since the 1940s image for this block does not show a subway station here.
Asking around probably wouldn’t help. There’s a well-preserved painted ad for Schaefer Beer on the wall of a building in East Islip and several years ago I asked someone at the business on the first floor if anyone knew how old it was. She said neither she nor anyone else at the business knew, as it had been there long before they moved it, and also said that every so often someone would ask.
I’ve since found out that a beer distributor had the sign painted sometime in the late 1940’s. It was restored in 2022.
I shop at Coluccio & Sons next door frequently and have always found this railing and light to be unusual. It has been there for as long as I can remember.
Harry Potter’s station
Is that even a real subway artifact? Did the lamp globes come in two pieces like that? I don’t recall seeing the decorative flourish at the top of the pole, under the globe, on actual subway exits….. I suspect an homage!
In 1982 when installed they were one color. In the 1990s, they decided to ‘cap’ the globes in red (no entrance) or green.
Ah! Thanks, Keavin. Did not know that. I only remember the one-color globes and the square cubes……
I wonder if it lights up at night.
I have to believe that this is not a real station remnant. Subway stairways are never built that close to storefronts.
“Is that even a real subway artifact? ”
Possibly a purchase at one of those MTA “tag sales”. Where else would one acquire this artifact ?
Tht’s a possibility. I have made several purchases at them, and you can find some really unique items.