Tag: photography

Holiday Nostalgia Trains

Published on by juliebrannanLeave a comment

In December, there are so many wonderful things to do in New York City that it’s impossible to work them all in every year. But a special December event that can be enjoyed while you get to another of the festive displays or activities in the city, is the running of the holiday nostalgia trains by the MTA. The New York Transit Museum in collaboration with the MTA, runs Art Deco 1930’s subway trains on Sundays in December, and this is definitely the most delightful way to travel around the city! Eight subway cars from the 1930’s are brought back into service on a limited basis, and were considered state-of-the-art in their day.

Immaculately preserved by the Transit Museum, these R1/9s reflect the Depression-era Art Deco aesthetic, complete with rattan seats, paddle ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs, and original period advertisements. You can see a video of the train arriving and leaving, and some of the interior details here.

These are the very trains said to have inspired Billy Strayhorn’s classic “Take the A Train.”

One of the fun aspects of this is that some people actually dress in period clothing to ride the trains!

The vintage signs are fun to see as well – and apparently subway crime has existed for quite a long time!

Here are the details for this year (2025). For future years, check the New York Transit Museum’s website.

  • The rides run every Sunday in December from 10am to 5pm,
  • The train depart from 2 Av–Houston St on the uptown F line and 96 St–2 Av on the Q line.
  • The rides can be accessed via a standard Subway fare using either OMNY or Metrocard
  • For stops between 2 Av–Houston St and Lexington Av–63 St, board on the F line platform.
  • For stops between Lexington Av–63 St and 96 St–2 Av, board on the Q line platform.
  • Accessible stations along the route include: Broadway–Lafayette St (D, 6), West 4 St–Washington Sq (A/C/E, D/F), 34 St–Herald Sq (D/F, N/Q/R) , 47–50 St–Rockefeller Center (D/F), Lexington Av–63 St (F, Q), 72 St–2 Av (Q), 86 St–2 Av (Q) and 96 St–2 Av (Q).

Here’s the schedule:

  • The train departs from 2 Av–Houston St on the uptown F line in lower Manhattan at 10am, 12pm, 2pm and 4pm.
  • The train departs from 96 St– 2 Av on the Q line at 11am, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm.

Other times of the year there may be other ticketed special events using nostalgia trains (for instance, trips to Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn in October), but I highly recommend trying to experience the holiday trains in December for just the cost of a subway fare. This is the best time of the year in New York City, in my opinion, and if you plan it correctly even a subway ride can enhance the joy of the season.

Digital/Experiential Art in NYC

Published on by juliebrannan1 Comment

A few years ago I wrote about my experience of going to the Van Gogh immersive visual art exhibit and since then I have noticed that more and more similar exhibitions have been popping up in NYC. There is even one, ARTECHOUSE (the name is a combination of art – tech – house) in Chelsea Market, that is a permanent space but with rotating shows (and it has other locations in Washington DC and Houston). I have been to a few of these and find them at their best to be a trippy and somewhat relaxing experience, but also occasionally (in my opinion) a regular visual documentary shoehorned into the concept of experiential art.

An exhibit I saw at ARTECHOUSE a few years ago (in 2023) was Beyond the Light, which visualized NASA data from the moon, heliophysics, the Mars rovers, climate science, and their technology transfer program. Set in their gigantic gallery space with projections on the floor in addition to wrapping around the walls, the experience was odd yet transporting.

More recently, though, I went back to see their exhibit in collaboration with Rolling Stone, AMPLIFIED, which described itself as an “50-minute immersive journey into the music, history, imagery and culture of rock ‘n’ roll, encompassing over 1,000 photographs, 200 videos, and 1,300 Rolling Stone covers.”

This one I thought I would adore, as I love music, but strangely it did not seem to fit the format. It was in one way too narrative (with a voice over from Keven Bacon), which led to a more seated/”let’s just look at things and listen” experience, compared to others where people are inspired to move around within the space. But the narrative itself was disjointed to me, and I had the feeling that Rolling Stone had just thrown things together in categories (hey, here’s a bunch of rockers with cars . . . posters are cool . . .now here’s a festival) rather than there being a clear narrative journey. Did I have a good time? Yes . . . but I would have enjoyed just as much just watching a 50 minute documentary on the subject matter – the immersive presentation didn’t add anything (at least for me).

This kind of experiential and digital art is not new. I recently wrote about Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy, which was first presented as an art installation/amusement park in 1987 in Germany. So why are there so many more of these happening now? I believe it is usually the kind of experience you can enjoy but can provide some cool photos and videos, usually to post (and I am guilty as charged on that front). There is an upcoming exhibit that I already have a ticket for that upps the ante by not only having immersive visual effects but also scent, light and sound in tandem (Eternal Nature at Artemuseum at Chelsea Piers). These immersive visual experiences aren’t inexpensive (usually $35-50) and aren’t that long (usually less than a hour). However, when these things work for me, I find them fun but also overwhelming in a positive way, and truly feel transported and immersed in a different world.