Source:
Getty Images
One of the largest subway networks in the world stretches under the streets of New York. However, only a few people get to see some stations.
A moment ago the walls smeared with graffiti flew past the subway window, then suddenly a deserted room opens up. A staircase under an arch that leads into what was once a magnificent hall.
White and green tiles from a bygone era cover the vaulted ceiling in the New York underground. It says on a sign City Hall (Town hall). Tens of thousands drive past abandoned stations in the US metropolis every day. Few notice the somber witnesses to history.
Ten closed stops
A story that, in the case of the New York Subway, begins in 1904. There were forerunners in the 19th century – a railway was not even 100 meters long – but in October 1904 a line almost 15 kilometers long opens from the southern tip of Manhattan to the north of the district.
In the following years and decades the neighboring boroughs (districts) were connected. Today, the New York subway, together with its buses, transports more than 2.3 billion passengers annually on over 1,000 kilometers and 27 lines – from 1, 2, 3 to N, Q, R, W.
Today there are 472 stations that New Yorkers and tourists can board. But there are also a few ghost stations. An older listing on the Columbia University website shows ten closed stops in New York. Some of them are on tracks that have been closed, others have been replaced by new stations.
Above all, you can still see these today if you look out the window into the darkness in the right subway at the right time. These include, for example, the Worth Street and 18 Street stations in downtown Manhattan. The abandoned Court Street Station is home to the Transit Museum.
The old City Hall
Probably the most spectacular abandoned station is the alte City Hall near the Brooklyn Bridge. With the neat arches by architect Rafael Guastavino, it was the showpiece when Mayor George McClellan opened the metropolis’ subway in 1904. “The elegant chandeliers, ceiling windows and graceful curves delighted the visitors,” describes the Transit Museum.
Picture:
Getty Images
Despite everything, City Hall was never an important stop. It was inconveniently located and the nearby Brooklyn Bridge station quickly overtook it. Today host that Transit-Museum Touren through the former subway showpiece. However, you first have to become a member in order to be allowed to pay 50 dollars for the 90-minute walk through the underworld – that’s 18 single trips on the subway.
Others choose a different route to the almost forgotten places of New York: They go on nightly forays into the underground. Above all, sprayers have made it their hobby to walk the gloomy subway network along abandoned stations and then upload their videos to the Internet. A cheap option – but illegal and above all life-threatening.
These are the twelve craziest plants in the world
–
These are the craziest plants in the world
–
–
Deadly poison: The miracle tree (Ricinus communis) with its fruits is considered to be the most poisonous plant on earth. The endosperm of the seeds is highly toxic because it contains the toxic protein ricin. Ricin is one of the most potent naturally occurring toxins. Untreated death occurs through circulatory failure about 48 hours after poisoning. The wonder tree is native to East and West Africa
–
–
–
–
–
Big, bigger, biggest: The giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the western United States is the most massive or voluminous known creature in the world. The evergreen tree can be up to 95 meters high and have a trunk diameter of 17 meters.
–
–
–
–
–
Climbing parasite: With a diameter of over one meter, the giant rafflesia (Rafflesia amoldi) forms the largest single flower. However, the gigantic bloom of the climbing plant only exists for a few days, then the red, carrion-smelling organ disintegrates. A pile of black slime remains.
–
–
–
–
–
Flowering with heating: When the flowering time approaches, the titanium arum undergoes an amazing transformation: its gigantic inflorescence shoots up to ten centimeters a day. And to attract insects for fertilization, the reproductive organ gives off a carrion odor and heats up to 36 degrees Celsius.
–
–
–
–
–
Queen of the Andes: The giant bromeliad (Puya raimondii) is the world’s largest bromeliad, more than ten meters high. It also has one of the largest inflorescences of any plant and is an endangered species native to the Andes mountains of Peru and Bolivia.
–
–
–
–
–
Quite old: The giant eucalyptus (Eucalyptus regnans) grows as an evergreen tree that can reach an age of around 400 years. In preferred locations it can reach heights of 65 meters in 50 years. It is considered to be the tallest deciduous tree in the world, possibly even the tallest tree at all. A specimen felled in 1872 was 132 meters high.
–
–
–
–
–
Royal strength: The giant water lily Victoria is probably one of the most impressive plants on the blue planet. With up to three meters, it has the largest blade diameter. Discovered in 1840 by the botanist Richard Schomburgh, it was named after Queen Victoria. Many botanical gardens subsequently built their own Victoria houses.
–
–
–
–
–
Pinnate leaves: The raphia palm is mainly native to tropical Africa. With a length of up to 25 meters, their leaves are considered to be the largest in the plant kingdom. They are not only very large, but also pinnate and stay on the plant after they die.
–
–
–
–
–
Heavy fruit: The jackfruit tree (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is native to India. Disregarding breeding successes such as giant pumpkins and the like, it gets the heaviest fruits. They can weigh more than 30 kilograms.
–
–
–
–
–
Over 4000 years old: In the Patriarch Grove in the White Mountains of California there are 17 specimens of the long-lived pine (Pinus longaeva), which are over 4000 years old. A tree, the age of 4700 years, was determined by counting the annual rings in a small drill core, named «Methuselah». (Archive image)
–
–
–
–
–
Almost 10,000 years old: Depending on the definition, there is a dispute about the oldest individual living beings. But it is definitely a plant: A Norway spruce (Picea abies) in Sweden, the trunk of which is much younger, competes with the long-lived pine. It emerges from roots that are said to have existed for about 9600 years.
–
–
–
–
–
Monkey face: Anyone who looks at Dracula simia is probably not surprised why it is nicknamed the monkey orchid. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to recognize the face of a primate. The plant grows at an altitude of 300 to 600 meters in Peru and Ecuador and smells of orange.
–
–
–
–
–
Small but pretty: the rootless dwarf duckweed (Wolffia arrhiza) is considered to be the smallest flowering plant. Its flowers are invisible to the human eye. The plant body itself is a maximum of 1.5 millimeters long. And by the way: As an arum plant, it is very closely related to the titan arum.
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
-Back to the home page-
