The Abandoned Subway Entrance

And here’s why I love NYC: that weird thing you happened to come across? It always turns out to have some sort of interesting history to explain. For example, that tiny magazine shop I wrote about yesterday with the tree growing through it —

A reader commented that the reason for this odd cut-out is because it was once an entrance to the nearby West 4th Street subway stop! And incredibly, the now-abandoned stairwell still exists: “At the back of the newsstand there was a staircase descending into darkness…” —

“This was used for storage by the newsstand. That staircase was an abandoned entrance to the West 4th Street subway station!”

There’s always a reason — and as usual, the reason always just makes me want to explore further. Is the stairwell still there??