“New Subway Routes” Map Possibly 1967?
Yes, this is the 1967 “New Subway Routes” map produced by the New York Transit Authority, designer unknown. The diagram was produced to show only the eight routes that had been changed with the opening of the tunnel under Chrystie Street. It’s an interesting piece because it was produced some three years before even the first draft Unimark/Massimo Vignelli diagram, but has seemingly been influenced by his approach to design. The straightening of route lines, the regular spacing of stations and the application of the famous “no dot, no stop” rule all seem to point towards Vignelli’s hand, although the non-standard angles of routes entering the Coney Island Stillwell Avenue station would never have been approved of by him.
Peter Lloyd, writing in his superb book, Vignelli Transit Maps, points to some anecdotal evidence that Unimark was advising the TA on the future direction of the subway map at the time and concludes that:
“… the connection between Vignelli’s influence and the 1967 map is not proven, but the alternative is to surmise a coincidence that strains credibility.”