Fairy tale castles, Never Land, and kingdoms to good to be true, don’t even compare to a world in utter reality. This is the underground world of New York, the subway. Much like any kingdom there is the castle, the center and focus of the realm. Grand Central Station is the castle of this kingdom, beautiful, the core of all things in the land. Then there is the land less recognized that shows the true magic within. This is the unknown kingdom lying beneath the bustle of the city. Descending down the stairs is like the opening to a portal of a magical land. When you realize that indeed it is real. Like the drawbridge regulating who is allowed into the castle, the tollbooth regulates who is allowed to enter this underground kingdom. Once through these gates you find the portion of the kingdom where everything is genuine and honest. The stations and stops each defined by its own mosaic as unique as the riders whose destination it defines.


The dwellers of this underground kingdom are of many different walks of life although they spontaneously coincide. Like the court jesters, the entertainers of the subway bringing smiles to the faces of many people passing by, the rhythm of their songs and dances like the rhythm of the hours and days that are the lives of those who stop for just a moment to watch them. When on the subway you come across many people absorbed by their laptops and notebooks. They are the scribes of the empire documenting their thoughts and opinions of the ways the world appears to them. Merchants fill the rooms underground with goods and services for other’s convenience. They are one of many parts of the working class in this “world”. As you’re sitting on the plastic seats there is no middle or upper class in this realm, everyone is treated equally. The noblemen and the business class, sit side by side with the peasants. Although the peasants make up the majority of the riders they work hard for what they h ave and aspire for things only in their imagination. As the train reaches its destination and its doors open, the nobleman, peasants, scribes, and merchants exit the trains and ascend the staircase that will bring them back to the reality of their daily lives.