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IND Station Tile Colors

From nycsubway.org

This list is grouped by "color family", i.e. the five primary colors used in the IND subway: red, yellow, green, blue and purple. Color names are taken from paint chips and Berol Prismacolor (tm) pencils.

As you go away from downtown Manhattan, whether uptown or towards Brooklyn, the colors change each time an express station is reached. Thereafter, all the local stations have the same color (or color group) tiles as the preceding express station. This presumably was intended to serve as a means for helping passengers to remember where to change for the local on the way home from work.

Since the 'G' line skirts Manhattan, and could thus be said to point away from Manhattan in both directions, all stations from Court Square to Fulton Street have tiles with the same color group, namely green. Three different shades of green exist in this section.

img_35953.jpg

Color Chart of Stations on Independent Lines. (New York Transit Museum).

StationBand ColorBorder ColorTile HeightNotes

Red Family

169th StreetCarmine RedBlack2 
Parsons BoulevardScarlet RedBlack3 
23rd Street-Ely AvenueScarlet LakeDark Brown2Note 1
5th Ave-53rd StreetCarmine RedCrimson2Note 2
47th-50th StreetScarlet RedDark Brown3 
42nd Street-6th AveScarlet RedDark Brown3 
34th Street-Penn StationBurgundyBlack2 
168th StreetBurgundyBlack2 
207th StreetClaret RedPearl Grey2Note 21
Tremont AvenueClaret RedBlack3 
182nd-183rd StreetClaret RedBlack2 
Utica AvenueTuscan RedMaroon3 
Ralph AvenueTuscan RedMaroon2 
Rockaway AvenueTuscan RedMaroon2 
Church AvenueBurgundyMaroon2 
Fulton Street (Nassau)Tuscan redMaroon2Notes 15,19

Yellow Family

Sutphin BoulevardSunshine YellowBlack2 
Briarwood-Van Wyck BlvdCorn YellowBlack2 
Union TurnpikeJasmineBlack3 
14th Street-8th AvenueMustard YellowTerra Cotta Brown2 
145th StreetDeep YellowBlack2 
34th Street-6th AvenueDeep YellowYellow Ochre3Note 18
155th Street-8th AvenueDeep YellowBlack2 
161st Street-River AvenueMustard YellowBlack2Note 3
167th StreetSpanish OrangeBlack2 
170th StreetSpanish OrangeBlack2 
174th-175th StreetDeep YellowBlack2 
7th Avenue-Park SlopeOrange YellowBrown3Note 12
15th Street-Prospect ParkOrange YellowBrown3 
Fort Hamilton ParkwayOrange YellowBrown2 
Nostrand AvenueMaizeSaddle Brown3 
Kingston-Throop AvenueMaizeSaddle Brown2 
Broad StreetDeep YellowSaddle Brown3Notes 15,19

Green Family

75th AvenueLight GreenBlack2 
71st AvenueNile GreenBlack3 
23rd Street-6th AvenueMedium Light GreenTrue Green2 
14th Street-6th AvenueMedium Light GreenTrue Green2 
West 4th StreetGrass GreenChrome Green2 
125th StreetMarine GreenBlack2 
Bedford Park BoulevardGrass GreenChrome Green3 
205th StreetMedium Light GreenCampus Green2 
Court SquareHunter GreenBlack2 
21st St-Van AlstHunter GreenBlack2 
Greenpoint AvenueHunter GreenBlack2 
Nassau AvenueHunter GreenBlack2 
Metropolitan Ave-Grand StreetNile GreenBlack2 
BroadwayNile GreenBlack2 
Flushing AvenueLight GreenTrue Green2 
Myrtle-WilloughbyLight GreenTrue Green2 
Bedford-NostrandLight GreenTrue Green2 
Classon AvenueLight GreenTrue Green2 
Clinton-Wash.(Lafayette)Light GreenTrue Green2 
Fulton StreetLight GreenTrue Green2 
Hoyt-SchermerhornLight GreenTrue Green2Note 4
Lafayette AvenueLight GreenTrue Green2 
Clinton-Wash (Fulton)Light GreenTrue Green2 
Franklin AvenueLight GreenTrue Green2 
Grant AvenueBottle GreenIce Green Note 5
Bergen StreetBottle GreenLight Green2Note 6
Carroll StreetLawn GreenHunter Green2 

Blue Family

67th AvenueSky BlueBlack2 
63rd DriveSky BlueBlack2 
Woodhaven BoulevardCerulean BlueBlack2 
Grand AvenueTrue BlueBlack2 
Elmhurst AvenueTrue BlueBlack2 
Roosevelt AvenueViolet BlueBlack2 
59th StreetUltramarine BlueBlack2 
81st StreetMidnight BlueBlack1Notes 22, 23
Kingsbridge RoadUltramarine BlueCobalt Blue3 
Spring StreetUltramarine BlueCobalt Blue2Note 7
Canal StreetRoyal BlueBlack3Note 8
Jay StreetUltramarine BlueCobalt Blue2 
Broadway-LafayetteRoyal BlueBlack3Note 9
York StreetCloud BluePeriwinkle Blue1Note 10
Broadway-East New YorkBlueberryDelft Blue3 
Liberty AvenueCornflower BlueUltramarine Blue2 
Van Siclen AvenueCornflower BlueUltramarine Blue2 
Shepherd AvenueCornflower BlueUltramarine Blue2 
Court Street-Transit MuseumAquamarine BlueRoyal Blue2 
8th Avenue-14th StreetUltramarine BlueCobalt Blue2Note 15

Purple Family

179th StreetVioletBlack Notes 5, 20
65th StreetMauveBlack2 
Northern BoulevardMauveBlack2 
46th StreetGrapeBlack2 
Steinway StreetGrapeBlack2 
36th StreetGrapeBlack2 
Queens PlazaBlack GrapeBlack3 
7th Avenue-53rd StreetRoyal PurpleBlack Notes 16, 17
42nd Street-8th AvenueOrchidBlack2Note 11
Chambers Street-WTCBlue VioletBlack Note 13
Chambers Street-WTC (H&M)Concord GrapeBlack3Note 14
Broadway-NassauVioletGrape2 
High StreetVioletGrape2 
Euclid AvenueLilacMedium Violet3 
2nd AvenueMedium VioletViolet3 
Delancey StreetLavender BlueGrape2 
East BroadwayLavender BlueBlack3 
Fordham RoadGrapePlum3 

No Color

175th Street
Lexington Ave.-53rd St.

Color on Station Sign Only
(sign background color)

200th-Dyckman Street Burgundy
190th-Overlook Terrace Burgundy
181st Street Burgundy
163rd Street-Amsterdam Ave Orange Yellow
155th Street Orange Yellow
135th Street Marine Green
116th Street Midnight Blue
110th Street Midnight Blue
96th Street Midnight Blue
86th Street Midnight Blue
72nd Street Midnight Blue
50th Street Orchid
23rd Street Deep Yellow

  1. Some tiles at east end city bound platform are "Crimson Lake"
  2. Replacement tiles. Original tiles were marine green upstairs, maroon downstairs
  3. Replacement tiles. Original tiles were yellow-orange and black
  4. Slight variant shades at east end platform wall
  5. Rectangular tiles, new style circa 1950's
  6. Replacement tiles. Original tiles were the same as those at Carroll Street, but 3 tiles high.
  7. Replacement tiles at north end ultramarine blue, navy blue
  8. Replacement tiles. Original tiles were ultramarine blue and cobalt blue
  9. Replacement tiles. Original tiles were powder blue, true blue
  10. Faded by time from shades of violet - see East Broadway, Delancey St.,2nd Avenue.
  11. Replacement Tiles, original was orchid/black, have large white "42" superimposed on tile band
  12. Top border only is full tile height
  13. Replacement tiles. Original tiles were plum/prune
  14. Replacement tile-prefab panels ("A" platform only)
  15. Not really an IND station. Dual contract opened 1931, built in IND style.
  16. Replacement tiles. Original tiles were dark violet and black
  17. Replacement tiles do not use full 4 1/4" squares, use six smaller ones.
  18. Replaced early 90s with non-traditional IND motif
  19. Replaced 1995 with traditional BMT tiles
  20. Replaced with blue and orange metal wall decoration
  21. Replacement tile, 2-1/8" square. Original wall tile had no color band.
  22. 1" hairline border
  23. Upper level tile band is wider than lower level. Upper level has 4 1/4" tiles; lower level has 2 1/8" tiles (exclusive of border).

Page Credits

By Wayne Whitehorne and Bob Sklar.









https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/IND_Station_Tile_Colors
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