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During the late 70's and early 80's, New York City's subway system was one of the most dangerous places a person could be. Lucky for those of us who never had the chance to see it, Swiss photographer Willy Spiller was there, and the dark and atmospheric series of vintage photos he took has now come to be known as Hell On Wheels.
A New York resident between the years of 1977 and 1984, Spiller witnessed the birth of rap music, the rise of grafitti, and Ed Koch's election as mayor. Unfortunately, he also witnessed such parts of New York's history as a spike in crime, a large portion of which took place in the city's underground quarters. The rate of violent incidents in the New York subway was so high by 1980 that the NYPD had over 2300 police officers patrolling the system at all times. Spiller took his chances and documented what he saw through his masterful street photography.
Though the interesting photos were first released in 1984, Hell On Wheels had its glory restored in 2016. Sturm & Drang publishers put Spiller's old photos to print in a limited edition series of hardcover, vivid colour coffee table books. "These images hardly tell a story of crime and danger in the lives of real people," Dr. Tobia Bezzola writes in the book's chilling forward. "Willy Spiller doesn’t discover darkness in the underground but rather an idiosyncratic, vivid realm of its own."
More info: Hell On Wheels (h/t: Vintage Everyday | DYT)
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#9
Arnoud Lievers 7 years ago
wow, there was a lot of strippers taking the underground back then.
#10
Mercy Dos Santos 7 years ago
Just switch paper for smart phone...Bazaar for sure! Information will never die 😘
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Cynthia Ward 7 years ago
grizzly tunnel connecting Herald Sq. and the Garden, and through Macy's and onto Grand Center, it's a mile underground walking, but every train in the city is accessible through one of these many portals and ramps, business people downhill run/walking.
#25
Cynthia Ward 7 years ago
and that was the fancey, clean side of the subway near Saks Fifth Ave.
#27
Cynthia Ward 7 years ago
see clean side goes from east to west side Bonwit Tellar, Berdorf Goodman, from Beekman Place...Mad Men.
#28
Cynthia Ward 7 years ago
W wo 72nd St. station and you can't even see the train number 4-5-6, near Mortimer's and where all the famous walked among upside streets sidewalks from Lex to Madison were filled with greats.
#30
Cynthia Ward 7 years ago
This is moving underneath Park Avenue & Hunter College? hmmm.more like the Dakota Bldg, West side at the Y,
#32
Martin Forbes 7 years ago
It must've been a relief to finally get out of the subway alive and safely into their apartments after these train journeys.
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What do you think ?
Apollo 7 years ago
I can't believe this is not a subway system from a third world country. So many people had to start their day with a ride in an unsafe, filthy train, especially poor people.
John L 7 years ago
As an army brat, accustomed to order and civil behavior, I was immediately taken with the picture of the navy captain and his son, having to endure such civilian chaos all around them. I can just imagine what was going through the father's mind.
Ry Uuuhn 4 years ago
F**k the army, the guy was a pedo anyway, dirtiest person in the car. Look at his mouth.
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Apollo 7 years ago
I can't believe this is not a subway system from a third world country. So many people had to start their day with a ride in an unsafe, filthy train, especially poor people.
John L 7 years ago
As an army brat, accustomed to order and civil behavior, I was immediately taken with the picture of the navy captain and his son, having to endure such civilian chaos all around them. I can just imagine what was going through the father's mind.
Ry Uuuhn 4 years ago
F**k the army, the guy was a pedo anyway, dirtiest person in the car. Look at his mouth.
Load More Replies...
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