Arts for Transit and Urban Design

23rd Street

Keith Godard

Memories of Twenty-Third Street, 2002

Glass mosaic on platform walls

From the 1880s through the 1920s, 23rd Street was a major vaudeville, entertainment, and cultural district, and "Ladies Mile," the fashion and department store haven of the time, was located nearby. In his mosaic Memories of 23rd Street, Keith Godard represents area through the various hats they might have worn. The celebrities he had in mind include Jim Brady, Oscar Wilde, Sara Bernhardt, Mark Twain, and Lillian Russell. Godard says, "In addition to bringing back memories of the specific time period and people and appealing to the viewers on a more common level as fascinating hats, this design can also serve as an interactive, playful, and witty landmark. As a diversion, passengers waiting for the subway train might try to picture people on the opposite platform "wearing" the hats they are standing beneath!"