Long before Helvetica became synonymous with New York’s subway signage, every station adopted its own unique approach to lettering.

Completed in 1904, Astor Place is one of the subway’s first twenty-eight stations and was also my local stop for many years.

I’ve always loved the original porcelain enamel sign that’s still on display today. So I created a typeface based on the hand-painted lettering. Making the full alphabet was a sort of creative archaeology: all I had was five letters – a full typescript had never existed. It does now.