Turnstiles is the Billy Joel album whose cover photo was shot at New York City’s Astor Place subway station. The image shows the station’s uptown, or northbound, platform and reinforces the album’s strong connection to Joel’s home city.
Released on May 19, 1976, Turnstiles was Joel’s fourth studio album. He had recently returned to New York after recording part of the project in Colorado, and he ultimately remade the album with his own touring band and took over production.
The cover’s subway setting fits the record’s themes. Songs including “New York State of Mind,” “Summer, Highland Falls,” and “Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)” draw heavily on New York places, memories, and anxieties. The people shown on the cover were also intended to represent particular songs.
Astor Place station opened in 1904 as part of the original IRT subway system. The album image is therefore both a portrait of Joel’s New York and a snapshot of a historic subway location.