Who designed the original New York City Subway station mosaics and decorative tilework?

Heins & LaFarge designed much of the original New York City Subway’s station architecture, mosaics, and decorative tilework.

The architectural partnership of George Lewis Heins and Christopher Grant LaFarge created the design language for the first IRT subway stations, which opened in 1904. Their work included station layouts, ornamental details, color schemes, and distinctive mosaic name panels.

Later subway stations and renovations involved other architects, especially Squire J. Vickers, who became influential in the IND and later station designs. That is why not every historic subway mosaic can be attributed to Heins & LaFarge. Their name most specifically belongs to the earliest IRT stations and the original decorative program.