New York

Old Metrorail Car Gets Second Life as Shopping Destination

A new project near the Grosvenor Metro station brings an old rail car front and center

What to Know

  • A decommissioned Metro railcar has been cut up and turned into a shopping destination near the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station.
  • The pop-up shops will be open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights for the next six weeks.
  • A New York artist reimagined the railcars.
Sliced up and broken apart, an old 4000 series Metro railcar is now home to pop-up retail shops at the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station.
And those local shops are selling juices, empenadas, jewelry, flowers and food. It's part of a pilot program as Metro continues to decommission its 4000-series rail cars.
New York artist Robert Mojo transformed the 80,000-pound Metrorail car into benches, retail space and industrial art. He did the work with developer with Fivesquares Development.
The shell of the car was used for the kiosks, the iconic seats and benches were turned into outdoor seating and the scrap metal left behind will become art installations.
The team uses everything they can, the goal being to reuse and recycle as much as possible.
"It's art; it's sculpture; it's entertaining the public; it's recycling; it's bringing back history," Mojo said. "When you walk into one of these cars, you just get a feeling of going back in time."
Mojo said the most challenging thing about the project was how the cars are built. "Going through all of this heavy metal, it's not the easiest task," he said.

Sliced up and broken apart, an old 4000 series Metro railcar is now home to pop-up retail shops at the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station.

And those local shops are selling juices, empenadas, jewelry, flowers and food. It's part of a pilot program as Metro continues to decommission its 4000-series rail cars.

New York artist Robert Mojo transformed the 80,000-pound Metrorail car into benches, retail space and industrial art. He did the work with developer with Fivesquares Development.

The shell of the car was used for the kiosks, the iconic seats and benches were turned into outdoor seating and the scrap metal left behind will become art installations.

The team uses everything they can, the goal being to reuse and recycle as much as possible.

"It's art; it's sculpture; it's entertaining the public; it's recycling; it's bringing back history," Mojo said. "When you walk into one of these cars, you just get a feeling of going back in time."

Mojo said the most challenging thing about the project was how the cars are built. "Going through all of this heavy metal, it's not the easiest task," he said.

The pop-up shops will be open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights for the next six weeks.

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