Astor Place entrance kiosk

The structure is an imitation of the IRT's original entrance and exit kiosks, extremely ornate structures made of cast iron and glass. The IRT kiosks were inspired by those on the Budapest Metro, which themselves were inspired by ornate summer houses called "kushks".  The Astor Place entrance is a reproduction installed in the 1980s and was made at the same factory as the originals. The kiosk is 13 feet (4.0 m) wide, 22 feet (6.7 m) long, and 16 feet (4.9 m) tall. The replica was largely based from photographs by renovating architect Rolf Ohlhausen.  Like the original entrance kiosks, it has a domed roof with cast-iron shingles. Unlike the originals, the roof of the kiosk have clear tempered glass to allow natural light, while the original kiosks had translucent glass with chicken wire, which tended to become dirty over time. Additionally, the decorative pieces of the new kiosk were molded from fragments of the originals, but the new kiosk was made of lighter-weight material. (Wikipedia)