Video: Restoring the damaged Masstransiscope

I know I keep coming back to Bill Brand’s Masstransiscope, but there’s something about the piece I find irresistible. Perhaps its the ability for it to surprise jaded New Yorkers who suddenly find themselves watching an animated rocket ship blast off as the Q train passes by; perhaps it the creative use of an abanded subway station. Either way, even though I posted about its restoration a few days ago, I’m back again.

This time around, we have a video from the MTA about the restoration. Bill Brand, the artist, speaks on the enduring timelessness of his subway zoetrope, and the video follows the restoration process. We see glimpses of the old Myrtle Ave. station and the panels en route to their rejuvenation as MTA workers get off a B train at the abandoned station. The historical center piece is a glimpse of the subways and the Masstransiscope in the mid-1980s. The system was a different beast back then.

So take a gander at the short video above, and if you’re a fan of the Masstransiscope as I am, apparently you can get a mug. I’ll be back later on Thursday with some takes on a new and intriguing fantasy map for future subway routes as well as the mayoral candidates’ plans for mass transit investment and expansion.