Helvetica in the Subway

"It was the letter J that opened the door for Helvetica into the subways."

Helvetica today is a commonly used and also popularly seen typeface, mainly because of its versatility. Helvetica has also become the official standard in the New York City transit system. But that has been true for only 20 years or so.

"Helvetica only became the standard typeface for the subway system in recent decades. Helvetica was originally created in Switzerland. It was a neutral typeface from a neutral country and gained runaway popularity starting in the 1960s for its modern grace. But the subway system looked elsewhere."

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/how-helvetica-took-over-the-subway/?partner=rss&emc=rss