City Hall (IRT Lexington Avenue Line station)
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Manhattan
Template:NYCS station rowIRT Lexington Avenue Line
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Template:NYCS station rowTemplate:NYCS cross single
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Template:NYCS station rowOctober 27, 1904
Template:NYCS station rowDecember 31, 1945
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City Hall is the original southern terminal of the first underground line of the New York City Subway, built for Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT), and now part of the Lexington Avenue Line. It has been closed since 1945. Opened on October 27, 1904, this station in front of City Hall was designed to be the showpiece of the new subway. The station is unusually elegant in architectural style, and is unique among the original IRT stations. The platform and mezzanine feature Guastavino tile, skylights, colored glass tilework and brass chandeliers.
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History
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City Hall station was in use for passengers only until December 31, 1945, the last day it was in use. Increased ridership of the subway led to longer trains and thus longer platforms in the 1940s and early 1950s. The new, longer trains had center doors, and due to City Hall's tight curve, it became dangerous to open them because the doors were too far from the platform edge. A similar situation exists at South Ferry and 14th Street-Union Square, where movable platform extensions fill the gap.
The city, which controlled the subway, decided to abandon the station in favor of Brooklyn Bridge station (now called Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall), which was located a short walk away at the opposite end of City Hall Park. City Hall station was never an important station in terms of passenger use, even when it was open, since only local trains stopped at it, and only to turn around. Brooklyn Bridge station served both local and express trains, including trains to Brooklyn, and the Brooklyn Bridge streetcar terminal and Park Row station on the Template:BMT elevated lines were above for easy transfers. At night, the station was closed, and local trains continued to the loop at South Ferry.
Track configuration
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City_Hall_station.jpg
North of City Hall, the Lexington Avenue Line carries four tracks; only two tracks continue south. The local (outside) track on each side ends at a loop beneath the express tracks; City Hall station is located on the west side of the loop. The southbound local track continues south next to the express tracks, and splits into two storage tracks and passes over the loop before ending.
Current status
City Hall Station is abandoned, but the track loop through it is still used to turn every local train on the Lexington Avenue Line (Template:NYCS Lexington local service). Passengers are not allowed on these trains, but are sometimes able to see the station by ducking under the seats late at night.
In April 1995, federal grant money was sought to reopen the station as a branch of the New York Transit Museum, which occasionally ran tours of the station. In late 1998, due to perceived security risks in the area around City Hall, the plans and tours were cancelled, and passengers were prohibited from riding around the loop.
On the surface, all that can be seen is a concrete slab inset with glass tiles, the skylights for the platform below. This patch of concrete is in the middle of a grove of dogwoods in front of City Hall, close to Broadway. Recent security measures at City Hall have made this area mostly off-limits to visitors.
External links
- NYCsubway.org - IRT East Side: City Hall (http://nycsubway.org/irt/eastside/irt-eastside-cityhall.html) (text used with permission)
- Abandoned Stations - City Hall (IRT) (http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/cityirt.html)
- Forgotten NY - City Hall Station (http://www.forgotten-ny.com/SUBWAYS/City%20Hall%20Station/cityhall.html)
- The IRT First Stations - City Hall (http://wt.mit.edu/Subway/Archives/CityHall/CityHall.html)