145th Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

For other uses, see 145th Street.

Not to be confused with 145th Street (IRT Lenox Avenue Line) or 145th Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line).

The 145th Street station is a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Broadway and 145th Street in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times.

145 Street
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northbound platform
Station statistics
Address	West 145th Street & Broadway New York, NY 10031
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Hamilton Heights
Coordinates	40°49′34″N 73°57′00″W / 40.826°N 73.95°W / 40.826; -73.95
Division	A (IRT)^[1]
Line	IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services	1  (all times)
Transit	NYCT Bus: M4, M5, Bx19, Columbia Transportation Intercampus Green Line, Intercampus Blue Line, Intercampus Red Line
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	3 (2 in regular service)
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904 (119 years ago) (1904-10-27)^[2]
Opposite- direction transfer	No
Traffic
2022	2,036,875^[4]  30.6%
Rank	151 out of 423^[4]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 157th Street toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street Local 137th Street–City College toward South Ferry
Non-revenue services and lines Preceding station New York City Subway Following station   no service 96th Street express
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to 157th Street to 137th Street Yard to 137th Street–City College
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times

The 145th Street station was constructed for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as part of the city's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. Construction of the line segment that includes 145th Street began on May 14 of the same year. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. The station's platforms were lengthened in 1948.

The 145th Street station contains two side platforms and three tracks; the center track is not used in regular service. The station was built with tile and mosaic decorations. The platforms contain exits to 145th Street and Broadway and are not connected to each other within fare control.

History

Construction and opening

Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864.^[5]: 21 However, development of what would become the city's first subway line did not start until 1894, when the New York State Legislature passed the Rapid Transit Act.^{[5]: 139–140} The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer. It called for a subway line from New York City Hall in lower Manhattan to the Upper West Side, where two branches would lead north into the Bronx.^[6]: 3 A plan was formally adopted in 1897,^[5]: 148 and all legal conflicts concerning the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899.^[5]: 161

The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont Jr., signed the initial Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900,^[7] under which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.^[5]: 165 In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations.^[6]: 4 Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.^[5]: 182

The 145th Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's West Side Line (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) from 133rd Street to a point 100 feet (30 m) north of 182nd Street. Work on this section was conducted by L. B. McCabe & Brother, who started building the tunnel segment on May 14, 1900.^[7] The section of the West Side Line around this station was originally planned as a two-track line, but in early 1901, was changed to a three-track structure to permit train storage in the center track.^{[8]: 93 [9]: 189–190} A third track was added directly north of 96th Street, immediately east of the originally planned two tracks.^[10]: 14 By late 1903, the subway was nearly complete, but the IRT Powerhouse and the system's electrical substations were still under construction, delaying the system's opening.^{[5]: 186 [11]} As late as October 26, 1904, the day before the subway was scheduled to open, the walls and ceilings were incomplete.^[12]

The 145th Street station opened on October 27, 1904, as the northern terminal station of the original 28-station New York City Subway line to City Hall.^{[2][5]: 186} The line was subsequently extended one stop to 157th Street in December 1904,^[13]: 191 and ultimately was extended to 242nd Street in the Bronx in 1908.^{[14]: 191 [15]}

Service changes and station renovations

After the first subway line was completed in 1908,^[16] the station was served by West Side local and express trains. Express trains began at South Ferry in Manhattan or Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, and ended at 242nd Street in the Bronx. Local trains ran from City Hall to 242nd Street during rush hours, continuing south from City Hall to South Ferry at other times.^[17] In 1918, the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line opened south of Times Square–42nd Street, and the original line was divided into an H-shaped system. The original subway north of Times Square thus became part of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. Local trains were sent to South Ferry, while express trains used the new Clark Street Tunnel to Brooklyn.^[18]

To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[19]: 168 As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to $47.1 million in 2022) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $15.7 million in 2022) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.^[20]: 15 The northbound platform at the 145th Street station was extended 150 feet (46 m) to the south,^{[20]: 112–113} while the southbound platform was not lengthened.^[20]: 106 The work involved reconstructing the interlocking between the center and northbound tracks.^{[20]: 112–113} Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910,^[19]: 168 and ten-car express trains began running on the West Side Line on January 24, 1911.^{[19]: 168 [21]} Subsequently, the station could accommodate six-car local trains, but ten-car trains could not open some of their doors.^[22]

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[23][24] Platforms at IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line stations between 103rd Street and 238th Street, including those at 145th Street, were lengthened to 514 feet (157 m) between 1946 and 1948, allowing full ten-car express trains to stop at these stations.^[22] A contract for the platform extensions at 145th Street and eight other stations on the line was awarded to Spencer, White & Prentis Inc. in October 1946,^[25] with an estimated cost of $3.891 million.^[26] The platform extensions at these stations were opened in stages. On April 6, 1948, the platform extension at 145th Street opened.^[22][27] Simultaneously, the IRT routes were given numbered designations with the introduction of "R-type" rolling stock, which contained rollsigns with numbered designations for each service. ^[28] The route to 242nd Street became known as the 1.^[29] In 1959, all 1 trains became local.^[30]

In April 1988,^[31] the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) unveiled plans to speed up service on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line through the implementation of a skip-stop service: the 9 train.^[32] When skip-stop service began on August 21, 1989, skip-stop service was implemented during rush hours and middays. 145th Street was the southernmost local stop that was served by the 9 during rush hours and middays and the 1 at other times.^[33][34][35] On September 4, 1994, midday skip-stop service was discontinued.^[36] Skip-stop service ended on May 27, 2005, as a result of a decrease in the number of riders who benefited.^[37]

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	←   toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street (157th Street)
	Peak-direction express	→ No regular service
	Southbound local	→   toward South Ferry (137th Street–City College) →
	Side platform

 

Mosaic name tablet

 

Original station name cartouche with frieze

This station was part of the original subway, and has two side platforms and three tracks, the center one being an unused express track.^[38] The station is served by the 1 at all times^[39] and is between 157th Street to the north and 137th Street to the south.^[40] The platforms were originally 350 feet (110 m) long, like at other stations north of 96th Street,^{[6]: 4 [41]: 8} but as a result of the 1948 platform extension, became 520 feet (160 m) long.^[22] The platform extensions are at the southern ends of the uptown platform and the northern end of the downtown platform, making them slightly offset.^[41]: 40

Design

As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the station was constructed using a cut-and-cover method.^[42]: 237 The tunnel is covered by a U-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The bottom of this trough contains a foundation of concrete no less than 4 inches (100 mm) thick.^[41]: 9 Each platform consists of 3-inch-thick (7.6 cm) concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The original platforms contain circular, cast-iron Doric-style columns spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m), while the platform extensions contain I-beam columns. Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every 5 feet (1.5 m), support the jack-arched concrete station roofs.^{[6]: 4 [41]: 9} There is a 1-inch (25 mm) gap between the trough wall and the platform walls, which are made of 4-inch (100 mm)-thick brick covered over by a tiled finish.^[41]: 9

The decorative scheme consists of blue tile tablets; blue tile bands; a white terracotta cornice; and light blue terracotta plaques.^[41]: 40 The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted the installations at each station.^[41]: 31 The decorative work was performed by tile contractor Manhattan Glass Tile Company and terracotta contractor Atlantic Terra Cotta Company.^[41]: 40 The platforms contain their original trim line of green with gray borders. "145" in white lettering on a dark border are tiled onto the trim. The station's other name tablets show "145TH ST." in a multi-color mosaic. The directional signs read also read "145TH ST." in white lettering on a black border.

Track layout

 

Street stair

The northbound local track merges with the center track north of the station and the line continues north as two tracks. The switch from the southbound track to the center track is south of the station.^[38]

Just south of the station lies the underground 137th Street Yard, which is visible from passing trains. The track layout allows northbound trains to bypass this station by switching to the center express track in the 137th Street Yard.^[38]

Exits

Both platforms have same-level fare control containing a bank of turnstiles, token booth, and staircases to the street. The northbound platform has two staircases (one to each eastern corner of Broadway and 145th Street) and the southbound platform has a single staircase to the northwestern corner. There are no crossovers or crossunders to allow transfers between directions.^[43]

References

1. "Glossary". (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
2. "Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It; Mayor McClellan Runs the First Official Train". The New York Times. October 28, 1904. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
3. "Annual Subway Ridership (2017–2022)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
4. "Annual Subway Ridership (2017–2022)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
5. Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917. New York, N.Y.: Law Printing. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
6. "Interborough Rapid Transit System, Underground Interior" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. October 23, 1979. (PDF) from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
7. Report of the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners for the City of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1904 Accompanied By Reports of the Chief Engineer and of the Auditor. Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners. 1905. pp. 229–236.
8. Report of the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners For And In The City of New York Up to December 31, 1901. Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners. 1902. from the original on May 2, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
9. Report of the Public Service Commission For The First District of the State of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1909. Albany: Public Service Commission. 1910. from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
10. (PDF). The Bulletin. Electric Railroaders' Association. 47 (10). October 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
11. "First of Subway Tests; West Side Experimental Trains to be Run by Jan. 1 Broadway Tunnel Tracks Laid, Except on Three Little Sections, to 104th Street -- Power House Delays". The New York Times. November 14, 1903. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
12. "Clamor for Tickets for Subway Opening; Distribution Plan Criticised by Engineers and Many Others". The New York Times. October 26, 1904. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
13. Report of the Public Service Commission For The First District of the State of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1909. Albany: Public Service Commission. 1910. from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
14. Report of the Public Service Commission For The First District of the State of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1909. Albany: Public Service Commission. 1910. from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
15. "Our First Subway Completed At Last — Opening of the Van Cortlandt Extension Finishes System Begun in 1900 — The Job Cost $60,000,000 — A Twenty-Mile Ride from Brooklyn to 242d Street for a Nickel Is Possible Now". The New York Times. August 2, 1908. p. 10. from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
16. "Our First Subway Completed At Last — Opening of the Van Cortlandt Extension Finishes System Begun in 1900 — The Job Cost $60,000,000 — A Twenty-Mile Ride from Brooklyn to 242d Street for a Nickel Is Possible Now". The New York Times. August 2, 1908. p. 10. from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
17. Herries, William (1916). Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac. Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 119. from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
18. "Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph" (PDF). The New York Times. August 2, 1918. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. (PDF) from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
19. Hood, Clifton (1978). "The Impact of the IRT in New York City" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 146–207 (PDF pp. 147–208). (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2020.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
20. Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1910. Public Service Commission. 1911. from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
21. "Ten-car Trains in Subway to-day; New Service Begins on Lenox Av. Line and Will Be Extended to Broadway To-morrow". The New York Times. January 23, 1911. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
22. Report for the three and one-half years ending June 30, 1949. New York City Board of Transportation. 1949. hdl:2027/mdp.39015023094926.
23. "City Transit Unity Is Now a Reality; Title to I.R.T. Lines Passes to Municipality, Ending 19-Year Campaign". The New York Times. June 13, 1940. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
24. "Transit Unification Completed As City Takes Over I. R. T. Lines: Systems Come Under Single Control After Efforts Begun in 1921; Mayor Is Jubilant at City Hall Ceremony Recalling 1904 Celebration". New York Herald Tribune. June 13, 1940. p. 25. ProQuest 1248134780.
25. Crowell, Paul (October 11, 1946). "Improvement Costs Voted for Subway; Board of Estimate Appropriates $31,291,000 for New Cars and Station Lengthening" (PDF). The New York Times. p. 24. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
26. "City Approves $35,153,000 Subway Outlay: Board of Estimate Awards Contract for 400 Cars and 10 Station Projects". New York Herald Tribune. October 11, 1946. p. 40. ISSN 1941-0646. ProQuest 1287183692.
27. "More Long Platforms – Five Subway Stations on IRT to Accommodate 10-Car Trains" (PDF). The New York Times. July 10, 1948. p. 8. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
28. Brown, Nicole (May 17, 2019). "How did the MTA subway lines get their letter or number? NYCurious". amNewYork. from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
29. Friedlander, Alex; Lonto, Arthur; Raudenbush, Henry (April 1960). (PDF). New York Division Bulletin. Electric Railroaders' Association. 3 (1): 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 14, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
30. "Wagner Praises Modernized IRT — Mayor and Transit Authority Are Hailed as West Side Changes Take Effect". The New York Times. February 7, 1959. p. 21. from the original on January 1, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
31. Brozan, Nadine (June 4, 1989). "'Skip-Stop' Subway Plan Annoys No. 1 Riders". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
32. Moore, Keith (June 10, 1988). "TA's skip-stop plan hit". New York Daily News. from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
33. "#1 Riders: Your Service is Changing". New York Daily News. August 20, 1989. from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
34. (PDF). New York City Transit Authority. August 1989. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
35. Lorch, Donatella (August 22, 1989). "New Service For Subways On West Side". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
36. Chan, Sewell (January 12, 2005). "MTA Proposes Dropping No. 9 Train". The New York Times. from the original on November 28, 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
37. Chan, Sewell (May 25, 2005). "On Its Last Wheels, No. 9 Line Is Vanishing on Signs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
38. Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
39. "1 Subway Timetable, Effective August 12, 2023". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
40. "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
41. Framberger, David J. (1978). "Architectural Designs for New York's First Subway" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 1–46 (PDF pp. 367–412). (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2020.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
42. Scott, Charles (1978). "Design and Construction of the IRT: Civil Engineering" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 208–282 (PDF pp. 209–283). (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2020.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
43. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Harlem / Hamilton Heights" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 145th Street (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org – IRT West Side Line: 145th Street
• Station Reporter –
• Forgotten NY – Original 28 – NYC's First 28 Subway Stations
• The Subway Nut – 145th Street Pictures December 9, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
• 145th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View