163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue station

The 163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue station is a local station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located in Washington Heights, Manhattan, at the intersection of Amsterdam and Saint Nicholas Avenues. It is served by the C train at all times except nights, when the A train takes over service.

163 Street–Amsterdam Avenue
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Uptown platform after renovation
Station statistics
Address	Amsterdam Avenue & St. Nicholas Avenue New York, NY
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Washington Heights
Coordinates	40°50′13″N 73°56′24″W / 40.836866°N 73.940134°W / 40.836866; -73.940134
Division	B (IND)^[1]
Line	IND Eighth Avenue Line
Services	A  (late nights) ​   C  (all except late nights)
Transit	NYCT Bus: M3, M100, M101
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4 (2 on each level)
Other information
Opened	September 10, 1932 (91 years ago) (1932-09-10)^[2]
Closed	March 12, 2018; 6 years ago (2018-03-12) (reconstruction)^[3]
Rebuilt	September 27, 2018; 5 years ago (2018-09-27)
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Traffic
2023	840,255^[4]  7.2%
Rank	322 out of 423^[4]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 168th Street A  ​C  Terminus Local 155th Street A  ​C  toward Euclid Avenue
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to 168th Street to 155th Street
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only

History

The station opened on September 10, 1932, as part of the city-operated Independent Subway System (IND)'s initial segment, the Eighth Avenue Line between Chambers Street and 207th Street.^[2][5] Construction of the whole line cost $191.2 million (equivalent to $4,269.8 million in 2023. While the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line already provided service to Washington Heights, the new Eighth Avenue subway via St. Nicholas Avenue provided an alternative route.^[6]

Under the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Plan, the station underwent a complete overhaul as part of the Enhanced Station Initiative and was entirely closed for several months. Updates included cellular service, Wi-Fi, USB charging stations, interactive service advisories and maps.^[7][8] A request for proposals for the 72nd Street, 86th Street, Cathedral Parkway–110th Street, and 163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue stations was issued on June 1, 2017,^[9] and the New York City Transit and Bus Committee officially recommended that the MTA Board should award the $111 million contract to ECCO III Enterprises in October 2017.^[10] As part of the renovations, the station was closed on March 12, 2018^[11] and reopened on September 27, 2018.^[12]

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Mezzanine		Fare control, station agent
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	←   toward 168th Street (Terminus) ←   toward Inwood–207th Street late nights (168th Street)
	Southbound local	→   toward Euclid Avenue (155th Street) → →   toward Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue late nights (155th Street) →
	Side platform
Lower tracks^[13]	Northbound express	←   does not stop here
	Southbound express	→   does not stop here →

 

The 162nd Street entrance to the station

This underground station has two local tracks and two side platforms. Two express tracks, used by the A train during daytime hours, run below the station and are not visible from the platforms. To the north, the upper level local tracks become the center tracks of 168th Street, allowing C trains to terminate there, while the lower level express tracks become the outer tracks, continuing towards 207th Street.^[14]

Both platforms have mosaic name tablets reading "163RD STREET - AMSTERDAM AVE." in white sans-serif lettering broken onto two lines. The background is yellow with a black border. Small black "163" and directional signs in white lettering run at regular intervals, but there is no trim line on either platform. Grey (previously yellow) I-beam columns run along both platforms, alternating ones having the standard black station name plate with white lettering. The trim line was part of a color-coded tile system used throughout the IND.^[15] The tile colors were designed to facilitate navigation for travelers going away from Lower Manhattan. As such, the yellow tiles used at the 163rd Street station were originally also used at 145th Street, the next express station to the south, while a different tile color is used at 168th Street, the next express station to the north. Yellow tiles are similarly used at the 155th Street station, the only other local station between 145th Street and 168th Street.^[16][17]

This station has a full length mezzanine supported by I-beam columns above the platforms, but only the southern half is opened. The open southern half has three staircases from each platform, black I-beams, and two sets of turnstile banks leading to the center or the extreme south end of the mezzanine. The closed northern half is walled off and retained the original yellow-colored I-beams. The staircases from the platforms to this portion have been removed.

Prior to the station's renovation, the open southern half was split into three sections by two black steel fences, and free transfers between directions were not possible. Outside fare control, there is a token booth. The closed northern half was gated off and had an exit-only turnstile leading to the fare control area at the center, and three gated staircases from each platform.

The 2018 artwork at this station is Ciguapa Antellana, me llamo sueño de la madrugada. (who more sci-fi than us), a glass mosaic by Firelei Báez. The artwork consists of four pieces, two on the mezzanine and one on each platform. The mosaic contains leaves and vines, as well as symbolism that is evocative of Baez's Caribbean ancestry.^[18]

Exits

Despite the station's name, there is no longer an open exit to 163rd Street. The closed northern half had three exits leading to 163rd Street.^[19][20] By the late 1980s, the exits were closed and eventually sealed. Two of the exits went to the southwest corner,^[21] while the third exit, which was temporarily uncovered as an area to haul out debris from renovations, went to the southeast corner.^[22]

The open southern half of the mezzanine has three exits:

• One stair at the southeast corner of 161st Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
• One stair at the northeast corner of 161st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue.
• One stair built inside 1033 Saint Nicholas Avenue (at the western corner of 162nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue)^[21]

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. "List of the 28 Stations on the New 8th Av. Line". The New York Times. September 10, 1932. p. 6. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
3. Mascali, Nikki M. (March 12, 2018). "163rd Street C train station begins 6-month closure for renovations". Retrieved March 12, 2018.
4. "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
5. Crowell, Paul (September 10, 1932). "Gay Midnight Crowd Rides First Trains In The New Subway: Throngs at Station an Hour Before Time, Rush Turnstiles When Chains are Dropped" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
6. Duffus, R. L. (September 9, 1932). "New Line First Unit In City-Wide System". The New York Times. p. 12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
7. Whitford, Emma (January 8, 2016). "MTA Will Completely Close 30 Subway Stations For Months-Long "Revamp"". Gothamist. from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
8. "MTA Stations" (PDF). governor.ny.gov. Government of the State of New York. (PDF) from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
9. "Enhanced Stations Initiative Program; Contract A·36622C (Package 3) for Design & Construction at 72nd Street, 86th Street, Cathedral Parkway (110th Street), and 163rd Street - Amsterdam Avenue Stations on the 8th Avenue Line (IND), Manhattan" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. June 1, 2017. (PDF) from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
10. Transit & Bus Committee Meeting (PDF). New York City Transit and Bus Committee Meeting. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. October 23, 2017. (PDF) from the original on June 3, 2019.
11. Warerkar, Tanay (February 19, 2018). "MTA will shutter 4 Upper Manhattan subway stations for repairs". Curbed NY. from the original on May 24, 2020. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
12. (Press release). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 23, 2018. Archived from the original on September 4, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
13. Station Reporter — C Train March 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
14. Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
15. "Tile Colors a Guide in the New Subway; Decoration Scheme Changes at Each Express Stop to Tell Riders Where They Are". The New York Times. August 22, 1932. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
16. Carlson, Jen (February 18, 2016). "Map: These Color Tiles In The Subway System Used To Mean Something". Gothamist. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
17. Gleason, Will (February 18, 2016). "The hidden meaning behind the New York subway's colored tiles". Time Out New York. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
18. "163 St-Amsterdam Ave - Firelei Báez - Ciguapa Antellana, me llamo sueño de la madrugada. (who more sci-fi than us), 2018". web.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. from the original on October 25, 2019.
19. (PDF) (Report). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 11, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 3, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
20. Harshbarger, Rebecca; De La Hoz, Felipe (October 12, 2015). "Williamsburg, Bushwick subway entrances sealed despite ridership spike". AM New York. from the original on October 3, 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
21. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Washington Heights (Fort Washington Park, Highbridge Park)" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
22. . Unused NYC Subway. Archived from the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 163rd Street – Amsterdam Avenue (IND Eighth Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org – 163rd Street/Amsterdam Avenue: IND 8th Avenue
• Station Reporter –
• The Subway Nut – 163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue Pictures July 29, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
• 161st Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 162nd Street / Amsterdam Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platform from Google Maps Street View (2016)
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View (2018; Post-Rebuild)
• Mezzanine from Google Maps Street View (2018; Post-Rebuild)