50th Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

For other uses, see 50th Street.

The 50th Street station is a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 50th Street and Broadway at the northwest corner of the Theater District, it is served by the 1 train at all times and by the 2 train during late nights.

50 Street
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northbound 1 train departing
Station statistics
Address	West 50th Street & Broadway New York, NY 10019
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Midtown Manhattan
Coordinates	40°45′40″N 73°59′02″W / 40.761°N 73.984°W / 40.761; -73.984
Division	A (IRT)^[1]
Line	IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services	1  (all times) ​   2  (late nights)
Transit	NYCT Bus: M7, M20, M50, M104 MTA Bus: BxM2
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904; 119 years ago (1904-10-27)^[2]
Opposite- direction transfer	No
Traffic
2022	4,946,989^[4]  99.4%
Rank	38 out of 423^[4]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 59th Street–Columbus Circle 1  ​2  toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street Local Times Square–42nd Street 1  ​2  toward South Ferry does not stop here
Non-revenue services and lines Preceding station New York City Subway Following station   no service Times Square shuttle
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to 59th St–Columbus Circle to Times Square–42nd St
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops late nights only

The 50th 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 the 50th Street station began on September 19 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 have been lengthened since opening.

The 50th Street station contains two side platforms and four tracks; express trains use the inner two tracks to bypass the station. The station was built with tile and mosaic decorations. The platforms contain exits to 50th Street and Broadway and are not connected to each other within fare control.

History

 

New mosaic replacing the original name plaque

 

Original Faience plaque

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 50th Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's West Side Line (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) from 47th Street to 60th Street, for which work had begun on September 19, 1900. Work for that section had been awarded to Naughton & Company.^[7] 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 [8]} The 50th Street station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from City Hall to 145th Street on the West Side Branch.^{[2][5]: 186}

Service changes and station renovations

After the first subway line was completed in 1908,^[9] the station was served by local trains along both the West Side (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street) and East Side (now the Lenox Avenue Line). West Side local trains had their southern terminus at City Hall during rush hours and South Ferry at other times, and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street. East Side local trains ran from City Hall to Lenox Avenue (145th Street).^[10]

 

View of station columns

To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[11]: 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.^[12]: 15 Platforms at local stations, such as the 50th Street station, were lengthened by between 20 and 30 feet (6.1 and 9.1 m). Both platforms were extended to the north and south.^[12]: 110 Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910.^[11]: 168 The Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line opened south of Times Square–42nd Street in 1918, 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, and all local trains were sent to South Ferry.^[13]

In December 1922, the Transit Commission approved a $3 million project to lengthen platforms at 14 local stations along the original IRT line, including 50th Street and five other stations on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. Platform lengths at these stations would be increased from 225 to 436 feet (69 to 133 m).^[14][15] The commission postponed the platform-lengthening project in September 1923, at which point the cost had risen to $5.6 million.^[16][17]

 

Old view of the station with its original ticket booth

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[18][19] The IRT routes were given numbered designations in 1948 with the introduction of "R-type" rolling stock, which contained rollsigns with numbered designations for each service. ^[20] The Broadway route to 242nd Street became known as the 1 and the Lenox Avenue route as the 3.^[21]

The original IRT stations north of Times Square could barely fit local trains of five or six cars depending on the configuration of the trains. Stations on the line from 50th Street to 96th Street, excluding the 91st Street station, had their platforms extended in the 1950s to accommodate ten-car trains as part of a $100 million rebuilding program (equivalent to $1,041.9 million in 2022) (equivalent to $1,041.9 million in 2022).^[22] The joint venture of Rosoff Bros Inc. and Joseph Meltzer Associates Inc. received a contract to remodel the 50th Street, 59th Street, and 66th Street stations^[23] in February 1957.^[24] The platform extensions at the local stations were completed by early 1958.^[22] Once the project was completed, all 1 trains became local and all 2 and 3 trains became express, and eight-car local trains began operation. Increased and lengthened service was implemented during peak hours on the 1 train on February 6, 1959.^[25] Due to the lengthening of the platforms at 86th Street and 96th Street, the intermediate 91st Street station was closed on February 2, 1959, because it was too close to the other two stations.^[26][22]

In 1981, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system.^[27]

On September 4, 1987, Alex Cumba fell onto the tracks of the 50th Street station.^[28] Bystanders Edwin Ortiz, Jeff Kuhn, and Melvin Shadd jumped onto the tracks and attempted to lift Cumba back onto the platform, which was difficult due to Cumba's weight. The three were able to remove Cumba seconds before the train arrived. A recreation of the story aired on Rescue 911 on September 17, 1991.^[29][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 started in 1989, it was only implemented north of 137th Street–City College on weekdays, and 50th Street was served by both the 1 and the 9.^[33][34][35] Skip-stop service ended on May 27, 2005, as a result of a decrease in the number of riders who benefited.^[36][37]

Station layout

 

Entrance to uptown platform

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	←   toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street (59th Street–Columbus Circle) ←   toward Wakefield–241st Street late nights (59th Street–Columbus Circle)
	Northbound express	←    do not stop here
	Southbound express	→    do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→   toward South Ferry (Times Square–42nd Street) → →   toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College late nights (Times Square–42nd Street) →
	Side platform

 

Liliana Porter's mosaic

Like other local stations, 50th Street has four tracks and two side platforms.^[38] The station is served by the 1 at all times^[39] and by the 2 during late nights;^[40] the center express tracks are used by the 2 train during daytime hours and the 3 train at all times.^[40][41] The station is between 59th Street–Columbus Circle to the north and Times Square–42nd Street to the south.^[42] The platforms were originally 200 feet (61 m) long, like at other local stations on the original IRT,^{[6]: 4 [43]: 8} but as a result of the 1958–1959 platform extension, became 520 feet (160 m) long.^[22]

Design

As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, 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, placed atop the transverse arches, support the jack-arched concrete station roofs.^{[6]: 4 [43]: 8}

The decorative scheme consists of green faience station-name tablets, blue tile bands, a green cornice, and blue plaques.^[43]: 36 The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted the installations at each station.^[43]: 31 The decorative work was performed by tile contractor Manhattan Glass Tile Company and faience contractor Grueby Faience Company.^[43]: 36 The ceilings of the original platforms and fare control areas contain plaster molding.^[43]: 10 Most of the original tile plaques at this station were removed during remodeling, replaced by much simpler blue, green, and red mosaics with printed letters. One of the original tile plaques has been preserved by the New York Transit Museum.

 

Entrance to the southbound platform

The station contains Liliana Porter's artwork Alice, The Way Out, a series of mosaics installed in 1994 as part of the MTA Arts & Design program. The mosaics depict characters from Lewis Carroll's novel Alice in Wonderland.^[44][45] The mosaics are a reference to the station's location in Manhattan's Theater District. According to former MTA Arts & Design director Sandra Bloodworth, "You see Alice pulling the curtain back in one of the images, and you have the theaters above ground."^[45]

Exits

Each platform has same-level fare control at the center and there are no crossovers or crossunders to allow free transfer between directions. Each fare control area has a token booth, turnstile bank, and newsstand. The northbound has four staircases to the streets: two to the northeast corner of 50th Street and Broadway, one to the southeast corner, and one inside a building on the south side of 50th Street midblock between Broadway and Seventh Avenue.^[46]

The southbound platform has an exit to an underground shopping arcade on the south side of 50th Street west of Broadway, where the "Nothing Really Matters" bar opened in 2022.^[47] Another exit goes to the southern sunken courtyard of Paramount Plaza on the northwest corner of 50th Street and Broadway.^[46]

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 March 27, 2016. 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. "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.
9. "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.
10. Herries, William (1916). Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac. Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 119. from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
11. 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)
12. 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.
13. "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 August 3, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
14. "33d Street to Be I.R.T. Express Stop; Reconstruction One of Many Station Improvements Ordered by Commission". The New York Times. December 17, 1922. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
15. "$4,000,000 in Construction on I. R. T. Ordered: 33d St. on East Side Subway Will Be Express Stop; Local Stations to Have 10-Car Train Capacity Aim to Speed Service Improvements Will Relieve Congestion Along Both Routes. Board Believes". New-York Tribune. December 18, 1922. p. 22. ProQuest 573974563.
16. "Express Stop Plan Opposed by I.R.T.; Officials Say Money Is Not Available for Change at 33d Street Station". The New York Times. September 7, 1923. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
17. "I. R. T. Wins Delay At Subway Platform Extension Hearing: Transit Commission Head Tells Meeting Widening West Side Stations Would Increase Capacity 25 P. C". New-York Tribune. September 7, 1923. p. 6. ProQuest 1237290874.
18. "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.
19. "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.
20. 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.
21. Friedlander, Alex; Lonto, Arthur; Raudenbush, Henry (April 1960). "A Summary of Services on the IRT Division, NYCTA" (PDF). New York Division Bulletin. Vol. 3, no. 1. Electric Railroaders' Association. pp. 2–3. (PDF) from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
22. "High-Speed Broadway Local Service Began in 1959". The Bulletin. Vol. 52, no. 2. New York Division, Electric Railroaders' Association. February 2009. from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2016 – via Issuu.
23. "West Side Subway Job Is Gaining: Station Project Months Ahead". New York Herald Tribune. May 26, 1958. p. 12. ProQuest 1327014687.
24. Katz, Ralph (May 10, 1958). "IRT To Complete Repairs in a Year; Broadway Express Will Be Modified and Stations Revamped by June". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on October 6, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
25. "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. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on January 1, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
26. Aciman, Andre (January 8, 1999). "My Manhattan — Next Stop: Subway's Past". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
27. Gargan, Edward A. (June 11, 1981). "Agency Lists Its 69 Most Deteriorated Subway Stations". The New York Times. from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
28. "3 Rescue Unconscious Man From Subway Tracks". The New York Times. September 6, 1987. from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
29. Rescue 911 Episode Guide - Rescue 911 Season Episodes - TV.com
30. "3 Men Rescue Unconscious Man From Subway Tracks". The New York Times. September 6, 1987. from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
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 (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.
37. . May 7, 2005. Archived from the original on May 7, 2005. Retrieved September 18, 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. "2 Subway Timetable, Effective June 26, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
41. "3 Subway Timetable, Effective June 26, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
42. "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
43. 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)
44. "Arts for Transit and Urban Design". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
45. Robinson, George (September 21, 2003). "F.Y.I." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
46. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Midtown West" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. (PDF) from the original on July 24, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
47. Sutherland-Namako, Amber. "This new cocktail bar is hidden in a 1 train station". Time Out New York. Retrieved October 13, 2022.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 50th Street (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org – IRT West Side Line: 50th Street
• nycsubway.org – Alice: The Way Out Artwork by Liliana Porter (1994)
• MTA's Arts For Transit –