East 180th Street station

For the former terminal station slightly to the northwest, see 180th Street–Bronx Park station.

The East 180th Street station (originally East 180th Street–Morris Park Avenue station) is an elevated express station on the IRT White Plains Road Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of East 180th Street and Morris Park Avenue in the Bronx, it is served by the 2 and 5 trains at all times.

East 180 Street  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northbound view of the station platforms before renovation, with the East 180th Street Yard off to the left.
Station statistics
Address	East 180th Street & Morris Park Avenue Bronx, NY 10460
Borough	The Bronx
Locale	Van Nest and West Farms
Coordinates	40°50′28″N 73°52′26″W / 40.841°N 73.874°W / 40.841; -73.874
Division	A (IRT)^[1]
Line	IRT White Plains Road Line
Services	2  (all times) ​   5  (all times)
Transit	NYCT Bus: Bx21, Bx40, Bx42 MTA Bus: BxM10
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2 island platforms cross-platform interchange
Tracks	3
Other information
Opened	March 3, 1917; 107 years ago (1917-03-03)
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Former/other names	East 180th Street–Morris Park Avenue
Traffic
2022	1,421,302^[2]  16.8%
Rank	211 out of 423^[2]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Bronx Park East 2  ​5  toward Wakefield–241st Street Local West Farms Square–East Tremont Avenue 2  ​5  toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College Morris Park 5  toward Eastchester–Dyre Avenue Third Avenue–149th Street 5  express
Non-revenue services and lines Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Gun Hill Road White Plains express no service   Pelham Parkway Dyre express
Former services Preceding station New York, Westchester and Boston Railway Following station Morris Park toward Columbus Avenue Main Line Westchester Avenue toward Harlem River
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to Gun Hill Road (White Plains) to Bronx Park East to Morris Park from Bronx Park East to Unionport Yard East 180th Street Yard maintenance tracks East 180th Street Yard layup tracks NYW&B platforms Subway platforms to West Farms Square / East Tremont Avenue to Third Avenue–149th Street Revenue service track Non-revenue/yard track
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops late nights only Stops weekdays and weekday late nights Stops weekends and weekend late nights
New York, Westchester and Boston Railroad Administration Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
NYC Landmark No. 0839
The former NYW&B Administration building that serves as the entrance to the East 180th Street IRT White Plains Road Line station.
Location	481 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, New York
Coordinates	40°50′29″N 73°52′23″W / 40.84139°N 73.87306°W / 40.84139; -73.87306
Area	less than one acre
Built	1912
Architect	Fellheimer & Long; Stem, Allen H.
Architectural style	Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals, Italian Renaissance
NRHP reference No.	80002587^[3]
NYCL No.	0839
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	April 23, 1980
Designated NYCL	May 11, 1976

The East 180th Street station was built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) under the Dual Contracts and opened in 1917 as part of an extension of the White Plains Road Line to East 219th Street–White Plains Road. The 180th Street station of the New York, Westchester and Boston Railway (NYW&B) is immediately adjacent to the IRT station. When the NYW&B went bankrupt in 1937, a portion of the main line was converted into the IRT Dyre Avenue Line, and the NYW&B platforms were abandoned after the Dyre Avenue Line was connected to the White Plains Road Line in 1957. The original NYW&B station house remains extant and is the station's main exit and entrance.

History

Early history

 

The main entrance, the New York, Westchester and Boston Railroad Administration Building

The New York, Westchester and Boston Railway (NYW&B), an electrified commuter line, opened on May 29, 1912, connecting White Plains and Port Chester, New York to a station at the Harlem River adjacent to the IRT Third Avenue Line.^[4] Soon a transfer station opened at East 180th Street, with transfers to the IRT White Plains Road Line and various surface lines. Express trains stopped within the Bronx only at Pelham Parkway and East 180th Street.^[5]

The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) built its East 180th Street station under the Dual Contracts. It opened on March 3, 1917, as part of an extension of the IRT White Plains Road Line from East 177th Street–East Tremont Avenue to East 219th Street–White Plains Road, providing the Bronx communities of Williamsbridge and Wakefield with access to rapid transit service. Service on the new portion of the line was operated as a four-car shuttle from 177th Street due to the power conditions at the time.^[6][7][8] The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[9][10]

Abandonment of NYW&B platform

The NYW&B was abandoned on December 31, 1937 due to bankruptcy.^[11] Two years later, city officials proposed to integrate the former NYW&B south of Dyre Avenue into the IRT system branching off the IRT Pelham Line. It was later decided to only utilize the line north of the East 180th Street station, even though the line continued to the Harlem River Terminal paralleling the New Haven Railroad (NHRR) right-of-way. The New York City Board of Transportation (BOT) bought the NYW&B within the Bronx north of East 180th Street in April 1940 for $1,800,000 and rehabilitated the line.^{[12]: 59–60} The first train, an official train consisting of four cars with the Mayor and City officials, departed from East 180th Street on May 15, 1941.^[13][14] Trains on the line were shuttles, with a paper transfer to the IRT White Plains Road Line at East 180th Street.^[15]

The Dyre Avenue Line was connected directly to the White Plains Road Line north of East 180th Street for $3 million. The project was started in 1949 but was delayed because the necessary subway cars for the service were not available.^[16] The connection was originally supposed to open in 1950.^[17] Through service began on May 6, 1957, enabling through service by White Plains Road Line trains from Manhattan to Dyre Avenue. Trains from the Dyre Avenue Line ceased to use the former NYW&B platforms, instead using the IRT platforms.^[18] The NYW&B platforms had a track connection to the NHRR, which had been built in 1955 for equipment and material transfer and interchanges, including new car deliveries.^[19] The physical connection was severed by 1979.^[20] The NYW&B viaduct south of East 180th Street remained standing until 2003–2004, when the structure was demolished south of Lebanon Street.^[21][22]

Station house renovation

From March 2010 to 2013, the station underwent a rehabilitation designed by Lee Harris Pomeroy Architects in association with Weidlinger Associates, and completed by Citnalta Construction Corporation.^[23][24] Luisa Caldwell was commissioned to provide new artwork.^[23] Improvements included fixing up the entrance and forecourt; replacing parts of the canopy roof, track beds, platforms and platform edges; adding new elevator access to improve circulation; and repairing electrical, mechanical, plumbing, lighting and communication equipment.^[25] As part of the project, a "dank passageway between the administration building and the passenger platforms" was converted "into an inviting, light-filled corridor."^[23] Community groups hoped to see the return of businesses inside the station such as a barber shop, shoe repair, and dry cleaners which existed in the early 20th century.^[25]

The New York City Transit Authority paid $66.6 million for the station's renovation. The renovation also restored a clock beneath the figure of Mercury on the building's facade. The clock was not in the renovation budget, but the president of Citnalta did not like the facade's appearance without a clock. Citnalta located a 45-inch diameter clock with Roman numerals and covered its $8,000 price and labor to install it as an extra contribution to the renovation.^[23] The East 180th Street station rehabilitation was completed and closed out in May 2013 at a $49.5 million cost, with another $10.4 million included for ADA access. It had been delayed six months to resolve and complete punch work.^[26]

Station layout

3F	Crossover	Restricted access
2F Platform level	Former NYW&B northbound	← No service
	Island platform, not in service
	Former NYW&B northbound	← No service
	Former NYW&B southbound	← No service
	Island platform, not in service
	Former NYW&B southbound	← No service
	Northbound local	←   toward Wakefield–241st Street (Bronx Park East) ←   toward Eastchester–Dyre Avenue (Morris Park) ← (No service: Pelham Parkway)
	Island platform
	Peak-direction express	←   PM rush toward Nereid Avenue (Bronx Park East) ←   PM rush/late nights toward Dyre Avenue (Morris Park) → (No service: Pelham Parkway) ←   AM rush toward Gun Hill Road (select rush hour trips) (Terminus) ←   termination track (select AM rush hour trips) ←   AM rush toward Flatbush Avenue via Lexington (Third Avenue–149th Street) →
	Island platform
	Southbound local	←   toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College via Seventh (West Farms Square–East Tremont Avenue) → ←   toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College via Lexington weekdays, Bowling Green evenings/weekends (West Farms Square–East Tremont Avenue) →
G	Station house	Fare control, station agent, exits/entrances   Elevators inside station house on northwest corner of East 180th Street and Morris Park Avenue

New York City Subway platforms

The New York City Subway station has two island platforms and three tracks. All 2 trains, and 5 trains at all times except rush hours and late nights, stop at the outer tracks. The center track is used by 5 service during rush hours in the peak direction (when it runs express to or from Third Avenue–149th Street) and late nights (when shuttle trains from Eastchester–Dyre Avenue terminate here). The express run to Third Avenue–149th Street is 3.4 miles (5.5 km) long and bypasses seven stations, making it the second-longest express run in the system, after the 3.5-mile (5.6 km) express run between 125th Street and 59th Street–Columbus Circle on the IND Eighth Avenue Line, which also bypasses seven stations.

The south end of the platforms has a staff-only bridge allowing access from the platforms to the East 180th Street Yard directly to the west.

Heading north, after West Farms Square–East Tremont Avenue, trains turn east and enter the S-curve to East 180th Street. To the northeast are the Unionport Yard and a signal tower; just to the northwest is the flyover that carries the southbound track of the IRT Dyre Avenue Line. The 2 train continues on the IRT White Plains Road Line to Wakefield–241st Street, while the 5 train diverges to the Dyre Avenue Line northeast to Eastchester–Dyre Avenue. Some 5 trains continue on the White Plains Road Line during rush hours and run local to Nereid Avenue.

New York, Westchester and Boston Railway platforms

 

Disused platform of the New York, Westchester, and Boston Railway

Directly to the east of the platforms are the platforms of the old New York, Westchester and Boston Railway's 180th Street station.^[23] The station was designed by Fellheimer & Long with Allen H. Stem Associated Architects.^[27] Its design is reminiscent of late 19th and early 20th century revivals. After the demise of NYW&B in 1937, a portion of the main line was bought by the city of New York, which converted it into the subway and renamed it the IRT Dyre Avenue Line. The line north of Dyre Avenue and south of East 180th Street was abandoned and demolished, leaving the Dyre Avenue Line with no rail connections, so subway service debuted in 1940 as a full-time shuttle.

In 1957, a flyover connection between the IRT White Plains Road and Dyre Avenue Lines opened, allowing trains from the latter to travel to Manhattan and Brooklyn. All services that formerly used the NYW&B tracks and platforms moved to the White Plains Road Line platforms and tracks.

Exits

The fare control is in the old New York, Westchester and Boston Railway station house. A secondary exit leads to 180th Street. Until the 1980s, the station had escalators to the street level via a mezzanine, the remains of which are visible beneath the tracks.^[28]

Original station house

The original NYW&B station house on Morris Park Avenue is still in use as the main entrance. The building is made of concrete and has a three-story central section flanked by four-story projecting end pavilions; in addition, it has a street level loggia.^[29]

It contains office space and a small convenience store,^[23] and previously housed New York City Transit Police's Transit District #12, now located across the street at 460 Morris Park Avenue.^[30] The offices on the building's upper floors house employees in the New York Transit Authority's rapid transit operations, signals and structures divisions.^[23] Restoration of the station house was completed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 2013.^[31] It was designated a New York City Landmark in 1976 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.^[32] It is the only free-standing National Register building that serves as the entrance to a subway station.^[23]

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. "Annual Subway Ridership (2017–2022)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
4. General Statement of the Affairs of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company. 1914. p. 15. from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
5. "world.nycsubway.org: New York, Westchester, and Boston Railway". www.nycsubway.org. from the original on September 24, 2006. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
6. "Annual report. 1916-1917". HathiTrust. Interborough Rapid Transit Company. December 12, 2013. hdl:2027/mdp.39015016416920. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
7. "New Subway Line Opened: White Plains Extension is Now Running to 238th Street" (PDF). The New York Times. April 1, 1917. ISSN 0362-4331. (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
8. "White Plains Road Extension of Subway Opened to the Public; New Branch, Which Runs from 177th to 219th Street, Gives the Williamsbridge and Wakefield Sections of the East Bronx Rapid Transit for the First Time" (PDF). The New York Times. March 4, 1917. ISSN 0362-4331. (PDF) from the original on March 23, 2020.
9. "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.
10. "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.
11. "Westchester Line Passes With 1937; Joy and Sorrow Mark the Last Trips of Railroad That Will 'Abandon' 18,000 Riders". The New York Times. January 1, 1938. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
12. Cudahy, Brian J. (2003). A Century of Subways: Celebrating 100 Years of New York's Underground Railways. New York: Fordham University Press. ISBN 9780823222957.
13. "Rail Line is Added to Subway System". The New York Times. May 16, 1941. p. 25. from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
14. "Transit Record for 1940-1941". Photobucket. March 1942. from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
15. "Two Anniversaries–Dyre Avenue and Nassau Street". New York Division Bulletin. 54 (5). New York Division, Electric Railroaders' Association. May 2011. from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2016 – via Issu.
16. "Annual Report For The Year Ended June 30, 1957" (Document). New York City Transit Authority. October 1957. p. 9.
17. Report for the three and one-half years ending June 30, 1949. [New York. 1949. hdl:2027/mdp.39015023094926.
18. "New York City Transit Authority–Rapid Transit Operation" (PDF). Transit Record: Monthly Report of Operations New York City Transit System. 38 (9). New York City Transit Authority: 6. September 1958. (PDF) from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
19. Authority, New York City Transit (January 1, 1955). Minutes and Proceedings.
20. "Map of the IRT Dyre Avenue Line". New York Division Bulletin. 30 (10). October 1987.
21. "NYW&B RR West Farms Trestle Demolition-2003". Flickr. March 11, 2016. from the original on August 2, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
22. "Photos 1-50 of 52". www.nycsubway.org. from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
23. Dunlap, David W. (January 31, 2013). "100 Years Later, a Railroad Landmark Is Revived". The New York Times. p. A22. from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
24. East 180th Street Station Restoration. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
25. Mitchell, Max (August 25, 2010). "Station rehab may bring in new stores". Bronx-Times Reporter. p. 8. from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2011.
26. "May 2013 Capital Program Status Report - Transit and Bus Committee" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 2013. p. 4.95 (PDF p. 150). (PDF) from the original on March 23, 2020.
27. Potter, Janet Greenstein (1996). Great American Railroad Stations. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 174. ISBN 978-0471143895.
28. "East 180th Street Neighborhood Map" (PDF). new.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. April 2018. (PDF) from the original on July 3, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
29. David J. Framberger and Joan R. Olshansky (June 1979). . New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2011. See also: "Accompanying four photos". from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
30. "Transit District 12 - NYPD". New York City Police Department. from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
31. "MTA Restores Historic Bronx Subway Station House to Original Grandeur" (Press release). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 15, 2013. from the original on March 23, 2020. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
32. "State Listings New York". National Register of Historic Places. from the original on August 25, 2010. Retrieved August 18, 2010.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to East 180th Street (IRT White Plains Road Line).