33rd Street station (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)

Coordinates: 40°44′47″N 73°58′55″W / 40.74639°N 73.98194°W / 40.74639; -73.98194
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with 33rd Street–Rawson Street station.
For other uses, see 33rd Street.

 33 Street
 
QM24
Ferry transport NYC Ferry: Astoria and Soundview Routes
(on FDR Drive and East 34th Street)
StructureUnderground
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks4
Other information
OpenedOctober 27, 1904 (119 years ago) (1904-10-27)[4]
Opposite-
direction
transfer		No
Traffic
20235,666,586[5] Increase 16.8%
Rank37 out of 423[5]
Services
Preceding station New York City Subway New York City Subway Following station
<6> weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction
toward Pelham Bay Park
Local
<6> weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction
toward Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall
"5" train does not stop here
Location
33rd Street station (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) is located in New York City Subway
33rd Street station (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
33rd Street station (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) is located in New York City
33rd Street station (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
33rd Street station (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) is located in New York
33rd Street station (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
Track layout

Legend
to
Grand Central–42nd St
to 28th Street
Street map

Map

Station service legend
Symbol Description
Stops all times Stops all times
Stops late nights only Stops late nights only
Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
33rd Street Subway Station (IRT)
New York City Landmark
 No. 1096
MPS
New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP reference No.04001014[2]
NYCL No.1096
Significant dates
Added to NRHPSeptember 17, 2004
Designated NYCLOctober 23, 1979[6]

The 33rd Street station is a local

<6> trains during weekdays in the peak direction, and 4
trains during late night hours.

The 33rd 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 33rd Street station started on September 12 of the same year. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. After the city's first subway line was split into multiple lines in 1918, there was a failed proposal in the 1920s to convert 33rd Street into an express station. The station's platforms were lengthened in the late 1940s.

The 33rd Street station contains two

New York City designated landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.

History

Construction and opening

Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864.[8]: 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.[8]: 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,[8]: 148  and all legal conflicts concerning the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899.[8]: 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,[9] in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.[8]: 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.[8]: 182 

The 33rd Street station was constructed as part of the route segment from Great Jones Street to 41st Street. Construction on this section of the line began on September 12, 1900. The section from Great Jones Street to a point 100 feet (30 m) north of 33rd Street was awarded to Holbrook, Cabot & Daly Contracting Company, while the remaining section to 41st Street was done by Ira A. Shaler.[9][10]: 4–5  The section between 33rd and 41st Streets was built as two double-track tunnels. To accommodate a never-built connection to the mainline platforms at Grand Central Terminal, the tunnel carrying northbound trains was shifted eastward (nearly touching the eastern curb line of Park Avenue). At the time, the railroads that operated the terminal had not agreed to the connection.[10]: 7  Property owners did not learn about the change until a series of accidents occurred along the excavation site in 1902.[10]: 7  A dynamite explosion near Park Avenue and 41st Street on January 27, 1902, killed five people,[11][12] and several mansions on Park Avenue fell into the excavation site that March due to rockslides.[13] Shaler became known by the pejorative nickname of "hoodoo contractor" as a result.[14] After Shaler was killed by a rockslide in his own excavation site on June 17, 1902,[15] his estate completed the construction of the tunnel between 33rd and 41st Street.[10]: 5 

By late 1903, the subway was nearly complete, but the

145th Street on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line.[4][8]: 186  Litigation over the IRT's Murray Hill tunnels continued for several years;[10]: 7–8  in 1905, a judge found that the city government was responsible for the January 1902 explosion.[17] In spite of this, the northbound tunnel was never relocated, as it had already been completed.[10]
: 7–8 

Service changes and station renovations

33rd Street station in 1905

After the first subway line was completed in 1908,

Lenox Avenue (145th Street).[19]

To address overcrowding, in 1909, the

Grand Central–42nd Street in 1918, and the original line was divided into an H-shaped system. All local trains were sent via the Lexington Avenue Line, running along the Pelham Line in the Bronx.[22]

In December 1922, the Transit Commission approved a proposal to convert the 33rd Street station into an express stop.

Times Square–42nd Street, and Grand Central–42nd Street.[34][35]

In 1928, to alleviate overcrowding on the Lexington Avenue Line, a consulting engineer for the New York State Transit Commission proposed the construction of "reservoir" stations at 33rd/34th and 42nd Streets.[36] The proposal entailed constructing a northbound-only tunnel under Lexington Avenue from 30th to 42nd Street, with stations at 34th and 42nd Streets, then converting the IRT tunnel under Park Avenue and the existing 33rd and 42nd Street stations to southbound-only use. The northbound and southbound stations at 33rd/34th and 42nd Streets would both have had two express tracks and one local track; the express tracks in either direction would have merged with each other north of 42nd Street and south of 30th Street.[36] Although the "reservoir" plan was technically feasible, the $25 million projected cost was too high.[37]

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.[38][39] In January 1947, the New York City Board of Transportation awarded a $4.003 million contract for the lengthening of platforms at the 23rd Street, 28th Street, and 33rd Street stations.[40] The platform extensions at all three stations opened on April 13, 1948, after which they could accommodate ten-car trains.[41] On December 27, 1948, a new entrance to the station at 32nd Street opened for use.[41]

In 1979, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the space within the boundaries of the original station, excluding expansions made after 1904, as a city landmark.[6] The station was designated along with eleven others on the original IRT.[6][42] The original interiors were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.[2]

Station layout

Ground Street level Entrances/exits
Platform level Side platform
Northbound local ← "6" train"6" express train toward Pelham Bay Park or Parkchester (Grand Central–42nd Street)
← "4" train toward Woodlawn late nights (Grand Central–42nd Street)
Northbound express ← "4" train"5" train do not stop here
Southbound express → "4" train"5" train do not stop here →
Southbound local → "6" train"6" express train toward Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall (28th Street) →
→ "4" train toward New Lots Avenue late nights (28th Street) →
Side platform

Like other local stations, 33rd Street has four tracks and two

<6> trains stop here in the peak direction;[43] and the 4 stops here during late nights.[44] The two express tracks are used by the 4 and 5 trains during daytime hours.[45] The station is between Grand Central–42nd Street to the north and 28th Street to the south.[46] The platforms were originally 200 feet (61 m) long, like at other local stations on the original IRT,[6]: 4 [2]: 3  but later became 520 feet (160 m) long.[41] The platform extensions are at the southern ends of the original platforms.[47]: 35  The express tracks stay level, while the local tracks slowly incline from south to north to allow for the easier deceleration of local trains. This results in a layout where the express tracks are at a lower elevation than the local tracks in the northern half of the station.[48]

North of the station, the two pairs of tracks in each direction separate into different tunnels because of the presence of the

Murray Hill Tunnel, which runs under the center of this section of Park Avenue.[45][10]: 5  As built, the tunnels were supposed to have been 17 feet (5.2 m) apart, but the northbound tunnel (to the east) was shifted eastward by another 21 feet (6.4 m) to accommodate a three-track connection from the original IRT subway north to the mainline Grand Central Terminal. There is a drainage pipe connecting the two tunnels between 37th and 38th Streets, as well as a cross-passage between 38th and 39th Streets.[10]
: 5 

Design

Faience plaque with eagle
Mosaic name tablet
Mosaic with number "33"
Lariat Seat Loops, the Art for Transit installation on the columns

As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the station was constructed using a

cut-and-cover method.[49]: 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.[2]: 3–4 [47]: 9  Each platform consists of 3-inch-thick (7.6 cm) concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The original platforms contain I-beam columns spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m), while the platform extensions contain columns with white glazed tiles. Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every 5 feet (1.5 m), support the jack-arched concrete station roofs.[2]: 3–4 [6]: 4 [47]: 9  The ceiling height varies, being about 15 feet (4.6 m) above platform level near the northern fare control areas, and lower in other portions of the station.[2]: 5  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.[2]: 3–4 [47]
: 9 

The

wainscoting on the lowest part of the wall, with bronze air vents along the wainscoting, and white glass tiles above. The platform walls are divided at 15-foot (4.6 m) intervals by buff and green mosaic tile pilasters, or vertical bands. In the original portion of the station, each pilaster is topped by green faience plaques depicting eagles, an allusion to the former 71st Regiment Armory at Park Avenue and 33rd Street; the eagles hold blue and white shields containing the number "33". A cornice with yellow and brown vine and fretwork patterns runs atop these walls.[2]: 4–5 [6]: 8  The platform extensions contain tiles with the number "33" atop the pilasters. Mosaic plaques with the words "33rd St." are also spaced at various intervals on the walls.[2]: 5  The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted the installations at each station.[47]: 31  The decorative work was performed by tile contractor John H. Parry and faience contractor Grueby Faience Company.[47]: 35  The ceilings of the northern fare control areas contain plaster molding.[2]: 4–5 [47]
: 10 

The 1997 artwork at this station is Lariat Seat Loops by James Garvey. These are composed of fourteen bronze loops surrounding the I-beam columns near the northern fare control areas, which are designed as handholds or seat rests.[50][51][52] According to Garvey, "the thick bronze bar ... resembles the lasso demonstration in a Will Rogers film clip".[51] Garvey subsequently designed Lariat Tapers, a similar artwork at the Wall Street station, in 2011.[53]

33rd St to 34th St subway cross-section
11th Av 10th & 9th Avs
are skipped
 Farley Building &
Moynihan Train Hall 		8th Av Madison Square
Garden 		7th Av Storefronts 6th Av &
Broadway 		5th & Madison Avs
are skipped 		Park Av
mezzanine
 train hall A / C / E
concourse
 1 / 2 / 3
Former Gimbel's
passageway
mezz
 PATH
6 / <6>
mezzanine
conc
 mezzanine
concourse
 mezzanine
N / Q / R / W
7 / <7>
Penn Station (Platform Level)
B/D/F/<F>/M
This box:


Exits

Southbound street stairs

Each platform has exits to both 32nd and 33rd Streets. The northbound platform's exits are on the eastern side of Park Avenue while the southbound platform's exits are on the western side.[2]: 4 [54] The street staircases contain relatively simple, modern steel railings like those seen at most New York City Subway stations.[2]: 6 

At 33rd Street, each control area contains two exits, one each to the north and south sides of 33rd Street. These exits are directly outside 4 Park Avenue to the northwest, 2 Park Avenue to the southwest, 3 Park Avenue to the northeast, and 1 Park Avenue to the southeast.[54] At 32nd Street, each control area contains two exits to the south side of that street.[2]: 4 [54]


References

  1. ^ "Borough of Manhattan, New York City". Government of New York City. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "New York MPS 33rd Street Subway Station (IRT)". Records of the National Park Service, 1785 - 2006, Series: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 - 2017, Box: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: New York, ID: 75313919. National Archives.
  3. ^ "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (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.
  4. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Interborough Rapid Transit System, Underground Interior" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. October 23, 1979. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  7. ^ "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917. New York, N.Y.: Law Printing. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  9. ^ a b 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.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h "Eighty Years of Subway Service to the Bronx" (PDF). The Bulletin. Vol. 28, no. 7. Electric Railroaders' Association. July 1985. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  11. ^ "Another Awful Tunnel Disaster". The Buffalo Review. January 28, 1902. p. 1. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  12. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  13. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  14. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  15. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  16. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  17. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  18. ^ "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. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  19. ^ Herries, William (1916). Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac. Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 119. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  20. ^ a b Hood, Clifton (1978). "The Impact of the IRT in New York City" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 146–207 (PDF pp. 147–208). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  21. ^ a b 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. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  22. ^ "Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph — Great H System Put in Operation Marks an Era in Railroad Construction — No Hitch in the Plans — But Public Gropes Blindly to Find the Way in Maze of New Stations — Thousands Go Astray — Leaders in City's Life Hail Accomplishment of Great Task at Meeting at the Astor" (PDF). The New York Times. August 2, 1918. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  23. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  24. ProQuest 573974563
    .
  25. ^ Supreme Court Appellate Division-Second Department. pp. 458–460. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  26. ^ ERA Headlights. Electric Railroaders Association. 1956. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  27. ProQuest 103095323
    .
  28. ProQuest 1114723855
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    . Retrieved June 21, 2022.
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    .
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  34. ^
    ProQuest 1111984236
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    ISSN 0362-4331
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    .
  38. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
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    . Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  41. ^
    hdl:2027/mdp.39015023094926
    .
  42. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on March 9, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  43. ^ a b "6 Subway Timetable, Effective August 12, 2023". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  44. ^ "4 Subway Timetable, Effective December 4, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  45. ^
    OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books
    .
  46. ^ "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  47. ^ a b c d e f g Framberger, David J. (1978). "Architectural Designs for New York's First Subway" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 1–46 (PDF pp. 367–412). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  48. ^ Lavis, Fred (1914). "The New York Rapid Transit Railway Extensions". nycsubway.org. Engineering News. Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  49. ^ Scott, Charles (1978). "Design and Construction of the IRT: Civil Engineering" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 208–282 (PDF pp. 209–283). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2020. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  50. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  51. ^ a b "33rd Street - James Garvey - Lariat Seat Loops, 1997". web.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  52. ISBN 978-0-88150-996-0. Archived
    from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  53. ^ "Wall Street - James Garvey - Lariat Tapers, 2011". web.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  54. ^ a b c "MTA Neighborhood Maps: 28 St (6)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2018. Archived from the original on August 29, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2020.

Further reading

  • Lee Stokey. Subway Ceramics: A History and Iconography. 1994.
    ISBN 978-0-9635486-1-0

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 33rd Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line).
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