42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

 42nd Street–
 Port Authority Bus Terminal
 
355
StructureUnderground
Levels2 (lower level abandoned)
Platforms2 island platforms
cross-platform interchange (upper level)
1 abandoned side platform (lower level)
Tracks4 (upper level)
1 (lower level)
Other information
OpenedSeptember 10, 1932; 91 years ago (1932-09-10)[2] (upper level)
August 25, 1952; 71 years ago (1952-08-25)[3] (lower level)
Closed1981 (lower level)
AccessibleThis station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ADA-accessible (passageway to Times Square–42nd Street not accessible)
Opposite-
direction
transfer		Yes
Traffic
202354,266,441[a][4] Increase 20.5%
Rank1[a] out of 423[4]
Services
Preceding station New York City Subway New York City Subway Following station
59th Street–Columbus Circle
A all except late nights
toward Inwood–207th Street
Express 		34th Street–Penn Station
A all times ​C all except late nights ​E all times
southbound
50th Street
A late nights ​C all except late nights ​E all times
services split
Local
Track layout

Legend
Upper level
to 59th Street–Columbus Circle
to 50th Street lower level
to 50th Street upper level
to former lower level
from former lower level
to 34th Street–Penn Station
Former lower level
from middle southbound track
platform cut off by wall
"7" train"7" express train tracks
Station service legend
Symbol Description
Stops all times Stops in station at all times
Stops all times except late nights Stops all times except late nights
Stops late nights only Stops late nights only
Stops late nights and weekends Stops late nights and weekends only
Stops weekdays during the day Stops weekdays during the day
Stops weekends during the day Stops weekends during the day
Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction
Stops all times except weekdays in the peak direction Stops all times except weekdays in the peak direction
Stops daily except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except nights and rush hours in the peak direction
Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours only
Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
Station closed Station is closed
(Details about time periods)

The 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station is an express station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan, it is served by the A and E trains at all times, and by the C train at all times except late nights. Passageways connect this station to the nearby station at Times Square–42nd Street, providing a free transfer, and to the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

The 42nd Street station was built as an express station for the Independent Subway System (IND)'s Eighth Avenue Line. The station opened on September 9, 1932, as part of the initial section of the Eighth Avenue Line. The connection to the Port Authority Bus Terminal opened in 1950, and a platform on a lower level operated intermittently between 1952 and 1981. A free transfer to the Times Square station opened in 1988.

The station has two offset island platforms and four tracks, as well as a mezzanine leading from 40th to 42nd Streets. There was originally a lower level with one track and one side platform that served southbound trains from the Queens Boulevard Line. The station is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, but the passageway to the Times Square–42nd Street complex is not accessible. The Times Square/Port Authority stations comprise the busiest station complex in the system, serving 65,020,294 passengers in 2019.[5]

History

Planning and construction

As early as March 1918, soon after the

Penn Station, with provisions to continue downtown.[7][8]

Mayor

Wall Street and under the East River to Downtown Brooklyn.[9][10] The BOT announced a list of stations on the new line in February 1928, with an express station at 40th Street.[11]

A

cut-and-cover method, where the street above was excavated. Still, the construction of the line was difficult, as it had to go under or over several subway lines. 42nd Street, the longest station along the line at 1,115 feet (340 m), was expected to be a major express station with large platforms, so the platforms were staggered away from each other in order to avoid going under property lines.[13] The station's construction required over 4,000 short tons (3,600 long tons; 3,600 t) of structural steel and nearly 15,000 cubic feet (420 m3) of concrete. Neighboring buildings, such as the Times Square Hotel and the Franklin Savings Bank at 42nd Street, had to be underpinned because the station extended all the way to the property line on either side.[14] Several workers died in cave-ins during construction.[13] The stations on the line were built with 600 feet (180 m) long platforms, but they had provisions to lengthen them to 660 feet (200 m) to accommodate eleven-car trains.[15]
: 70 

The IND's 42nd Street station was substantially completed by December 1930 except for some interior finishes.

207th Street.[2][18] At the time of the IND Eighth Avenue Line's completion, the New York Herald Tribune referred to the line's 42nd Street station as the "largest platform in the world".[19] The line's opening was expected to spur development around the intersection of 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue.[20] The construction of the Eighth Avenue Line caused real-estate values along Eighth Avenue to increase by as much as 400 percent.[21][22]

A pedestrian passageway under 41st Street, connecting the IND station at 42nd Street with the IRT and BMT stations at Times Square, opened on December 24, 1932; the passageway included an entrance on 41st Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues.[23] Passengers had to pay an additional fare to transfer to and from the IND.[24]

Mid-20th century

With the construction of the

Aqueduct Racetrack special fare trains from 1959 to 1981, and rush hour E trains in the 1970s, beginning on March 23, 1970.[28][29][30]

By the 1970s, city officials planned to raise funds for a renovation of the Times Square station complex, using sales-tax revenue from materials used in the construction of the

CCTV screens at the Columbus Circle subway station. The MTA expanded the experiment to the Times Square–42nd Street station in 1983.[32] The cameras were deactivated in 1985 after further tests showed that their presence did not help reduce crime.[33] The MTA considered transferring 220 CCTV cameras from these stations to token booths at the stations with the most crime.[34] On August 1, 1988, the passageway between the IND Eighth Avenue Line station and the IRT/BMT complex was finally placed within fare control.[35] The two previously separate stations had the highest crime rates in the system at the time.[36]

Late 20th and early 21st centuries

Entrance

The

Prudential Insurance and Park Tower Realty was given permission to postpone the construction of these buildings.[39][40]

The station underwent total reconstruction in three stages starting in 1994.[41] The Eighth Avenue Line platforms were renovated as part of the second phase of the project, finished in 2006.[41]

In the late 2000s, the MTA began construction on an

34th Street–Hudson Yards.[44][45]

Station layout

Physical locations of the platforms
Downtown platform
Ground Street level Exits/entrances
Basement 1 Upper mezzanine Fare control, station agents, MetroCard machines, passageway to Port Authority Bus Terminal and Times Square–42nd Street
Disabled access
*inside north wing of bus terminal at Eighth Avenue between 41st Street and 42nd Street, near airport bus ticket office
  • inside the
    platform lift
    ; the lift can be manually operated by a station agent's assistance.
Note: Passageway to Times Square–42nd Street has a steep grade
Basement 2 Northbound local ← "C" train toward 168th Street (50th Street)
← "E" train toward Jamaica Center–Parsons/Archer (50th Street)
← "A" train toward Inwood–207th Street late nights (50th Street)
Island platform Disabled access
Northbound express ← "A" train toward Inwood–207th Street (59th Street–Columbus Circle)
Southbound express → "A" train toward Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue, Ozone Park–Lefferts Boulevard or Rockaway Park–Beach 116th Street (34th Street–Penn Station) →
Island platform Disabled access
Southbound local → "C" train toward Euclid Avenue (34th Street–Penn Station) →
→ "E" train toward World Trade Center (34th Street–Penn Station) →
→ "A" train toward Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue late nights (34th Street–Penn Station) →
Basement 4
Flushing
Line 		Southbound ← "7" train"7" express train do not stop here
Northbound → "7" train"7" express train do not stop here →

The 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station is an express stop that abuts the

island platforms, and a long mezzanine. Formerly, it also had a lower level with a single side platform, which could be served by southbound trains from the IND Queens Boulevard Line.[49] The 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station is fully wheelchair-accessible. A ramp connects to the Times Square–42nd Street station but is not accessible.[50]

Wall mosaics

The station ranges up to 50 feet (15 m) below the street, running under Eighth Avenue in approximately a north–south direction, one block west of the Times Square–42nd Street station.[14] Both island platforms were originally 600 feet (180 m) long,[49] although the station served 660-foot-long (200 m), 11-car trains on the E route from 1953[51] to 1958.[52] The northbound platform extends from 42nd to 44th Streets[13] and is 30 feet (9.1 m) wide.[49] The southbound island platform extends from 40th to 42nd Streets[13] and is 36 feet (11 m) wide. Formerly, escalators led from the mezzanine to the southbound side platform on the lower level, dividing the southbound island platforms.[49] At 41st Street, the station crosses over the IRT Flushing Line tunnels; this overpass required 217,000 pounds (98,000 kg) of steel.[14]

The walls beside each local track contain blue-tile bands with black borders; since 42nd Street is an express station, it has a wider tile band than local stations. The tile colors are intended to help riders identify their station more easily, part of a color-coded

50th Street, the local station to the north; the next express station, 59th Street, used a different tile color.[54][55]

Former lower level

The 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station formerly had a lower platform level, with one track underneath the southbound local track and one side platform underneath the southbound island platform. The lower level featured two high-speed escalators to the mezzanine, and three staircases to the southbound island platform.[27] The walls featured 1950s-era cream tiles, a purple and black tile band, and white mosaic name plates with black "42ND ST" text.[3][28]

Theories differ on why the lower-level platform was built. The platform could only be reached by trains originating from Queens via the IND Queens Boulevard Line, and 53rd Street (the current E service), and a 1930 New York Times article said the platform had always been intended for Queens Boulevard Line service.[49] Reportedly, this would have allowed E trains to load and unload passengers without having to wait for one of the two upper level tracks to clear.[3][27] When the station was being built, the 42nd Street Property Owners' and Merchants' Association expressed concerns that the double-level station would prevent the Flushing Line from being extended westward.[56] The New York Herald Tribune wrote in 1928: "The construction is such as will enable the engineers to extend the Queensboro subway under and beyond Eighth Avenue in the direction of the 42nd Street ferry if desired".[57]

Film producers have used the lower-level platform for several films, most notably Ghost (1990), starring Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. By the 2010s, the lower-level platform had been bisected by the extension of the Flushing Line.[28]

Mezzanines

A sign at the western end of the passageway ramp, informing customers that the passageway to rest of the complex is not ADA-accessible

The IND mezzanine stretches above the platforms, under Eighth Avenue, from 40th to 44th Street. It covers 130,000 square feet (12,000 m2).[14] It was one of four large mezzanines at express stations on the Eighth Avenue Line where passengers could walk the entire length of the mezzanines without having to pay a fare. It was proposed to develop the mezzanines of these four stations with shops, so that they would become retail corridors.[13] The station's mezzanine extends four blocks from 40th to 44th Streets.[58] There were originally six stairs from the mezzanine to either of the IND's island platforms. The center of the mezzanine originally featured an 18-foot-wide (5.5 m) public passageway outside fare control. Between 44th and 42nd Streets, the passageway was flanked by stores on the west and stairs to the northbound platform on the east. Between 42nd and 40th Streets, the stairs to the southbound island platform were on the west, while there were stores to the east.[49]

A 600-foot-long passageway runs under 41st Street[23] and connects the IND station with the Times Square complex.[58] The passageway is located above the mezzanines at either end.[59] It is stair-free but contains steep ramps at both ends, which are not ADA-compliant.[50][59] At the eastern end of the passageway, the passageway connects to a mezzanine at the Times Square station, just above the IRT Flushing Line's platform.[60]: 7, 18 

Artwork

Losing My Marbles mosaic
The Revelers and The Commuter's Lament

The Port Authority and Times Square stations contain several artworks commissioned as part of the MTA Arts & Design program. In 1991, Norman B. Colp created The Commuter's Lament or A Close Shave, a series of signs attached to the roof of the 41st Street passageway between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, inspired by classic Burma-Shave ads.[61] In order, the signs read Overslept/So tired/If late/Get fired/Why bother?/Why the pain?/Just go home/Do it again.[61][62][63] The last panel is a picture of a bed.[62] The panels were part of an art project that was supposed to last only one year, but were never removed.[61] The mezzanine also contains a mosaic artwork by Jane Dickson, Revelers. The mosaics depict about 70 life-size people who are moving around in groups.[64]

The 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station contains the mosaic artwork Losing My Marbles, which was created by Lisa Dinhofer and installed in 2003.[65][66] The primary section of the artwork is on a 32-foot-wide (9.8 m) portion of wall, which depicts marbles overlaid on a black-and-white "floor" with a gold-colored frame; the marbles seem to be rolling in the viewer's direction. The artwork extends onto two additional walls.[66]

Exits

There is one street stair to each of the northwest, northeast, and southeast corners of Eighth Avenue and 40th Street. There are two underground passageways to Port Authority Bus Terminal: one between 40th and 41st Streets, and a wheelchair accessible passageway between 41st and 42nd Streets. At the intersection of Eighth Avenue and 42nd Street, there is one street stair to the northwest corner, one stair inside a building on the northeast corner, and one escalator bank inside a building on the southeast corner. One street stair leads to the southwest corner of Eighth Avenue and 43rd Street. Finally, there is one street stair to each of the northwest, southwest, and southeast corners of Eighth Avenue and 44th Street. The southwest-corner entrance also has a wheelchair lift that leads to an elevator. All of these exits are signed as serving the A, C, E, and 7 trains.[67]

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b Ridership data includes Times Square–42nd Street station, 42nd Street–Port Authority Bus Terminal station, and 42nd Street–Bryant Park/Fifth Avenue station

Citations

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  4. ^ a b "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
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  18. ^ 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). The New York Times. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 18, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
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  27. ^ a b c d Ingraham, Joseph C. (June 20, 1952). "New IND Platform at 8th and 42d To Expedite Service From Queens" (PDF). The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  28. ^ a b c Mindlin, Alex (April 20, 2008). "No Whoosh, No 'All Aboard'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
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  62. ^ a b Carlson, Jen (August 10, 2018). "Thanks MTA For The Depressing AF Poem That's Been In This Subway Tunnel Since The '90s". Gothamist. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
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  64. ^ "Revelers". MTA. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  65. ^ Blakinger, Keri (April 25, 2016). "A look at the colorful marbles bouncing around Times Square subway stop". New York Daily News. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  66. ^ a b "Losing My Marbles". MTA. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  67. ^ "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Times Sq-42 St (1)(2)(3)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2018. Archived from the original on August 29, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2020.

Further reading

  • Stookey, Lee (1994). Subway ceramics : a history and iconography of mosaic and bas relief signs and plaques in the New York City subway system. Brattleboro, Vt: L. Stookey.
    OCLC 31901471
    .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 42nd Street – Port Authority Bus Terminal (IND Eighth Avenue Line).
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