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

Coordinates: 40°45′40″N 73°59′02″W / 40.761°N 73.984°W / 40.761; -73.984
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see 50th Street.

 50 Street
 
BxM2
StructureUnderground
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks4
Other information
OpenedOctober 27, 1904; 119 years ago (1904-10-27)[2]
Opposite-
direction
transfer		No
Traffic
20235,893,837[3] Increase 19.1%
Rank38 out of 423[3]
Services
Preceding station New York City Subway New York City Subway Following station
59th Street–Columbus Circle
1 all times ​2 late nights
toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street
Local 		Times Square–42nd Street
1 all times ​2 late nights
toward South Ferry
"3" train does not stop here
Location
50th Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) is located in New York City Subway
50th Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
50th Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) is located in New York City
50th Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
50th Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) is located in New York
50th Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
Track layout

Legend
to
59th St–Columbus Circle
to
Times Square–42nd St
Street map

Map

Station service legend
Symbol Description
Stops all times Stops all times
Stops late nights only Stops late nights only

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.

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

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

145th Street on the West Side Branch.[2][5]
: 186 

Service changes and station renovations

After the first subway line was completed in 1908,

Lenox Avenue (145th Street).[10]

View of station columns

To address overcrowding, in 1909, the

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.

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

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,

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] In early 2024, a pizzeria opened next to the station's southbound platform, adjacent to an existing coffee shop and cocktail bar.[38][39]

Station layout

Entrance to uptown platform
Ground Street level Exit/entrance
Platform level Side platform
Northbound local ← "1" train toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street (59th Street–Columbus Circle)
← "2" train toward Wakefield–241st Street late nights (59th Street–Columbus Circle)
Northbound express ← "2" train"3" train do not stop here
Southbound express → "2" train"3" train do not stop here →
Southbound local → "1" train toward South Ferry (Times Square–42nd Street) →
→ "2" train 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

Times Square–42nd Street to the south.[44] The platforms were originally 200 feet (61 m) long, like at other local stations on the original IRT,[6]: 4 [45]: 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

transverse arches, support the jack-arched concrete station roofs.[6]: 4 [45]
: 8 

The decorative scheme consists of green faience station-name tablets, blue tile bands, a green cornice, and blue plaques.[45]: 36  The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted the installations at each station.[45]: 31  The decorative work was performed by tile contractor Manhattan Glass Tile Company and faience contractor Grueby Faience Company.[45]: 36  The ceilings of the original platforms and fare control areas contain plaster molding.[45]: 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

Alice in Wonderland.[46][47] 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."[47]

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.[48]

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.[49] Another exit goes to the southern sunken courtyard of Paramount Plaza on the northwest corner of 50th Street and Broadway.[48]

References

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  4. ^ "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b c d "Interborough Rapid Transit System, Underground Interior" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. October 23, 1979. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    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. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  10. ^ Herries, William (1916). Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac. Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 119. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  11. ^ 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)
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on August 3, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
  14. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  15. ProQuest 573974563
    .
  16. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved June 21, 2022.
  17. ProQuest 1237290874
    .
  18. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  19. ProQuest 1248134780
    .
  20. ^ Brown, Nicole (May 17, 2019). "How did the MTA subway lines get their letter or number? NYCurious". amNewYork. Archived 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. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  22. ^ a b c d "High-Speed Broadway Local Service Began in 1959". The Bulletin. Vol. 52, no. 2. New York Division, Electric Railroaders' Association. February 2009. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2016 – via Issuu.
  23. ProQuest 1327014687
    .
  24. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on October 6, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  25. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on January 1, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  26. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    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. Archived 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. Archived 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. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  31. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    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. Archived 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. Archived from the original on November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  34. ^ "Announcing 1 and 9 Skip-Stop Service on the Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line" (PDF). New York City Transit Authority. August 1989. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  35. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  36. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on March 17, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  37. ^ "Noteworthy – 9 discontinued". May 7, 2005. Archived from the original on May 7, 2005. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  38. ^ Orlow, Emma (March 13, 2024). "This Restaurant Hopes to Turn Subway Stations Into Destinations". Eater NY. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  39. ^ Sutherland-Namako, Amber (February 27, 2024). "A hidden pizzeria just opened underground in a midtown train station". Time Out New York. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  40. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books
    .
  41. ^ "1 Subway Timetable, Effective August 12, 2023". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  42. ^ a b "2 Subway Timetable, Effective June 26, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  43. ^ "3 Subway Timetable, Effective June 26, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  44. ^ "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  45. ^ a b c d e f 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)
  46. ^ "Arts for Transit and Urban Design". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  47. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  48. ^ a b "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Midtown West" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 24, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  49. ^ Sutherland-Namako, Amber (January 28, 2022). "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).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=50th_Street_station_(IRT_Broadway–Seventh_Avenue_Line)&oldid=1219948353"