53rd Street station (BMT Fourth Avenue Line)
53 Street | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Structure | Underground | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Platforms | 2 side platforms | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tracks | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | September 22, 1915[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | March 27, 2017 | (reconstruction)|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rebuilt | September 8, 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opposite- direction transfer | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other entrances/ exits | Fourth Avenue and 53rd Street, Fourth Avenue and 52nd Street (southbound only) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Traffic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2023 | 2,018,914[4] 8% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank | 163 out of 423[4] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 53rd Street station is a local station on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at 53rd Street and Fourth Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, it is served by the R train at all times. The N train also stops here during late nights, and some rush-hour W trains stop here in the peak direction.
The 53rd Street station was constructed as part of the Fourth Avenue Line, which was approved in 1905. Construction on the segment of the line that includes 53rd Street started on March 15, 1913, and was completed in 1915. The station opened on September 22, 1915, after the opening of the initial portion of the BMT Fourth Avenue Line to
History
Construction and opening
The 53rd Street station was constructed as part of the Fourth Avenue Line, the plan for which was initially adopted on June 1, 1905.[8] The Rapid Transit Commission was succeeded on July 1, 1907, by the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC), which approved the plan for the line in late 1907.[9][10]
As part of negotiations between New York City, the
Construction on Route 11B1, the section of the extension between 43rd Street and 61st Street, which includes the 53rd Street station, began on March 15, 1913. Originally, this section was planned to have two tracks, but after the connection to the
Station renovations
1920s
On June 27, 1922, the New York State Transit Commission commissioned its engineers to examine platform-lengthening plans for 23 stations on the lines of the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT), the successor to the BRT, to accommodate eight-car trains. As part of the project, 53rd Street's platforms would have been lengthened from 495 feet (151 m) to 530 feet (160 m).[15] Though the Transit Commission ordered the BMT to lengthen these platforms in September 1923, progress on the extensions did not occur until February 16, 1925, when the New York City Board of Transportation (NYCBOT) commissioned its engineers to examine platform-lengthening plans for this and eleven other stations along the Fourth Avenue Line. It estimated the project would cost $633,000 (equivalent to $10,998,000 in 2023) (equivalent to $10,998,000 in 2023).[16] The NYCBOT received bids for the project on February 25, 1926.[17] The contract was awarded to the Corson Construction Company for $345,021 (equivalent to $5,938,000 in 2023) (equivalent to $5,938,000 in 2023).[18] The extensions opened on August 1, 1927.[6]
1960s
The city government took over the BMT's operations on June 1, 1940.[19][20] In the 1960s, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) started a project to lengthen station platforms on its lines in Southern Brooklyn to 615 feet (187 m) to accommodate 10-car trains.[7] On July 14, 1967, the NYCTA awarded a contract to conduct test borings at eleven stations on the Fourth Avenue Line, including 53rd Street, to the W. M. Walsh Corporation for $6,585 (equivalent to $60,172 in 2023) in preparation of the construction of platform extensions (equivalent to $60,000 in 2023).[21] The NYCTA issued an invitation for bids on the project to extend the platforms at stations along the Fourth Avenue Line between 45th Street station and Bay Ridge—95th Street, including this station, on May 3, 1968.[22]
As part of the renovation project, the station's platforms were extended 85 feet (26 m) to the south,[7][23][24] and the station's elaborate mosaic tile walls were covered over with 8-by-16-inch (20 by 41 cm) white cinderblock tiles. The latter change, which was also made to fifteen other stations on the BMT Broadway and Fourth Avenue Line, was criticized for being dehumanizing. The NYCTA spokesman stated that the old tiles were in poor condition and that the change was made to improve the appearance of stations and provide uniformity. Furthermore, it did not consider the old mosaics to have "any great artistic merit".[25]
2017
As part of the
Station layout
Ground | Street level | Exit/entrance |
Mezzanine | Fare control, station agent | |
Platform level | Side platform | |
Northbound local | ← toward Forest Hills–71st Avenue (Whitehall Street–South Ferry late nights) (45th Street) ← toward Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard late nights (45th Street) ← toward Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard (select weekday trips) (45th Street) | |
Northbound express | ← does not stop here | |
Southbound express | does not stop here → | |
Southbound local | toward Bay Ridge–95th Street (59th Street) → toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue late nights (59th Street) → toward 86th Street (select weekday trips) (59th Street) → | |
Side platform |
This underground station has four tracks and two side platforms.[35] The R stops here at all times;[36] some rush-hour W trains stop here in the peak direction;[37] and the N stops here during late nights, but uses the center express tracks to bypass the station during daytime hours.[38] The station is between 45th Street to the north and 59th Street to the south.[39]
Columns run along the entire length of both platforms and are painted black.[24] Every other column has a "53 Street" sign on it in black with white text.[40] All are rounded except for the ones near the two staircases to the station's main entrance, which was where the platforms were extended in 1970.[24]
Prior to the station's 1970 renovation, it was finished all in white and marble tile, and it had its own color scheme to allow regular passengers to identify the station based only on the color of the marble trimmings.
The 2017 artwork at this station consists of nature-inspired mosaics by Brooklyn-based artist Mickalene Thomas.[33][34]
Exits
The station's main entrance has two staircases to each platform and one to each northern corner of Fourth Avenue and 53rd Street. The
The southbound platform has an additional entrance near the north end.[50] Two platform-level turnstiles lead to a small landing before a three-flight staircase goes up to 52nd Street and Fourth Avenue. Prior to the 2017 renovation, the entrance was exit-only.[47][51] The landing area contained the original 1915 trim band with a single "53" tiled on it prior to the renovation of the station.[52]
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Brooklyn Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. October 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Stations of Subway are Now Opened". Home Talk the Item. September 22, 1915. pp. 1, 14 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ a b "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
- ^ "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
- ^ a b "B.M.T. Stations Ready For Eight-Car Trains". Brooklyn Standard Union. August 1, 1927. p. 1. Retrieved April 9, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ a b c New York City Transit Authority Annual Report For The Year June 30, 1960. New York City Transit Authority. 1960. pp. 16–17.
- ^ a b Rogoff, David (May 1961). "The Fourth Ave. Subway". New York Division Bulletin. Electric Railroaders' Association: 2–10. Retrieved May 8, 2017.
- ^ – via HathiTrust.
- ^ "Fourth Avenue Subway Is Sent To A Committee". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. March 20, 1908. pp. 1–2. Retrieved May 4, 2017 – via newspapers.com .
- ISBN 978-0-8232-2211-7. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ a b "Through Tube to Coney, 48 Minutes: First Train on Fourth Avenue Route Beats West End Line Eleven Minutes". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. June 22, 1915. Retrieved June 29, 2015 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ "Celebration of Opening Fourth Ave. Subway". Home Talk the Item. June 23, 1915. p. 1. Retrieved April 9, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ "Stations Ready, But Are Not Available". Home Talk the Item. July 21, 1915. pp. 1, 2 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ Proceedings of the Transit Commission, State of New York Volume III From January 1 to December 31, 1923. New York State Transit Commission. 1923. p. 1277.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
- ^ "Board Receives Platform Bids For B.M.T. Lines. Six Companies Submit Prices for Extending Subway Stations". The Brooklyn Citizen. February 26, 1926. p. 5. Retrieved April 7, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- ^ "Brooklyn Wins Big Improvement Fund". Brooklyn Standard Union. March 18, 1926. p. 20. Retrieved April 7, 2020 – via newspapers.com .
- from the original on July 19, 2021. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
- ProQuest 1243059209.
- ^ Minutes and Proceedings. New York City Transit Authority. 1967. pp. 379–380.
- ^ Engineering News-record. McGraw-Hill. 1968. p. 75.
- ^ Rogoff, Dave (February 1969). "BMT Broadway Subway Platform Extensions" (PDF). New York Division Bulletin. 12 (1). Electric Railroaders' Association: 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 15, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
- ^ a b c Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "A final view down the Bay Ridge-bound side platform with its narrow columns at 53 Street". subwaynut.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ Whitford, Emma (January 8, 2016). "MTA Will Completely Close 30 Subway Stations For Months-Long "Revamp"". Gothamist. Archived from the original on August 1, 2016. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
- ^ "MTAStations" (PDF). governor.ny.gov. Government of the State of New York. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
- ^ a b "Capital Program Oversight Committee Meeting" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. November 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
- ^ "Three Brooklyn R Stations are First in Major Subway Station Modernization Project". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 22, 2017. Archived from the original on August 21, 2019. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
- ^ Spivack, Caroline (January 16, 2017). "Shuttle scuttle: Riders demand extra buses during three subway stations' closure". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
- ^ "MTA will close these Brooklyn subway stops to facilitate upgrades". Curbed NY. March 22, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
- ^ "Trains skip 53 St in both directions". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 26, 2017. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- ^ a b DeJesus, Jaime (September 8, 2017). "Sunset Park's renovated 53rd Street station is open for business". Brooklyn Reporter. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
- ^ a b "Newly renovated R train subway station transforms into commuter dream with USB ports, countdown clocks". New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV. September 9, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
- OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
- ^ "R Subway Timetable, Effective August 28, 2023". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
- ^ "W Subway Timetable, Effective June 26, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
- ^ "N Subway Timetable, Effective August 28, 2023". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
- ^ "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "A staircase up to the small mezzanine area and fare control form the Bay Ridge-bound platform at 53 Street". subwaynut.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- ^ Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "A 53 Street platform sign, text and a arrow for 52 St is painted beneath this one". subwaynut.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- ^ Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "A 53 Street platform sign, text and a arrow for 52 St is painted beneath this one". subwaynut.com. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- ^ "Enhanced 53rd Street R Subway Station Opens in Sunset Park". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 8, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ "Reopening of 53rd St ESI Station". Flickr.com. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 8, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ "53 Street Station Before Renewal". Flickr.com. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
- ^ Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "Looking back towards the entrance turnstiles on the mezzanine level at 53 Street". subwaynut.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- ^ a b "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Sunset Park" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
- ^ Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "A unique mosaic says Ft. Hamilton & Coney Island and points towards the platform To 95 Street at 53 Street". subwaynut.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- ^ Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "The passageway that leads to the two staircases down to the Down Town Trains platform at 53 Street". subwaynut.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- ^ Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "Another view approaching the High Exit Gate that leads to 52 St". subwaynut.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- ^ Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "A M subway entrance column with red on it on 4th Avenue, and the No Entry staircase down to the exit from 52 Street". subwaynut.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
- ^ Cox, Jeremiah (June 9, 2009). "The only 53 tiling in the single band of trim that is still visible after passing through the High Exit gate that leads out to 52 St". subwaynut.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
External links
External videos | |
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Enhanced Station Initiative: 53 St Station Grand Opening |
- nycsubway.org – BMT 4th Avenue: 53rd Street
- Station Reporter — R Train
- The Subway Nut — 53rd Street Pictures Archived January 5, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
- Rebuilt Platforms from Google Maps Street View
- Rebuilt Mezzanine from Google Maps Street View
- Rebuilt 53rd Street Entrance from Google Maps Street View