34th Street–Herald Square station: Difference between revisions

34 Street–Herald Square   Penn Station)
Structure	Underground
Levels	2
Other information
Opened	July 1, 1948; 75 years ago (1948-07-01)[2]
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Traffic
2023	23,680,977[3]  12.9%
Rank	3 out of 423[3]
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops weekdays during the day Stops rush hours in the peak direction only (limited service)

The 34th Street–Herald Square station (also signed as 34th Street) is an underground

The Broadway Line platforms opened on January 5, 1918, as part of the Broadway Line, which was built for the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT) as part of the Dual Contracts. The Sixth Avenue Line platforms opened in 1940, completing construction of the first phase of the Independent Subway System (IND). The IND platforms functioned as a terminal for some trains until 1968, when the Chrystie Street Connection opened. The station complex was renovated in the 1990s.

The BMT and IND stations both have two

On November 28, 1969, the turnstiles and exit gates at the northern end of the station were relocated, making four more staircases from the Broadway Line platforms available for transfers to the Sixth Avenue platforms. Previously, transfers could only be made from two staircases.[56] This complex was overhauled in the late 1970s. The Transit Authority fixed the station's structure and renovated its appearance. The overhaul replaced the original wall tiles, old signs, and incandescent lighting to the 1970s modern look wall tile band and tablet mosaics, signs and fluorescent lights. It also fixed staircases and platform edges.

On February 9, 1983, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that it had awarded a $6.1 million contract to replace 16 escalators at the station to two companies.^[57]

In the early 1990s, the station received another major repair, which included an upgrade for ADA-accessibility and modernized wall tiling. The MTA repaired the staircases, re-tiling for the walls, installed new tiling on the floors, upgraded the station's lights and the public address system, installing ADA safety treads along the platform edge, new signs, and new track-beds in both directions.^[58] William Nicholas Bodouva & Associates, the renovation architects, also intended to streamline various passageways and ramps that had been added piecemeal over the years.^[59] The $66.4 million project was completed in 1996.^[58]

On August 28, 2004, Shahawar Matin Siraj and James Elshafay were arrested for planning to bomb the Herald Square station during the 2004 Republican National Convention. Elshafay cooperated with prosecutors and received a plea deal; Siraj was convicted of conspiracy on four counts, the most serious of which was plotting to bomb a public transportation system, in 2006^[60] and was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2007.^[61]

The station's token booths were shuttered in May 2005, after fare tokens were replaced with MetroCards; station agents were deployed elsewhere in the station to answer passengers' queries. This was part of a pilot program that was tested at seven other stations.^[62] To save energy, the MTA installed variable-speed escalators at 34th Street–Herald Square and three other subway stations in August 2008,^[63] although not all of the escalators initially functioned as intended.^[64] A Korean restaurant, Nōksu, opened on the station's mezzanine level in late 2023.^[65][66]

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Basement 1	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agents, 33rd Street MTA elevator at Herald Center building on west side of Broadway south of 34th Street; PATH elevator on west side of Sixth Avenue north of 32nd Street
Basement 2	Northbound local	← toward Forest Hills–71st Avenue (Times Square–42nd Street) ← toward Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard weekdays (Times Square–42nd Street) ← toward Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard late nights/weekends (Times Square–42nd Street) ← toward 96th Street late nights (Times Square–42nd Street)
	Island platform
	Northbound express	← toward Astoria–Ditmars Boulevard weekdays (Times Square–42nd Street) ← toward 96th Street (Times Square–42nd Street)
	Southbound express	← toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue via Sea Beach weekdays (14th Street–Union Square) → ← toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue via Brighton (14th Street–Union Square) →
	Island platform
	Southbound local	← toward Bay Ridge–95th Street (28th Street) → ← toward Whitehall Street–South Ferry weekdays (28th Street) → ← toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue via Sea Beach late nights/weekends (28th Street) → ← toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue via Brighton late nights (28th Street) →
Basement 3	Northbound local	← toward Jamaica–179th Street (42nd Street–Bryant Park) ← weekdays toward Forest Hills–71st Avenue (42nd Street–Bryant Park)
	Island platform
	Northbound express	← weekdays toward Bedford Park Boulevard or 145th Street (42nd Street–Bryant Park) ← toward Norwood–205th Street (42nd Street–Bryant Park)
	Southbound express	→ weekdays toward Brighton Beach (West Fourth Street–Washington Square) → → toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue via West End (West Fourth Street–Washington Square) →
	Island platform
	Southbound local	→ toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue via Culver (23rd Street) → → weekdays toward Middle Village–Metropolitan Avenue (23rd Street) →

This station complex has a long

Two works of art are installed on the mezzanine as part of the MTA Arts & Design program.^[67] The first of these is Radiant Site by Michele Oka Doner, which consists of 11,000 gold-colored wall tiles.^[68][69] The tiles were manufactured at Pewabic Pottery in Michigan^[70] and installed along a 165-foot-long (50 m) stretch of passageway;^[69] according to Oka Doner, they were meant "to fill the underground with light and feeling".^[68] The second artwork is Halo by Nicholas Pearson and consists of seven orbs,^[68] each made of coiled aluminum rods and placed on small beams above the mezzanine.^[67][71] The MTA selected these artworks, along with David Provan's Yab-Yum sculpture above the IND platform, as part of the Herald Square Subway Complex Art Competition in 1988.^[68] Herbert Muschamp of The New York Times wrote of the artworks: "Unfortunately, though one feels like a subway vandal to say so, the plan's parts don't add up to an effective whole. A surfeit of mismatched design elements defeats the intended airiness."^[59]

Exits

At the north end of the primary mezzanine is the 35th Street exit, which contains a bank of turnstiles, token booth, and street stairs. Three staircases lead to all corners of Sixth Avenue and 35th Street except the southwest one. There is also a short passageway to either western corner of Broadway and 35th Street.^[72]

When the station was built, there were entrances at each of four corners of Broadway, Sixth Avenue, and 34th Street. Two stairs each led to the sidewalk outside

There are closed passageways (but not free transfers) to the adjacent

Over the years, the entrances to the Gimbels store and the Hotel Pennsylvania were closed. During the 1970s and 1980s, the New York City Subway had high rates of crime, as did the rest of the city; the passageway similarly experienced high crime rates. This passageway was closed in 1986 after an epidemic of sexual assaults,[76] and passengers now must walk at street level to connect to the commuter railroads and Amtrak.^[77] A real estate developer, Vornado Realty Trust, proposed in 2010 to reopen the passageway as part of the development of the 15 Penn Plaza office tower.^[78][79]

Passageway to Bryant Park

The IND station's mezzanine originally extended north from 34th Street to the

In the 1980s, the passageway became a gathering spot for homeless people and drug users. On March 20, 1991, a woman was raped behind a pile of debris in the subway passageway during rush hour, which had entrances at 38th Street. Other commuters passed nearby but were unaware of what was happening. That passageway was closed the day after; it was used by 400 daily riders[86] and recorded 30 felonies since January 1, 1990. In response, on March 28, 1991, the NYCTA ordered the closing of the 15 most dangerous passageways in the system within a week, which the Transit Police and citizen advocacy groups had called for since the previous year. A woman was raped in the passageway in July 1990 with no response, but after another rape took place in August, the passageway's closure was called for by the local community board in September when a woman was raped in this passageway. Bureaucratic delays had prevented their closure, with their presentation to the MTA Board not scheduled until April 1991, after a public hearing on systemwide service reduction was to be held. The agency feared that closing the passageway without public comment would have caused an outcry for advocates for the homeless.^[80] The NYCTA's director of public information said that the agency had erred in waiting for formal approval. The locations were chosen based on crime volume, lighting, traffic and physical layout. These entrances were closed under the declaration of a public safety emergency, and were blocked off with plywood and fencing until public hearings were held and official permission was obtained.^[87]

BMT Broadway Line platforms

34 Street–Herald Square  ​​​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Southbound BMT platform
Station statistics
Division	B (BMT)[1]
Line	BMT Broadway Line
Services	N  (all times) ​   Q  (all times) ​   R  (all except late nights) ​   W  (weekdays only)
Platforms	2 island platforms cross-platform interchange
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	January 5, 1918; 106 years ago (1918-01-05)[88]
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Times Square–42nd Street N  ​Q  ​R  ​W  northbound Express 14th Street–Union Square N  ​Q  via Canal Street Local 28th Street N  ​Q  ​R  ​W  via Whitehall Street–South Ferry
Track layout Legend to Times Square–42nd Street to 28th Street to 14th Street–Union Square
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekends Stops weekdays during the day

The 34th Street–Herald Square station on the BMT Broadway Line is an express station that has four tracks and two island platforms. This level opened several years after the opening of the Port Authority Trans-Hudson station; the Sixth Avenue line platforms were built later. The station was operated by the BMT until the city government took over the BMT's operations on June 1, 1940.^[89][90]

Each platform has three staircases and one elevator to the main mezzanine on the north half and another staircase at the extreme south end to 32nd Street. North of the station are

Because Queens-bound N trains switch from the express to the local track north of this station, trains are often held here until another train arrives on the opposite track. Depending on the schedule, they may not leave in the same order in which they arrived. This causes confusion among riders as they run back and forth on the northbound platform trying to catch the train that will leave first. This is also true at other stations where two services that run to the same destination stop at the same platform but do not stop on the same side of the platform. The New York Times calls this The Subway Shuffle.^[91]

In 1996, artist Christopher Janney installed "REACH New York, An Urban Musical Instrument".^[92] The piece consists of green racks with sensors, which hang along both platforms.^[93] Waving one's hands in front of the sensors creates a corresponding sound from the rack.^[67][92]

IND Sixth Avenue Line platforms

34 Street–Herald Square   <F>  (two rush hour trains, peak direction) ​   M  (weekdays during the day)
Platforms	2 island platforms cross-platform interchange
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	December 15, 1940; 83 years ago (1940-12-15)
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station <F> ​M  via 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center Express West Fourth Street–Washington Square B  ​D  via Grand Street Local <F> ​M  via Broadway–Lafayette Street
Former services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 42nd Street–Bryant Park toward 21st Street–Queensbridge JFK Express West Fourth Street–Washington Square toward Howard Beach–JFK Airport
Track layout Legend to 42nd Street–Bryant Park to 23rd Street to West Fourth St–Washington Sq
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops all times except late nights Stops weekdays during the day Stops rush hours in the peak direction only (limited service)

The 34th Street–Herald Square station on the IND Sixth Avenue Line is an express station that has four tracks and two island platforms. The mezzanine elevators are at the north end of the station while the staircases to the Manhattan Mall entrance are at the south end. The platforms have numerous stairs and escalators leading to the main mezzanine. Stairs on both platforms lead to a non-accessible ramp leading to the mezzanine.

The platforms are not equal in length, as the northbound one is longer than the southbound one. North of this station are numerous crossovers and switches that allow trains from uptown to terminate here on the express tracks during construction and closures. The crossovers were reconfigured in 2018 to reduce the duplication of track switches of the downtown and uptown tracks, most notably, the switch from the express to local tracks.

Prior to the opening of the

Above the northbound local tracks is Yab-Yum, a sculpture created by David Provan in 1992.^[94][67] It consists of fourteen paddles,^[68][94] each measuring 12 feet (3.7 m), which are painted red to match the colors of the columns on the platform.^[67] Whenever a train arrived or departed, it would create wind gusts that caused the paddles to spin.^[94] By 2012, the propellers were no longer capable of spinning.^[67]

Notable places nearby

• Empire State Building, one block east of the 34th Street entrances
• Manhattan Mall, in which the 32nd Street entrance is located
• Herald Square, directly in between the 34th Street entrances
• Macy's Herald Square, near the northwestern entrance at 34th Street
• Penn Station and Madison Square Garden
  , both one block west of the 32nd Street entrance

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 34th Street – Herald Square (New York City Subway).

• nycsubway.org – BMT Broadway Subway: 34th Street/Herald Square
• nycsubway.org – IND 6th Avenue: 34th Street/Herald Square
• nycsubway.org – Yab-Yum Artwork by David Provan (1992)
• nycsubway.org – Radiant Site Artwork by Michele Oka Doner (1991)
• nycsubway.org – Halo Artwork by Nicholas Pearson (1991)
• nycsubway.org – REACH New York, An Urban Musical Instrument Artwork by Christopher Janney (1996)
• Station Reporter – Herald Square Complex
• MTA's Arts For Transit – 34th Street–Herald Square
• Broadway & 35th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Sixth Avenue & 35th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Broadway/Sixth Avenue & 34th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Manhattan Mall entrance (west side of Sixth Avenue) from Google Maps Street View
• Broadway & 32nd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• BMT platforms from Google Maps Street View
• IND platforms from Google Maps Street View