204th Street (IRT Third Avenue Line station)
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The 204th Street Station of the IRT Third Avenue Elevated was on the Webster Ave extension of the line. It was opened on October 4, 1920 along with the other stations (200th Street and 210th Street) on Webster Ave, which was the last extension of the Interborough Elevated system. Two-hundred and fourth Street, is the commercial street of an area of the Bronx known as Norwood. The street is lined with shops and apartment houses with commercial space at the ground level all the way from Webster Avenue extending west to Bainbridge Avenue. The commercial area of Norwood extends up Bainbridge Avenue to Woodlawn Avenue and the Reservoir Oval Park. East 204th St dead ends at a bridge that once connected to Bronx River Road and the French Charlies section of Bronx Park.
The station structures were located just north of the intersection of 204th St and Webster Ave. Two-hundred and fourth Street was a local stop (as were 200th & 210th) on a three-track structure. The uptown and downtown outboard station houses and platforms are mirror images of themselves. There was no mezzanine connecting the two platforms. Only the downtown side had a fare change booth and an open turnstile and a potbelly stove in the station house. The uptown side had an Iron Maiden Turnstile on the platform. The uptown station house was unused from the 1930s or 1940s until the closing of the line on April 28, 1973. This northern section of the line retained the center track for midday and overnight lay-ups of extra trains used for the morning and evening rush hours. A train parked on the center track was a common sight at the 204th Street Station during the day.
The line south of 204th St was unique in that the structure increased in height as Webster Ave descended to the point where Webster Ave intersects Mosholu Parkway. At that point, the El structure passed over the Mosholu Parkway Bridge over Webster Ave. The structure here was also unique in that it was decked and built with curving steel arches. The structure was higher than the six-story apartment house at the corner of Mosholu Parkway and Webster Ave. From the high point at Mosholu Parkway, the structure descended to the 200th St Station. The line north of the 204th St station also had an interesting characteristic. Just north of 205th Street, there is a sharp rise in the terrain. The street, Parkside Place, ascends the hill to a promontory at 207th St. At that point, 207th Street dead ends into Parkside Place and is about thirty feet higher in elevation than the elevated structure on Webster Avenue. One could observe the elevated line from above at street level at Parkside Place. The street descends to Webster Avenue just south of the 210th Street Station.
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