Astor Place (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
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| New York City Subway station Astor Place |
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| Station Information | |
| Line | IRT Lexington Avenue Line |
| Services | 4 (5) 6 <6> (12) |
| Platforms | 2 side platforms |
| Tracks | 4 |
| Other | |
| Borough | Manhattan |
| Opened | October 27, 1904 |
| Next North | 14th Street-Union Square 4 (5) 6 <6> (12) |
| Next South | Bleecker Street 4 (5) 6 <6> (12) |
Astor Place–Cooper Union is a station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, and is one of the original twenty-eight stations in the system. Located at the intersection of Lafayette Street and Astor Place in the East Village, Manhattan, it is served by the 6 train at all times and by the 4 during late nights.
This is a local station with two side platforms; it has a department store entrance on the southbound side (Wanamaker's when constructed, now K-Mart). The station has been renovated and, in addition to the famous glazed ceramic beaver plaques, new porcelain street artwork was installed in 1986. There is a reproduction of an IRT entry kiosk on the street level over the northbound entrance. The fare control is at platform level. There was an underpass between the uptown and downtown sides, but it was closed and covered up in the 1980s renovation. The access hatch to the underpass is visible behind the northbound token booth inside the fare-control area. The heavy brick-faced square columns on the downtown platform supported the old Wanamaker's store (formerly A.T. Stewart, built 1868). The northern building of Wanamaker's store, but not the southern building above, burned in the 1950s; octagonal windows on the brick wall of the platform were the store's showcases.
The original plans for the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (now PATH) included a spur along Ninth Street to this station.
Plaques of beavers are located on the walls, in honor of John Jacob Astor's fortune derived from the beaver-pelt trade. The plaques, as well as name tablets, were made by the Grueby Faience Company in 1904. The station also has untitled porcelain on steel murals, made by Cooper Union alumnus Milton Glaser in 1986. During the renovation, the magnificent maroon and gold tile Cooper Union signs underneath the tile Astor Place signs were destroyed. Black and white pillar signs read Astor Place on one pillar, then Cooper Union on the next.
[edit] Points of interest
- New York University and Cooper Union are located nearby.
- The world's largest Starbucks store is located adjacent to the southbound stair. A large Barnes and Noble bookstore on the block to the southwest also contains a Starbucks. One block east is an indoor outdoor Pasqua Coffee which in 1999 became a Starbucks.
- Visitors to the Astor Place area often rotate the Alamo (sculpture) which is at street level above the tail end of the northbound platform.
- The Eighth Street–NYU station on the BMT Broadway Line is one block west of the station.
[edit] Trivia
- A handful of southbound trains do a "battery run" often skipping Astor Place to help reduce congestion after a delay.
- Long-time riders find taking northbound service to 14th Street–Union Square, then transferring to the southbound express, will often beat southbound local riders to Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall.
- The northbound platform contains a news and candy stand, which replaced the original public women's lavatory.
- A tiled-up doorway, on southwest wall behind the southbound token booth, sports a lintel proclaiming "CLINTON HALL". Once upon a time, this doorway lead to the Mercantile Library of New York.
- The station is on the List of Registered Historic Places in New York
[edit] Bus connections
[edit] External links
- nycsubway.org — IRT East Side Line: Astor Place
- Station Reporter — 6 Train
- forgotten-NY.com - Original 28 IRT subway stations
