City Hall (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
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| New York City Subway station City Hall |
|
|---|---|
| Station Information | |
| Line | IRT Lexington Avenue Line |
| Services | None (used to turn 6 <6> (12) service) |
| Platforms | 1 side platform |
| Tracks | 1 balloon loop |
| Other | |
| Borough | Manhattan |
| Opened | October 27, 1904 |
| Closed | December 31, 1945 |
| Next north | Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall 6 <6> (12) |
| Next south | (Terminal) |
City Hall is the original southern terminal of the first line of the New York City Subway, built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), named the "Manhattan Main Line", and now part of the IRT Lexington Avenue Line. Opened on October 27, 1904, this station underneath the public area in front of City Hall was designed to be the showpiece of the new subway. The station is unusually elegant in architectural style, and is unique among the original IRT stations. The platform and mezzanine feature Guastavino tile, skylights, colored glass tilework and brass chandeliers. Passenger service was discontinued on December 31, 1945, although the station is still used as a turning loop for 6 trains.
Contents |
[edit] History
In the years after the line's construction, increased subway ridership led to longer trains, and thus longer platforms, in the 1940s and early 1950s. City Hall station, built on a tight curve, would have been difficult to lengthen, and it was also quite close to the far busier Brooklyn Bridge station.
In addition, the new, longer trains had center doors in each car, which were an unsafe distance from the platform edge. At the South Ferry and 14th Street–Union Square stations, which had a similar problem, movable platform extensions were installed to fill the gap.
City Hall, notwithstanding its architectural grandeur, was never an important station. In its final year of use, it served only 600 passengers per day. The Brooklyn Bridge station, located a short walk away, at the opposite end of City Hall Park, was more popular, as it provided both local and express service, including trains to Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Bridge streetcar terminal and Park Row station on the BMT elevated lines were above for easy transfers. At night, when City Hall station was closed, local trains continued to the loop at South Ferry.
Given the extensive renovations that would have been required to bring the station up to modern standards, the city decided to close it instead. The final day of service was December 31, 1945.
[edit] Track configuration
North of City Hall, the Lexington Avenue Line carries four tracks; only two tracks continue south. The local (outside) track on each side ends at a balloon loop beneath the express tracks. City Hall station is located on the west side of the loop. The southbound local track continues south next to the express tracks, and splits into two storage tracks and passes over the loop before ending.
[edit] Current status
City Hall station is no longer in service, but the track loop is still used to turn local trains on the Lexington Avenue Line (6 <6> (1a2a) service). It has always been unclear as to whether passengers should be allowed to remain on trains as they run through the loop. In 2006, an internal memo stated that passengers were allowed to stay on trains around the loop.[1] Nevertheless, as of mid-2006 a recorded announcement orders customers to egress from the train at Brooklyn Bridge station while the train is checked for sleeping passengers. Generally, customers who politely request a member of the train crew to ride through the loop are permitted to do so.
In April 1995, federal grant money was sought to reopen the station as a branch of the New York Transit Museum, which occasionally ran tours of the station as part of its popular "Day 1 of the IRT" and "Beneath City Hall" packages. In late 1998, due to perceived security risks in the area around City Hall after terrorist bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, the station was declared a "highly secure" area by the Giuliani administration[2]. Plans for the museum annex were abandoned and museum tours ceased for several years.
On the surface, all that can be seen is a concrete slab inset with glass tiles, the skylights for the platform below. This patch of concrete is in the middle of a grove of dogwoods in front of City Hall, close to Broadway.
For the 2004 Centennial Celebration, one of the street entrances was restored (and presently resembles a modern station entrance), and the station was opened for the duration of the celebration. Otherwise, the station is now used only as an emergency exit.
As of 2006, tours of the station are once again being conducted[3] by the staff of the Transit Museum[4], however at present tours are only open to registered members of the museum and require advance payment and reservations.
[edit] Popular culture
Despite being fairly obscure in the operation of the modern New York Subway System, the IRT City Hall station has amassed a few inspirations and cameo appearances within popular culture.
The references vary from replica sets to direct artistic inspiration.
[edit] Film
- The first noted appearance was in the 1989 comedy, Ghostbusters II. The station's artistic aspects (specifically the vaulted arches and replica Guastavino tile) were featured on the set. The station also borrowed reference from Alfred Ely Beach's pneumatic subway.
- The next appearance came in 1991 and 1993 with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, respectively. Forced from their original sewer home, the Turtles moved into an abandoned train station. Said station featured coloured stained glass skylights and period tile. The set borrowed many elements from the City Hall IRT station, however it also incorporated many elements of artistic licence, extra lighting and metal beams were added; in addition, the distinctive curve to the real station platform was removed from the fictional station set. Despite these, the set consisted of most of the main components of the City Hall station, including a ticket office which led to the platform via a stairwell. The station also featured a period subway train, similar in design to a train which ran through the IRT City Hall loop and station for the 2004 centennial. The station appeared in both latter Turtles films and received a large amount of screen time.
- The last noted film appearance of the station and its influence was in the 1997 science fiction horror movie Mimic. After following the trail, the main characters entered the disused "Armory" IRT station which also featured a 1970s Coney Island train. The set and prop design exhibited definitive research into the real station's background. The first example of this research was the mention of "IRT" on fake blueprints and on plaques on the station walls. The second example was shown on the blueprints, which were titled "Armory Station Loop", obviously inspired by the City Hall Loop. The final example was the design of the station platform itself, the platform (minus the design of the skylights, size of the platform, grade of the curve and entrance to the platform) was replicated almost exactly down to the smallest detail, even the real station's period chandeliers were replicated. Armory Station, however employed a great deal of artistic licence. Instead of a staircase from the platform leading up into the ticket area, a shallow set of steps descended into a large atrium which featured two levels, additional skylights and office/maintenance areas. The atrium also featured two corridors, one of which led to the ticket area and instead of the real station, featured two large arched entrances for passage onto the platform, and an arch on either side of the atrium/platform entranceway to allow better viewing of the station platform.
[edit] Computer gaming
- The station has made two appearances within the computer game world. The year 2001 saw the release of the computer film-noir game Max Payne, which followed a New York Police Department cop who went on a mission to avenge the deaths of his wife and daughter. The game saw Max meeting up with one of the few members of the Drug Enforcement Administration who knew he was undercover; the meeting took place at the fictional Roscoe Street Station and eventually led into an older section of the subway which featured inspirations from the IRT line and even a pair of replica wooden ticket booths like the one seen in a period photograph of City Hall's Ticket Room.
- The second appearance was in 2001's Indigo Prophecy. During the events of the game, Lucas Kane (the main character) ended up going underground, and during the sequence he entered a set of long abandoned subway tunnels, featuring two stations designed to resemble IRT subway stations. The second was a unnamed station based on the design blueprint of the other 27 IRT stations, but the first, which suffered from severe ice and snow damage, featured the vaulted arches, tilework and curved platform of City Hall. The only design difference compared to the real station and its virtual counterpart was the location of the station entrance and stairwell, unlike the real station where the entrance was located at near the center of the station, in the game it was located at one end of the platform.
[edit] External links
- nycsubway.org — IRT East Side Line: City Hall (text used with permission)
- Abandoned Stations - City Hall (IRT)
- Forgotten NY - City Hall Station
- The IRT First Stations - City Hall
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- Satellite image from WikiMapia, Google Maps or Windows Live Local
- Street map from MapQuest or Google Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image from TerraServer-USA
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