Court Square (New York City Subway)

Court Square
 
New York City Subway rapid transit station complex

Transfer passageway between the Flushing Line and the rest of the station complex as seen from outside on opening day.
Station statistics
Address the immediate vicinity of One Court Square
Long Island City, NY 11101
Borough Queens
Locale Long Island City
Division A (IRT), B (IND)
Line IND Queens Boulevard Line
IND Crosstown Line
IRT Flushing Line
Services       7  (all times) <7>(rush hours until 10:00 p.m., peak direction)
      E  (all times)
      G  (all times)
      M  (weekdays until midnight)
Connection
Levels 3
Other information
Opened June 3, 2011; 8 months ago (June 3, 2011)
Traffic
Passengers (2010) 4,722,428[1] (Queens Boulevard and Crosstown stations only; Flushing Line station counted separately)  3.3%
Rank 90 out of 422

Court Square is a station complex on the IRT Flushing Line, IND Queens Boulevard Line, and IND Crosstown Line of the New York City Subway.[2][3][4] Located in the vicinity of One Court Square in Long Island City, Queens, it is served by the 7, E and G trains at all times, the M train on weekdays, and the <7> train during rush hours in the peak direction.

The complex comprises three separate stations, formerly known as 23rd Street – Ely Avenue (Queens Boulevard Line), Long Island City – Court Square (Crosstown Line), and 45th Road – Court House Square (Flushing Line). Following the opening of the Citibank office tower at One Court Square, a passageway was built underneath connecting the Queens Boulevard and Crosstown stations.

On December 16, 2001, service on the Queens Boulevard Line was increased by the connection of the IND 63rd Street Line, requiring G trains to terminate at Court Square on weekdays. To compensate Crosstown riders going into Queens, a free out-of-system transfer to the Flushing Line station was created.

On June 3, 2011, a $47 million ADA-accessible connection between the Crosstown Line and Flushing Line stations was opened and the two stations were renamed "Court Square". In kind, the Queens Boulevard Line station, which is not ADA-compliant, was renamed "Court Square – 23rd Street".

Contents


IRT Flushing Line platforms

Court Square
 
New York City Subway rapid transit station

Station entrance in 2005, prior to the construction of the direct connection to the IND complex
Station statistics
Address 45th Road & 23rd Street
Division A (IRT)
Line IRT Flushing Line
Services       7  (all times) <7>(rush hours until 10:00 p.m., peak direction)
Structure Elevated
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Other information
Opened November 5, 1916; 95 years ago (November 5, 1916)[5]
Accessible
Former/other names 45th Road – Court House Square
Traffic
Passengers (2010) 2,527,379[1]  1%
Rank 182 out of 422
Station succession
Next north Queensboro Plaza: 7  <7>
Next south Hunters Point Avenue: 7  <7>
Next north Woodside – 61st Street: 7  <7>
Next south

Grand Central: 7  <7>
45th Road – Court House Square (Dual System IRT)
MPS: New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP Reference#: 05000229[6]
Added to NRHP: March 3, 2005

Court Square is an elevated station on the IRT Flushing Line of the New York City Subway. Opened on November 5, 1916 as 45th Road – Court House Square,[5] there are two side platforms and two tracks.

Both platforms have beige windscreens that run along their entire lengths and brown canopies with green frames and support columns except for a small section at their north ends. The station name plates are in the standard black in white lettering.

This station has an elevated station house beneath the tracks at the extreme south end. A single staircase from each platform goes down to a waiting area/crossunder, where a turnstile bank provides entrance/exit from the station. Outside fare control, there is a token booth and two staircases going down to either western corners of 45th Road and 23rd Street.

The station house formerly had two more staircases leading to either eastern corner. In June 2011, they were replaced by an in-system transfer to the underground Queens Boulevard and Crosstown platforms.

The P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center is nearby. In Barry Levinson's 1996 drama Sleepers, two characters, Lorenzo "Shakes" Carcaterra and Michael Sullivan, met at this station. In 2005, the section along the Flushing Line was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[7]


IND Crosstown Line platform

Court Square
New York City Subway rapid transit station

IND Crosstown Line station platform
Station statistics
Address 45th Avenue & Jackson Avenue
Division B (IND)
Line IND Crosstown Line
Services       G  (all times)
Structure Underground
Platforms 1 island platform
Tracks 2
Other information
Opened August 19, 1933; 78 years ago (August 19, 1933)
Accessible
Former/other names Long Island City – Court Square
Station succession
Next north Queens Plaza: no regular service
(Terminal): G 
Next south 21st Street: G 
Next north Queens Plaza: no regular service
Next south Church Avenue: G 

Court Square on the IND Crosstown Line is the northern terminal for G trains at all times.[8]

Although G service terminates here, the tracks themselves continue north and feed into the Queens Boulevard main line just south of Queens Plaza. This section of track is not used in regular service. Until April 19, 2010, trains traveled over this connection to continue to Forest Hills – 71st Avenue at various times of the day.

This underground station, opened on August 19, 1933, has one island platform between two tracks. Each track wall has a green trim line and on a black border with small "COURT SQ" signs below them in white lettering on a black border. Green I-beam columns run along both sides of the platform at regular intervals.

Three staircases from the platform go up to the full length mezzanine above and a passageway within fare control connects the station to the Queens Boulevard platform. All fare control areas are unstaffed, containing just full height turnstiles. The main one has a single staircase that goes up to the southwest corner of Jackson Avenue and Court Square. After the IND 63rd Street Line was connected to the Queens Boulevard Line in December 2001 (a project known as the "63rd Street Connector"), another unstaffed entrance was added to the north end of the mezzanine to allow an out-of-system transfer to the IRT Flushing Line. A single staircase goes up to the north side of Jackson Avenue at Pearson Street directly outside the staircases to the IRT station. In June 2011, this transfer was replaced by an enclosed in-system transfer that consists of two escalators and one staircase connecting both stations.


IND Queens Boulevard Line platforms

Court Square – 23rd Street
New York City Subway rapid transit station

The Manhattan-bound platform as it looked when the station was known as "23rd Street – Ely Avenue".
Station statistics
Address 23rd Street & 44th Drive
Division B (IND)
Line IND Queens Boulevard Line
Services       E  (all times)
      M  (weekdays at all hours except late nights)
Structure Underground
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 2
Other information
Opened August 28, 1939; 72 years ago (August 28, 1939)[9]
Former/other names 23rd Street – Ely Avenue
Station succession
Next north Queens Plaza: E  M 
Next south Lexington Avenue – 53rd Street: E  M 

Court Square – 23rd Street on the IND Queens Boulevard Line is a underground station with two tracks and two side platforms. It is located along 44th Drive between 21st and 23rd Streets and is the western-most (railroad south) station on the line in Queens. Built as an in-fill station, it opened as 23rd Street – Ely Avenue on August 28, 1939, six years after the first section of the Queens Boulevard Line.

Each platform has a maroon trim line on a black border with name tablets reading "23RD ST. - ELY AVE." in white sans serif letting on a black and brown background and maroon border. Below the trim line and name tablets are small directional signs and station signs alternating between "23RD" and "ELY" in white lettering on a black border. Red i-beam columns run along both platforms at regular intervals with alternating ones having the standard black station name plate in white lettering.

This station has three entrances/exits; the full-time one is at the extreme north end. A single staircase from each platform leads up to a crossover, where on the Manhattan-bound side, one exit-only turnstile and one High Entry/Exit Turnstile leads to a single staircase that goes up to the northeast corner of 44th Drive and 23rd Street. On the Forest Hills-bound side of the crossover, a long passageway connects to the IND Crosstown platform. Built when Citibank opened its office tower at One Court Square, the passageway consists of two sections and in-between them is the full-time fare control area that has a turnstile bank, token booth, and two staircases. One has two escalators and goes up to south side of 44th Drive inside a Citibank and the other is open weekdays only and leads to the entrance plaza of One Court Square. A set of escalators opposite the street stairs lead to the building's lobby. The main fare control area has a skylight and the passageway has the only moving walkways (horizontal escalators) in the subway system. These were installed in December 2001 when the G began terminating at this station complex on weekdays.

This station's second fare control area is at the extreme south (geographical east) end. A single staircase from each platform go up to a raised crossover split in two by a steel fence. The Manhattan-bound side has a turnstile bank, token booth, and one staircase going up to the northeast corner of 21st Street and 44th Drive while the Queens-bound side has two exit-only turnstiles and one staircase going up to the southeast corner of the aforementioned intersection. All fare control areas have their original IND-style directional mosaics.

There are two sets of artwork at ths station. One was made in 1992 by Frank Olt and is called Temple Quad Reliefs, consisting of glass mosaic and ceramic tiles on the platform walls. The other was made in 2001 by Elizabeth Murray and is called Streams, consisting of glass mosaics on the transfer passageway walls.


References

  1. ^ a b "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership". New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. http://www.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_sub_annual.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-31. 
  2. ^ Lee, Vivian (June 3, 2011). "Long-Awaited Queens Subway Station Opens To Riders". NY1. http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/transit/140321/long-awaited-queens-subway-station-opens-to-riders. Retrieved 2011-06-03. 
  3. ^ "New Transfer at Court Square". MTA.info. June 3, 2011. http://mta.info/news/stories/?story=278. Retrieved 2011-06-04. 
  4. ^ "Court Square Opening June 3, 2011". MTA.info (Facebook). June 3, 2011. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150212121594091.323121.250313209090. Retrieved 2011-06-04. 
  5. ^ a b Rogoff, David (April 1960), "The Steinway Tunnels", Electric Railroads (Electric Railroaders’ Association) (29), http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/steinwaytunnels.html, retrieved 2011-05-30, "A station was erected midway at 11th St. and is now known as ‘45th Rd.-Court House Square’. Operation was extended to Hunters Point Ave. on the eastbound track on Feb. 15th, 1916, and to Queensboro Plaza on the following Nov. 5th, opening Court House Square station." 
  6. ^ "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov. Retrieved December 9, 2011. 
  7. ^ Queens County Listings on the National Register of Historic Places (Structure - #05000229)
  8. ^ G Train timetable (PDF)
  9. ^ Feinman, Mark (2000). "The History of the Independent Subway". http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/historyindependentsubway.html. Retrieved 2006-07-03. 

External links

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