Spring Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)

Spring Street
 
New York City Subway rapid transit station

Spring Street going downtown
Station statistics
Address Spring Street & Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10012
Borough Manhattan
Locale Little Italy
Division A (IRT)
Line IRT Lexington Avenue Line
Services       4  (late nights)
      6  (all times) <6>(weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction)
Structure Underground
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 4
Other information
Opened October 27, 1904; 107 years ago (October 27, 1904)[1]
Traffic
Passengers (2010) 3,727,534[2]  5.3%
Rank 122 out of 422
Station succession
Next north Bleecker Street: 4  6  <6>
Next south Canal Street: 4  6  <6>

Spring Street is a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Lafayette and Spring Streets in Manhattan, it is served by the 6 train at all times, the <6> during weekdays in peak direction, and the 4 during late night hours.

Contents

History

Spring Street was one of the original stations of the first subway in Manhattan, opening on October 27, 1904.[3] At this time, Spring Street served local trains from the now abandoned City Hall station to 145th Street at Broadway. The only major service pattern change occurred on July 17, 1918 when the "H-system" began. This system started when the Lexington Avenue Line, was extended to 125th Street creating what is now referred to as the East Side Line, parallel but not connected by track to the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line. The 42nd Street Shuttle connects the two lines at Grand Central and Times Square.[4] This pattern is still in use today.

In 1948, Spring Street began servicing the newly coined 6 service to Pelham Bay Park. The <6> also stops here during rush hours in the peak direction.

Station layout

Spring Street is laid out in a typical local stop setup.[5] There are two side platforms and four tracks, the center two of which are express tracks.[5] The southbound local track is technically known as MM1 and the northbound one is MM4; the MM designation is used for chaining purposes along the Lexington Avenue Line from Brooklyn Bridge – City Hall to Times Square – 42nd Street via Grand Central and the 42nd Street Shuttle. Although they cannot be accessed at Spring Street, the southbound and northbound express tracks are known as MM2 and MM3, respectively. These designations are rarely, if ever, used in everyday speech. Both platforms have a slight curve which creates a gap between the train and the platform. Fortunately, because this gap is not significant, gap fillers are not necessary.

Spring Street had a unique fifth center track which has now been removed.[5] This track did not last long; it was reportedly disconnected and removed in 1906, only two years after the subway opened. Although its function has never been determined, the trackway is now used as the location of a mechanical room.[5]

The station retains the typical large and small IRT mosaics in the old (prior to platform lengthening) portion. The station has small "S" cartouches with two poppies from 1904, made by Atlantic Terra Cotta, and large mosaic tablets by Heins & LaFarge, also from 1904. Other small "S" and "Spring St" mosaics are newer.[5] The "S" cartouches are similar to the ones cast for Canal Street station.

Image Gallery

Popular culture

This station is featured in the 2008 film Cloverfield. The scene was not filmed there however.[6]

References

  1. ^ Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It New York Times Retrieved 2008-08-30
  2. ^ "Facts and Figures: 2010 Annual Subway Ridership". New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority. http://mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_sub_annual.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-18. 
  3. ^ Subway opening to-day with simple ceremony New York Times Retrieved 2008-08-30
  4. ^ Open new subway lines to traffic; called a triumph New York Times Retrieved 2008-08-27
  5. ^ a b c d e Spring Street (IRT East Side Line)NYCSubway Retrieved 2008-08-30
  6. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1060277/faq#.2.1.49

Further reading

External links