137th Street – City College (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line)

137th Street – City College
New York City Subway rapid transit station
South-bound platform
Station statistics
Address	West 137th Street & Broadway New York, NY 10031
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Harlem, Hamilton Heights
Coordinates	40°49′16″N 73°57′14″W / 40.821°N 73.954°W / 40.821; -73.954Coordinates: 40°49′16″N 73°57′14″W / 40.821°N 73.954°W / 40.821; -73.954
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line
Services	1  (all times)
Connection	NYCT Bus: M4, M5
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	3 (2 in regular service)
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904 (1904-10-27)[1]
Traffic
Passengers (2014)	4,542,044[2]  5.9%
Rank	107 out of 421
Station succession
Next north	145th Street: 1
Next south	125th Street: 1
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops in station at all times Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekdays only Stops late nights and weekends only Stops weekends and weekend late nights Stops weekdays and weekday late nights Stops weekdays only Stops weekends only Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except weekdays in the peak direction Stops daily except rush hours in the peak direction Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Station is closed (Details about time periods)

137th Street – City College is a local station on the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 137th Street and Broadway in Harlem and Hamilton Heights, Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times. The station serves the nearby City College of New York and Riverbank State Park.

Station layout

G	Street Level	Exit/ Entrance
P Platform level	Side platform, doors will open on the right
	Northbound local	← toward Van Cortlandt Park – 242nd Street (145th Street) ← alighting passengers only (some rush-hour trips)
	Peak-direction express	→ No regular service
	Southbound local	→ toward South Ferry (125th Street) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right

This station has three tracks and two side platforms. In the past, it was sometimes used as a terminal station. There are switches north of the station that allow northbound trains to enter the underground 137th Street Yard, then return to the other side of the station for the next trip south. The center express track that passes through the station is currently unused in revenue service.

Just south of the station, the tracks emerge from underground onto the Manhattan Valley Viaduct. The line is elevated at 125th Street, and then underground once again at 116th Street – Columbia University, allowing trains to maintain a relatively level grade while passing through highly uneven terrain.

Prior to the termination of 9 on May 27, 2005, this station was the northernmost common stop of the 1 & 9 skip-stop service. On northbound trains, this was the first point where conductors would announce whether the train would run "skip-stop" or not. Passengers on a 1 train traveling to a station served by the 9 train (or vice versa) could change here for the other train.

The mosaics are in pink and black. The ceramic cartouche is also in pink and shows a three-faced figure. The three faces represent "Respice", "Adspice", and "Prospice", and are an emblem of the nearby City College.

History

One of Barack Obama's first community organizing efforts after being graduating from Columbia University was in conjunction with drawing attention to the poor condition of the station. In 1984 (or possibly 1985—accounts differ), Obama (who was working for the New York Public Interest Research Group) was among the leaders of May Day efforts to bring attention to the subway system, particularly the station serving CCNY. Obama traveled to stations to get people to sign letters addressed to local officials and the MTA. Obama was photographed holding a sign saying "May-Day! May-Day!! Sinking Subway System!"^[3]

In this station on January 2, 2007, film student Cameron Hollopeter suffered a seizure and fell off the platform onto the tracks. Wesley Autrey saved his life as a train was approaching. Autrey was given numerous awards and prizes and a scholarship was given to his two daughters.

The station was often shown on the TV drama, New Amsterdam, though the inside shots were taken at the Grand Central Shuttle station.^[4]

Image gallery

• 

  Street Stair

• 

  Mosaic by Heins & LaFarge

• 

  Cartouche with three faces

References

Further reading

• Lee Stokey. Subway Ceramics : A History and Iconography. 1994. ISBN 978-0-9635486-1-0

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 137th Street – City College (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org—IRT West Side Line: 137th Street
• nycsubway.org — Fossils Artwork by Steve Wood (1988)
• Station Reporter — 1 Train
• Forgotten NY — Original 28 - NYC's First 28 Subway Stations
• The Subway Nut — 137th Street – City College Pictures
• MTA's Arts For Transit — 137th Street – City College (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line)
• 137th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View