Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line)

Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Upper level platform
Station statistics
Address	Fifth Avenue & 53rd Street New York, NY 10019
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Midtown Manhattan
Coordinates	40°45′37″N 73°58′33″W / 40.760326°N 73.975754°W / 40.760326; -73.975754Coordinates: 40°45′37″N 73°58′33″W / 40.760326°N 73.975754°W / 40.760326; -73.975754
Division	B (IND)
Line	IND Queens Boulevard Line
Services	E  (all times)       M  (weekdays until 11:00 p.m.)
Connection	New York City Bus: M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, Q32
Structure	Underground
Levels	2
Platforms	2 side platforms (1 on each level)
Tracks	2 (1 on each level)
Other information
Opened	August 19, 1933 (1933-08-19)
Wireless service	[1]
Traffic
Passengers (2014)	7,543,062[2]  3.4%
Rank	56 out of 421
Station succession
Next north	Lexington Avenue – 53rd Street: E  M
Next south	Seventh Avenue (8th Avenue): E  47th–50th Streets – Rockefeller Center (6th Avenue): M
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)

Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street is a station on the IND Queens Boulevard Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street in Manhattan, it is served by the E train at all times and the M train weekdays except late nights.

Station layout

G	Street Level	Exit/Entrance
B1	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent
B2	Southbound	← toward World Trade Center (Seventh Avenue) ← toward Middle Village – Metropolitan Avenue (47th–50th Streets – Rockefeller Center)
	Side platform, doors will open on the left
B3	Northbound	→ toward Jamaica Center (Lexington Avenue – 53rd Street) → → toward Forest Hills – 71st Avenue (Lexington Avenue – 53rd Street) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right

This underground station, opened on August 19, 1933, has two levels with the upper level serving trains bound for Lower Manhattan and the lower level serving trains bound for Queens. Each level has one track and one side platform. The upper level, built in a tube design, is approximately 60 feet below street level while the lower level is 80 feet below. Staircases connect each level at either ends.

The station has two entrances/exits. The full-time one is at the west (railroad south) end. Two long escalators and one staircase goes up to a turnstile bank, where a token booth is present. A passageway leads to two staircases going up to either eastern corners of Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street. There is another staircase that leads to the underground shopping arcade of 666 Fifth Avenue.

The station has a part-time entrance/exit at the east (railroad north) end that has a turnstile bank, customer assistance booth, and two staircases, both of which are built within underground shopping arcades, going up to either eastern corner of Madison Avenue and 53rd Street.

There is a junction west of this station that is controlled by a tower on the south end of the upper level platform. E trains continue west along 53rd Street while M trains turn south and enter the IND Sixth Avenue Line.

In 1996, Ralph Fasanella's 1950 painting "Subway Riders" was installed and is one of the few oil paintings in the world permanently on view in a public transportation center. It is located outside fare control in the full-time mezzanine.

Notable places nearby

• Austrian Cultural Forum New York
• La Grenouille
• St. Patrick’s Cathedral
• Museum of Modern Art
• Donnell Library Center
• Paley Center for Media

Image gallery

Long stairway and escalators between fare control mezzanine and upper level platform  Upper platform for downtown trains

In popular culture

The cover picture of the Simon & Garfunkel album Wednesday Morning, 3 AM was taken at this station.

References

External links

Media related to 5th Avenue/53rd Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line) at Wikimedia Commons

• nycsubway.org—IND Queens Boulevard Line: 5th Avenue/53rd Street
• Station Reporter — E Train
• Station Reporter — M Train
• MTA's Arts For Transit — 5th Avenue/53rd Street (IND Queens Boulevard Line)
• Fifth Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Madison Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View