57th Street (IND Sixth Avenue Line)

57th Street
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Station statistics
Address West 57th Street & Sixth Avenue
New York, NY 10019
Borough Manhattan
Locale Midtown Manhattan
Coordinates 40°45′51″N 73°58′38″W / 40.764259°N 73.977213°W / 40.764259; -73.977213Coordinates: 40°45′51″N 73°58′38″W / 40.764259°N 73.977213°W / 40.764259; -73.977213
Division B (IND)
Line       IND Sixth Avenue Line
Services       F  (all times)
Transit connections NYCT Bus: M5, M7, M31, M57
Structure Underground
Platforms 1 island platform
Tracks 2
Other information
Opened July 1, 1968 (1968-07-01)
Wireless service [1]
Traffic
Passengers (2015) 4,720,245[2]Increase 2.5%
Rank 101 out of 422
Station succession
Next north Lexington Avenue–63rd Street: F 
Next south 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center: F 

57th Street is a station on the IND Sixth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 57th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, it is served by the F train at all times. North of the station, the line turns east and becomes the IND 63rd Street Line.

History

Track layout
Legend
to Lexington Av–63 St
to 47–50 Sts

The station was built as part of the Chrystie Street Connection, which started construction in 1957. In 1962, the Sixth Avenue extension to the new terminal at 57th Street was announced.[3] The 57th Street station opened on July 1, 1968,[3] as one of two stations added during construction of the Chrystie Street Connection, the other being Grand Street.[4] Upon its opening, the station acted as the terminus of two services, the B during rush hours and KK during off-peak hours.[4][5][3] The KK was renamed the K in 1974 and eliminated in 1976.[6][7] From 1978 to 1990, this station was also served by the JFK Express service to the eponymous airport.[8][9][10][11]

When the north side of the Manhattan Bridge was closed for construction from 1986-1998 and again from July to December 2001, this station was only served by a shuttle train along Sixth Avenue.[12] Starting in 1988, this station was served by Q trains on weekdays, B trains on weekday evenings and weekends, and F trains during late nights. This was the terminal for all services until the IND 63rd Street Line to 21st Street–Queensbridge opened on October 29, 1989[13][14] Late night F-train service was replaced by a shuttle in 1997. Since December 2001, when the 63rd Street Tunnel Connector opened in Queens, the F route has served this station at all times,[15][16][17][18] simultaneous with the withdrawal of all other services from the 63rd Street Line.[15][17][18]

Under the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Plan, the station, along with 30 others in the New York City Subway, will undergo a complete overhaul and be entirely closed for up to six months. Planned updates include cellular service, Wi-Fi, charging stations, and improved signage and station lighting.[19][20]

Station layout

G Street Level Exit/Entrance
M Mezzanine Fare control, station agent, MetroCard vending machines
P
Platform level
Southbound toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center)
Island platform, doors will open on the left
Northbound toward Jamaica–179th Street (Lexington Avenue–63rd Street)
Street entrance

57th Street utilizes a simple two tracks and a single island platform setup common to terminal stations. There are eight street staircases spread on both sides of Sixth Avenue from 56th to 57th Streets,[21] and from the mezzanine level, six staircases to the platform. The station walls are plain white, with "57th St" stenciled on long, narrow tiles along the wall.

Except for the removal of exit slam gates at fare controls, much of the station design remains unchanged from 1968 opening. Even the "Next Train" indicator lights are still hanging from the platform ceiling, dating from the period when the station was a terminal. The tower and the crew area still exist. They were abandoned after the 1989 63rd Street extension to 21st Street–Queensbridge, but were back in service in 1998 when trains from Sixth Avenue terminated here due to long term construction work that necessitated a shuttle train from Queensbridge to 57th Street–Seventh Avenue on the BMT Broadway Line. Once all construction work was completed on the 63rd Street Connector to the IND Queens Boulevard Line in December 2001, the tower was permanently abandoned.

A plaque of Colonel John T. O'Neill is located in the station[22]

This station features one of the last surviving telephone booths, located inside one of the three fare control areas at mezzanine level. A plaque dedicated to retired Colonel John T. O'Neill, who served as the New York City Transit Authority's Chief Engineer until his death in 1978, sits next to the booth on the west wall.[22]

In popular culture

References

  1. "NYC Subway Wireless – Active Stations". Transit Wireless Wifi. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  2. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  3. 1 2 3 Joseph B. Raskin (1 November 2013). The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City's Unbuilt Subway System. Fordham University Press. ISBN 978-0-8232-5369-2. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  4. 1 2 Perlmutter, Emanuel (November 16, 1967). "SUBWAY CHANGES TO SPEED SERVICE: Major Alterations in Maps, Routes and Signs Will Take Effect Nov. 26". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  5. Perlmutter, Emanuel (November 27, 1967). "BMT-IND CHANGES BEWILDER MANY; Transit Authority Swamped With Calls From Riders as New System Starts". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
  6. 1972 system map NYCSubway Retrieved 2009-08-12
  7. Burks, Edward C. (August 14, 1976). "215 More Daily Subway Runs Will Be Eliminated by Aug. 30". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
  8. Grynbaum, Michael M. (November 25, 2009). "If You Took the Train to the Plane, Sing the Jingle". Retrieved 2016-07-03.
  9. "New "JFK Express" Service Begun in Howard Beach" (PDF). New York Leader Observer. Fultonhistory.com. September 28, 1978. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  10. Pitt, David E. (October 22, 1989). "Transit Agency Wants to End Airport Express". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2009.
  11. "Train to the Plane". YouTube. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
  12. 1987 system map NYCSubway Retrieved 2009-08-12
  13. Lorch, Donatella (October 29, 1989). "The 'Subway to Nowhere' Now Goes Somewhere". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  14. Kershaw, Sarah (December 17, 2001). "V Train Begins Service Today, Giving Queens Commuters Another Option". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-10-16.
  15. 1 2 "Review of F Line Operations, Ridership, and Infrastructure" (PDF). nysenate.gov. MTA New York City Transit Authority. October 7, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-31. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  16. "Review of the G Line" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 10, 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  17. 1 2 "E,F Detour in 2001, F trains via 63 St, E no trains running, take R instead". The Subway Nut. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  18. 1 2 Kennedy, Randy (May 25, 2001). "Panel Approves New V Train but Shortens G Line to Make Room". The New York Times. Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  19. "MTA Will Completely Close 30 Subway Stations For Months-Long "Revamp"". Gothamist. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  20. "MTAStations" (PDF). governor.ny.gov. Government of the State of New York. Retrieved 2016-07-18.
  21. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Midtown" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  22. 1 2 Frattini, Dave (2000-04-01). The Underground Guide to New York City Subways. Macmillan. p. 135. ISBN 9780312253844 via Google Books.
  23. Carlson, Jen (February 6, 2012). "NYC As Seen On TV: Revisit The '80s With Beat Street". gothamist.com. Gothamist. Retrieved 2016-07-28. 1984's Beat Street... was filmed entirely on location in New York City. ... These underground scenes were filmed mostly at 57th Street-Sixth Avenue, Fresh Pond Road, and Hoyt-Schermerhorn.

External links

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