OK it's not at all what you are thinking this is going to be about this week... I'm going to be talking about something that you may not know about...
There are several abandoned subway stations in New York City for various reasons but I'm going to start with the jewel in the crown of them all... The City Hall station was opened in 1904 and closed in 1945 in favor of the newly built Brooklyn Bridge station across the street that accommodated 10 cars over the previous five car rail line because of increased ridership and the platform was curved and would have been difficult if not impossible to revise and update.
The #6 train still passes through part of this station. The Guastavino arches and skylights and colored glass tile work are what make this one of the most beautiful of all the NYC abandoned subway stations.
The Court Street Station at Boerum Place and Schermerhorn Street opened in 1936 and closed in 1946. It never had much ridership and reopened in the 1960's as a movie set for subway stations... it was a perfect location because trains could be brought in and out with no interference to regular subway service. In 1976 the New York Transit Authority set up the New York Transit Exhibit as part of the Bicentennial celebrations and charged one subway token for admittance... although it was supposed to be temporary it became the New York Transit Museum; there are special nostalgia tours that operate a few times a year.
The Hoyt Schermerhorn station opened in 1936 and closed in 1946 and reopened in 1959 and closed again in 1981. During the re-opening period it was used as special train service for the Aqueduct Racetrack since there was only one stop between the station and the track it is also used sometimes as a movie set.
The 18th Street & Park Avenue station is just below street level with no mezzanine and after the first platform expansion city wide in 1910 brought the closure of this station since it was only a half mile between two stations and deemed unnecessary... it was such an ordinary looking station that it was photographed as an example of how subway stations look.
The Myrtle Avenue & DeKalb Avenue station opened in 1915 and closed in 1956. Myrtle Avenue was a local stop and was supposed to have 5 tracks... DeKalb was supposed to have 6 tracks but when the system was redrawn and developed Myrtle Ave only had 4 tracks despite a plan for an elevated platform above the station... when Flatbush Avenue station was extended over it in 1909 plans were dropped for further development of the station; many consider the failure to build the elevated platforms one of the major missed opportunities of the New York Transit System. The DeKalb station platforms were bypassed in a 1956 major rebuild. In 1960 it became an installation of art work by Bill Brand.
The Jerome Street subway station opened in 1918 and closed in 1958 is situated at the end of a short tunnel that used to connect to the 6 Avenue and 9 Avenue elevated line at 155th Street in Manhattan to the newer elevated Jerome Avenue; the station extends over a building and continues a short way into the tunnel.
The 91st Street at Broadway station opened in 1904 and closed in 1959. The station shares a similar history with the Worth Street station as it was originally built to avoid a 10 block stretch without a station it closed when the 96th Street station platform was extended to 94th Street.
Worth Street station opened in 1904 and closed in 1962 the platforms were originally built at a 200 foot length and extended in 1910 and again in 1948 to to accommodate new trains and safety regulations. When the New York Transit Authority decided to extend all stations in 1956 to a ten-car length it came within a block to the Worth Street entrance and was renamed Brooklyn Bridge-Worth Street and the original staton was closed.
Cortlandt Street station opened in 1918 and closed 11, September 2001... This station was built under the oldest part of the city... during it's construction the burned remains of a sunken ship were discovered. Extended to a full ten-car length in 1966 it was renovated and remodeled between 1972 and 1976.
And renamed Cortlandt Street-World Trade Center station when the twin towers opened. The events on 11, September 2001 completely demolished the station... it was rebuilt and reopened in 2018.
There is a lot to discover in New York City...sure sometimes the trains are crowded and you can't find a seat... I once had a baby throw up on me on a hot summer night on a car with no working air conditioning... But no matter what you say with delays and congestion... it's still the fastest most economical way to navigate the Big Apple... and besides that you sometimes see things you won't see any where else in the entire world.
Travel safely and maybe consider bringing some Purrell wipes with you. See you in two weeks.
