155th Street station (IND Concourse Line)

History

This station was built as part of the IND Concourse Line, which was one of the original lines of the city-owned Independent Subway System (IND). The route of the Concourse Line was approved to Bedford Park Boulevard on June 12, 1925 by the New York City Board of Transportation. Construction of the line began in July 1928. The station opened on July 1, 1933, along with the rest of the Concourse subway.

Station layout

This underground station has two side platforms and three tracks. The center track is used by the D express train during rush hours in the peak direction.

Both platforms have an orange trim line with a black border and mosaic name tablets reading "155TH ST. – 8TH AVE." in white sans-serif lettering on a black background with orange border. Small "155" and directional tile captions in white lettering on a black background run below the trim line and some of the mosaic name tablets. Orange-yellow I-beam columns run along both platforms at regular intervals, with alternating ones having the standard black name plate in white lettering.

The street staircase is wider than normal staircases, since the Polo Grounds stadium, home of the former New York Giants, was situated near the station, before the team left for San Francisco in 1958. The stadium was demolished in 1964 to make way for public housing after the New York Mets played there in 1962 and 1963. Today, Rucker Park is located at the entrance of the station.

An abandoned tower sits on the west end of the Brooklyn-bound platform. When the IRT Ninth Avenue Line and later the Polo Grounds Shuttle were in service, there was a provision for transfer tickets between the IND underground level and the IRT elevated shuttle level. A very steep walk was needed to make this transfer.

This is the only station in Manhattan that is served solely by the IND Concourse Line. To the east, the line continues under the Harlem River towards 161st Street–Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. To the west, the line turns south and continues under Saint Nicholas Place to a transfer station with the IND Eighth Avenue Line at 145th Street. South of 145th Street, the IND Concourse Line merges with the IND Eighth Avenue Line.

This station has a full-length mezzanine above the platforms. However, only the eastern end is open and has six staircases to the platforms. The Brooklyn-bound platform has four closed staircases while the Bronx-bound one has five. The mezzanine has yellow I-beam columns. The fare control area at the north end has a turnstile bank, token booth, and one exit-only turnstile on each side of the mezzanine.

Exit

A quadruple-wide staircase diagonal to the mezzanine that goes up to the west side of Frederick Douglass Boulevard between 155th Street and Harlem River Drive. The exit measures 28.5 ft wide and 21 ft deep. Three handrails separate the staircase into four "aisles". Originally, the stairway had an open cast-iron railing, similar to others in the New York City Subway system. Urbahn Architects redesigned the exit around 2020 to make it more resistant to flooding. The redesigned stair is surrounded on three sides by a glass flood wall, which rests on a concrete coping just above ground level and is held in place by steel posts placed every 4 ft. The entrance is flanked by pillars measuring 6.5 ft high; a portable floodwall could be placed between the pillars during severe weather.

References

References

1. (September 22, 1929). "Our Great Subway Network Spreads Wider". [[The New York Times]].
2. (March 21, 1925). "New Subway Routes in Hylan Program to Cost $186,046,000". [[The New York Times]].
3. (September 2, 1928). "Board Speeds Subway on Grand Concourse". [[The New York Times]].
4. Joseph B. Raskin. (November 1, 2013). "The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City's Unbuilt Subway System". Fordham University Press.
5. (July 1, 1933). "New Bronx Subway Starts Operation". The New York Times.
6. (July 1, 1933). "Bronx-Concourse New Subway Link Opened at 12:57 A.M.". [[Brooklyn Daily Eagle]].
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12. (January 23, 2023). "AIA Excelsior Award for 155th Street subway station by Urbahn Architects".