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)
Transit connections 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 (2015) 4,646,578[2] Increase 2.3%
Rank 104 out of 422
Station succession
Next north 145th Street: 1 
Next south 125th Street: 1 

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.

History

Street stair

One of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway, this station opened on October 27, 1904.[1]

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 his two daughters were given a scholarship.

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
Mosaic by Heins & LaFarge
Cartouche with three faces

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.

In popular culture

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

References

  1. 1 2 New York Times, Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It, October 28, 1904
  2. ↑ "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  3. ↑ Fink, Jason (November 9, 2008). "Obama stood out, even during brief 1985 NYPIRG job". Newsday (Newsday).
  4. ↑ TWoP Forums, New Amsterdam, March 16, 2008

Further reading

External links

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