58 Joralemon Street

Coordinates: 40°41′37″N 73°59′50″W / 40.693543°N 73.997335°W

The facade of 58 Joralemon Street.

58 Joralemon Street, in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, New York, United States, is a Greek Revival structure built in 1847 as a private residence, but is now a New York City Subway vent. The property was acquired by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company in 1908, who gutted the interior and converted the structure to "the world’s only Greek Revival subway ventilator".^[1] The ventilator also serves as an emergency exit from the eastern end of the New York City Subway's Joralemon Street Tunnel, which carries the IRT Lexington Avenue Line (4 5 trains) between Bowling Green and Borough Hall, where it becomes the IRT Eastern Parkway Line (2 3 4 5 trains).^[2]

The door to 58 Joralemon

Through acquisitions, the property passed through to the New York City Board of Transportation in 1940, and to New York City Transit Authority in 1953, its current owner. As of 2010 it was valued at $2.8 million.^[3] The exterior facade and black Lexan windows are the result of a 1999 agreement with the Landmarks Preservation Commission to help the facility blend into the neighborhood.^[4]

See also

• Leinster Gardens

References

1. "A History of Willowtown & the Willowtown Association". Retrieved 2012-02-25.
2. Tom Hays and Samantha Sherman (2010-04-12). "Subterranean Police Presence Protects Subways From Terror". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Archived from the original on 2010-07-01.
3. Joey Arak (2010-04-13). "Brooklyn Heights Townhouse is actually a decoy". curbed.com. Retrieved 2012-02-25.
4. John Freeman Gill (2004-12-26). "A Puzzle Tucked Amid the Brownstones". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-02-25.