91st Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

91st Street was a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. It was located at 91st Street and Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

91st Street
Former New York City Subway station
Station statistics
Address	West 91st Street & Broadway New York, NY 10025
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Upper West Side
Coordinates	40.7914°N 73.9741°W
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services	None (abandoned)
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904[1]
Closed	February 2, 1959
Station succession
Next north	96th Street
Next south	86th Street
Location
Track layout to 96 St to 86 St
Street map

Built for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), the 91st Street station was constructed as part of the city's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. Construction on the segment of the line that includes the 91st Street station started on August 22 of the same year. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. The station was closed on February 2, 1959, as a result of a platform lengthening project at the two adjacent stations, 86th Street and 96th Street.

The 91st Street station contains two abandoned side platforms and four tracks. The station was built with tile and mosaic decorations. Many of these decorations have been covered with graffiti.

History

Construction and opening

91st Street station prior to opening in 1904

Planning for the city's first subway line dates to the Rapid Transit Act, authorized by the New York State Legislature in 1894.[2]^:139–140 The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, chief engineer of the Rapid Transit Commission. It called for a subway line from New York City Hall in lower Manhattan to the Upper West Side, where two branches would lead north into the Bronx.[3]^:3 A plan was formally adopted in 1897, and legal challenges were resolved near the end of 1899.[2]^:148 The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont Jr., signed Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900,[4] in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.[2]^:182 In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations.[3]^:4 Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.[2]^:182

The 91st Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's West Side Line (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) from 82nd Street to 104th Street, for which work had begun on August 22, 1900. Work for that section had been awarded to William Bradley.[4] The 91st Street station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from City Hall to 145th Street on the West Side Branch.[2]^:186[1]

Service changes and closure

Street grading of 91st Street

After the initial system was completed in 1908,[5] the station was served by local trains along both the West Side (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street) and East Side (now the Lenox Avenue Line). West Side local trains had their southern terminus at City Hall during rush hours and South Ferry at other times, and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street. East Side local trains ran from City Hall to Lenox Avenue (145th Street).[6] In 1918, the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line opened south of Times Square–42nd Street, thereby dividing the original line into an "H" system, and all local trains were sent to South Ferry.[7]

In 1909, to address overcrowding, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.[8]^:168 On January 18, 1910, a modification was made to Contracts 1 and 2 to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to $41.2 million in 2019) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $13,719,643 in 2019) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.[9]^:15 Platforms at local stations, such as the 91st Street station, were lengthened by between 20 to 30 feet (6.1 to 9.1 m). Both platforms were extended to the north and south.[9]^:111

The station's decline commenced in the late 1940s when platforms on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line from 103rd Street to 238th Street were lengthened to 514 feet (157 m) to allow trains of ten 51.4-foot-long (15.7 m) cars to stop at these stations; previously, platforms could only accommodate six-car local trains. The platform extensions were opened in stages through 1948.[10][11] The IRT routes were given numbered designations with the introduction of "R-type" rolling stock. The first such fleet, the R12, was put into service in 1948.[12] The Broadway/West Side route became known as the 1 and the Lenox Avenue route as the 3.[13]

A new service pattern was implemented on the line during peak hours in the late 1950s, removing a rush-hour service bottleneck north of 96th Street by rerouting local trains up the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street and express trains to the Bronx or 145th Street via the IRT Lenox Avenue Line. On February 6, 1959, all Broadway trains became locals, and all Lenox Avenue trains became expresses, eliminating the need to switch tracks.[14][15][16] The rush-hour service could not be implemented until the platform extensions at stations on the line were completed. The original IRT stations north of Times Square could only fit five- or six-car trains. By 1958, the platform extensions at the local stations were nearly completed, but there were more problems with the platform extensions at the two express stations, 72nd Street and 96th Street. At 72nd Street, the track layout was simply changed, but at 96th Street, the local tracks and the outside walls had to be moved. A new mezzanine with stairways to the street was built between West 93rd Street and West 94th Street. The 86th Street and 96th Street stations had their platforms extended in order to accommodate 10-car trains. The 91st Street station could not have its platforms extended because they would already be too close to the other two stations. It was closed on February 2, 1959.[17][18][19] Advertisements from 1959 persisted for several years before the station walls were graffitied over.[19]

Station layout

G	Street level
P Platform Level	Side platform, not in service
	Northbound local	← does not stop here (96th Street)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ does not stop here (86th Street) →
	Side platform, not in service

Like other local stations, 91st Street has four tracks and two abandoned side platforms. The two local tracks, which formerly served the station, are used by the 1 train at all times and the 2 train during late nights. The two express tracks are used by the 2 train during daytime hours and the 3 train at all times.[20] The platforms were 200 feet (61 m) long, as at other local stations on the original IRT.[3]^:4[21]^:8 While the local tracks stay level, the express tracks are at a lower elevation throughout most of the station.

As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the tunnel is covered by a "U"-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The bottom of this trough contains a foundation of concrete no less than 4 inches (100 mm) thick.[21]^:9 Each former platform consists of 3-inch-thick (7.6 cm) concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The former platforms contain circular, cast-iron Doric-style columns spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m). Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every 5 feet (1.5 m), support the jack-arched concrete station roofs.[3]^:4[21]^:9 There is a 1-inch (25 mm) gap between the trough wall and the platform walls, which are made of 4-inch (100 mm)-thick brick covered over by a tiled finish.[21]^:9

The decorative scheme consisted of blue tile tablets, green tile bands, a yellow faience cornice, and violet faience plaques. The decorative work was performed by tile contractor Alfred Boote Company and faience contractor Rookwood Pottery Company.[21]^:38 The 91st Street station is fairly well preserved, with the exception of some litter and graffiti.

See also

• Worth Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
• 18th Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)

References

1. "Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It; Mayor McClellan Runs the First Official Train". The New York Times. October 28, 1904. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
2. Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917. New York, N.Y.: Law Printing. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
3. "Interborough Rapid Transit System, Underground Interior" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. October 23, 1979. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
4. Report of the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners for the City of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1904 Accompanied By Reports of the Chief Engineer and of the Auditor. Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners. 1905. pp. 229–236.
5. "Our First Subway Completed At Last — Opening of the Van Cortlandt Extension Finishes System Begun in 1900 — The Job Cost $60,000,000 — A Twenty-Mile Ride from Brooklyn to 242d Street for a Nickel Is Possible Now". The New York Times. August 2, 1908. p. 10. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
6. Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac. Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1916. p. 119.
7. "Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph" (PDF). The New York Times. August 2, 1918. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
8. Hood, Clifton (1978). "The Impact of the IRT in New York City" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 146–207 (PDF pp. 147–208). Retrieved December 20, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
9. Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1910. Public Service Commission. 1911.
10. Report for the three and one-half years ending June 30, 1949. New York City Board of Transportation. 1949. hdl:2027/mdp.39015023094926.
11. "More Long Platforms; Five Subway Stations on IRT to Accommodate 10-Car Trains". The New York Times. July 10, 1948. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
12. Brown, Nicole (May 17, 2019). "How did the MTA subway lines get their letter or number? NYCurious". amNewYork. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
13. Friedlander, Alex; Lonto, Arthur; Raudenbush, Henry (April 1960). "A Summary of Services on the IRT Division, NYCTA" (PDF). New York Division Bulletin. Electric Railroaders' Association. 3 (1): 2–3.
14. "New Hi-Speed Locals 1959 New York City Transit Authority". Flickr. New York City Transit Authority. 1959. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
15. "Wagner Praises Modernized IRT; Mayor and Transit Authority Are Hailed as West Side Changes Take Effect" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
16. "Modernized IRT To Bow On Feb. 6; West Side Line to Eliminate Bottleneck at 96th Street" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
17. Aciman, Andre (January 8, 1999). "My Manhattan; Next Stop: Subway's Past". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
18. "High-Speed Broadway Local Service Began in 1959". The Bulletin. New York Division, Electric Railroaders' Association. 52 (2). February 2009. Retrieved August 26, 2016 – via Issu.
19. Raanan Geberer. "The Ghost Subway Station on 91st". StrausMedia. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
20. Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
21. Framberger, David J. (1978). "Architectural Designs for New York's First Subway" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 1-46 (PDF pp. 367-412). Retrieved December 20, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

External links

• Abandoned Stations – 91 St
• nycsubway.org – IRT West Side Line: 91st Street
• A site with a historic 91st Street photo
• The Subway Station, a short story by Chananya Weissman, set at this station.
• Forgotten NY – Original 28 Subway Stations (small statement only)