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23rd Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

Coordinates: 40°44′38″N 73°59′46″W / 40.744°N 73.996°W / 40.744; -73.996
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see 23rd Street.
 23 Street
 "1" train
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
View of northbound platform
Station statistics
AddressWest 23rd Street & Seventh Avenue
New York, New York
BoroughManhattan
LocaleChelsea
Coordinates40°44′38″N 73°59′46″W / 40.744°N 73.996°W / 40.744; -73.996
DivisionA (IRT)[1]
Line   IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services   1 all times (all times)
​   2 late nights (late nights)
TransitBus transport NYCT Bus: M7, M20, M23 SBS
StructureUnderground
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks4
Other information
OpenedJuly 1, 1918; 106 years ago (1918-07-01)
Opposite-
direction
transfer		No
Traffic
20233,154,290[2] Increase 15%
Rank103 out of 423[2]
Services
Preceding station New York City Subway New York City Subway Following station
28th Street
1 all times ​2 late nights
toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street
Local 		18th Street
1 all times ​2 late nights
toward South Ferry
"3" train does not stop here
Location
23rd Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) is located in New York City Subway
23rd Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
23rd Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) is located in New York City
23rd Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
23rd Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) is located in New York
23rd Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
Track layout

Legend
to 28th Street
to 18th Street
Street map

Map

Station service legend
Symbol Description
Stops all times Stops all times
Stops late nights only Stops late nights only
Stops late nights and weekends Stops late nights and weekends

The 23rd Street station is a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at 23rd Street and Seventh Avenue in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times and by the 2 train during late nights. The station was built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as part of the Dual Contracts with New York City, and opened on July 1, 1918. The station had its platforms extended in the 1960s, and was renovated in the 1990s.

History

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Construction and opening

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Mosaic name tablet
Number tablet on trim line
1915 Seventh Avenue subway collapse with car fallen in tunnel

The Dual Contracts, which were signed on March 19, 1913, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the City of New York. The contracts were "dual" in that they were signed between the City and two separate private companies (the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company), all working together to make the construction of the Dual Contracts possible. The Dual Contracts promised the construction of several lines in Brooklyn. As part of Contract 4, the IRT agreed to build a branch of the original subway line south down Seventh Avenue, Varick Street, and West Broadway to serve the West Side of Manhattan.[3][4][5]

The construction of this line, in conjunction with the construction of the Lexington Avenue Line, would change the operation of the IRT system. Instead of having trains go via Broadway, turning onto 42nd Street, before finally turning onto Park Avenue, there would be two trunk lines connected by the 42nd Street Shuttle. The system would be changed from looking like a "Z" system on a map to an "H" system. One trunk would run via the new Lexington Avenue Line down Park Avenue, and the other trunk would run via the new Seventh Avenue Line up Broadway. In order for the line to continue down Varick Street and West Broadway, these streets needed to be widened, and two new streets were built, the Seventh Avenue Extension and the Varick Street Extension.[6] It was predicted that the subway extension would lead to the growth of the Lower West Side, and to neighborhoods such as Chelsea and Greenwich Village.[7][8]

On September 22, 1915, there was an explosion during construction of the 23rd Street subway station that caused the tunnel to collapse. Seven people were killed after a blast of dynamite in the subway tunnel destroyed the plank roadway over Seventh Avenue. As a result, a crowded trolley car, and a brewery truck fell into the excavation, accounting for most of the injuries.[9]

23rd Street station opened as part of an extension of the line from 34th Street–Penn Station to South Ferry on July 1, 1918.[10][11] Initially, the station was served by a shuttle running from Times Square to South Ferry.[10][12] The new "H" system was implemented on August 1, 1918, joining the two halves of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and sending all West Side trains south from Times Square.[13] An immediate result of the switch was the need to transfer using the 42nd Street Shuttle in order to retrace the original layout. The completion of the "H" system doubled the capacity of the IRT system.[7]

Later years

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The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.[14][15] On August 9, 1964, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) announced the letting of a $7.6 million contract to lengthen platforms at stations on the Broadway—Seventh Avenue Line from Rector Street to 34th Street–Penn Station, including 23rd Street, and stations from Central Park North–110th Street to 145th Street on the Lenox Avenue Line to allow express trains to be lengthened from nine-car trains to ten-car trains, and to lengthen locals from eight-car trains to ten-car trains. With the completion of this project, the NYCTA project to lengthen IRT stations to accommodate ten-car trains would be complete.[16]

This station was renovated in the 1990s.[citation needed]

In April 2021, as part of a network accessibility trial, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority installed a braille map along the northbound platform wall.[17]: 76 

Station layout

[edit]
Northbound street stair
Ground Street level Exit/entrance
Platform level Side platform
Northbound local ← "1" train toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street (28th Street)
← "2" train toward Wakefield–241st Street late nights (28th Street)
Northbound express ← "2" train"3" train do not stop here
Southbound express → "2" train"3" train do not stop here →
Southbound local → "1" train toward South Ferry (18th Street) →
→ "2" train toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College late nights (18th Street) →
Side platform

This underground station has two side platforms and four tracks. The station is served by the 1 at all times[18] and by the 2 during late nights;[19] the center express tracks are used by the 2 and 3 trains during daytime hours.[19][20] It is between 28th Street to the north and 18th Street to the south.[21]

Both platforms have their original mosaic trim line and name tablets of a predominately brown and red color along with yellow and olive green. Except for at either end of the platforms where it gets narrower, both also have maroon I-beam columns running along them at regular intervals, alternating ones having the standard black station name plate with white lettering.

23rd St subway cross-section
8th Av 7th Av 6th Av 5th Av &
Broadway 		Park Av
A / C / E 1 / 2 / 3 FM↓ PATH FM↑ N / Q / R / W 6 / <6>
underpass underpass
This box:


Exits

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Each platform has one same-level fare control area in their center and there are no crossunders or crossovers. The northbound platform has the station's full-time turnstile bank and token booth and two staircases going to either eastern corners of 23rd Street and Seventh Avenue. The southbound platform has an unstaffed set of turnstiles and two staircases going up to either western corners of the same intersection.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  3. ^ "Terms and Conditions of Dual System Contracts". nycsubway.org. Public Service Commission. March 19, 1913. Archived from the original on May 13, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  4. ^ "The Dual System of Rapid Transit (1912)". nycsubway.org. Public Service Commission. September 1912. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  5. ^ "Most Recent Map of the Dual Subway System Which Shows How Brooklyn Borough Is Favored In New Transit Lines". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 9, 1917. p. 37. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016 – via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Sealey, D.A. (1916). "Rapid Transit Work in New York City, 1915". Engineering News. 75 (18). McGraw-Hill Publishing Company: 846. hdl:2027/njp.32101061103816. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved September 3, 2020 – via HathiTrust.
  7. ^ a b Whitney, Travis H. (March 10, 1918). "The Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subways Will Revive Dormant Sections" (PDF). The New York Times. p. 12. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  8. ^ "Public Service Commission Fixes July 15 For Opening of The New Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subway Lines" (PDF). The New York Times. May 19, 1918. p. 32. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  9. ^ "Subway Explosion Kills 7, Injures 85; Rips Open Seventh Av. For Two Blocks" (PDF). The New York Times. September 23, 1915. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 1, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  10. ^ a b "7th Avenue Subway System Is Opened To Public To-day: First Train Will Start at 2 O'Clock This Afternoon". New-York Tribune. July 1, 1918. p. 9. ProQuest 575909557.
  11. ^ "Open New Subway to Regular Traffic" (PDF). The New York Times. July 2, 1918. p. 11. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 30, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  12. ^ "Times Sq. Grows as Subway Centre: New Seventh Avenue Line, Open Today, Marks Great Transportation Advance". The New York Times. July 1, 1917. p. RE11. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 99994412. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  13. ^ "Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph" (PDF). The New York Times. August 2, 1918. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  14. ^ "City Transit Unity Is Now a Reality; Title to I.R.T. Lines Passes to Municipality, Ending 19-Year Campaign". The New York Times. June 13, 1940. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  15. ^ "Transit Unification Completed As City Takes Over I. R. T. Lines: Systems Come Under Single Control After Efforts Begun in 1921; Mayor Is Jubilant at City Hall Ceremony Recalling 1904 Celebration". New York Herald Tribune. June 13, 1940. p. 25. ProQuest 1248134780.
  16. ^ "IRT Riders To Get More Train Room; $8.5 Million Is Allocated for Longer Stations and for 3 New Car Washers". The New York Times. August 10, 1964. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  17. ^ "New York City Transit and Bus Committee Meeting May 2021". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  18. ^ "1 Subway Timetable, Effective December 17, 2023". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  19. ^ a b "2 Subway Timetable, Effective June 26, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  20. ^ "3 Subway Timetable, Effective June 30, 2024". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  21. ^ "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  22. ^ "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Chelsea" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 24, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
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