Lexington Avenue / 51st – 53rd Streets (New York City Subway)

Lexington Avenue / 51st – 53rd Streets   New York City Subway rapid transit station complex
Entrance to the IRT Lexington Avenue Line platform
Station statistics
Address	East 53rd Street & Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10022
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Midtown Manhattan, Upper East Side
Coordinates	40.757075°N 73.971977°W / 40.757075; -73.971977
Division	A (IRT), B (IND)
Line	IRT Lexington Avenue Line IND Queens Boulevard Line
Services	4  (late nights)       6  (all times) <6> (weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction)       E  (all times)       M  (weekdays until 11 p.m.)
Connection	New York City Bus: M101, M102, M103
Structure	Underground
Levels	2
Other information
Traffic
Passengers (2010)	18,025,148 (station complex)  3.2%
Rank	12 out of 422
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops in station at all times Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekends only Stops weekdays only Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except weekdays Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Station is closed (Details about time periods)

Lexington Avenue / 51st – 53rd Streets is an underground station complex of the New York City Subway. It connects the IRT Lexington Avenue Line with the IND Queens Boulevard Line and is served by the:

• 6 and E trains at all times
• M train during weekdays
• <6> train weekdays in peak direction
• 4 train during late nights

In 2010, the station complex was ranked twelfth in ridership, with 18,025,148 passengers entering the station. It is planned for 55th Street station from Phase 3 of the Second Avenue Subway to connect to this complex.

IRT Lexington Avenue Line platforms

51st Street   New York City Subway rapid transit station
Downtown local platform
Station statistics
Address	East 51st Street & Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10022
Coordinates	40.757075°N 73.971977°W / 40.757075; -73.971977
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Lexington Avenue Line
Services	4  (late nights)       6  (all times) <6> (weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction)
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	July 17, 1918 (July 17, 1918)
Accessible
Station succession
Next north	59th Street: 4  6  <6>
Next south	Grand Central – 42nd Street: 4  6  <6>
Next north	125th Street: 4  6  <6>
Next south	Grand Central – 42nd Street: 4  6  <6>
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops in station at all times Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekends only Stops weekdays only Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except weekdays Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Station is closed (Details about time periods)

51st Street on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, opened on July 17, 1918, is a local station with two local tracks and two side platforms. The two express tracks, used by the 4 and 5 trains during daytime hours, pass through a lower level and are not visible from the platforms.

The station features modern beige bricks over the original tiles, but the standard IRT-style mosaics remain intact. There is a crossunder at the extreme north end of the platforms with an elevator on each side and an escalator on the Brooklyn Bridge-bound side. A ceramic artwork called Tunnel Vision by Nina Yankowitz was installed here in 1989.

Also in 1989, a passageway to the fare control areas and platforms of the IND Queens Boulevard Line was added beyond the crossunder on the northbound side.

The platforms are approximately 25 feet below street level and the station's full-time fare control areas are at the center of each. A staircase of seven steps go up to a turnstile bank and outside fare control, there is a token booth and four street stairs. The ones on the Bronx-bound side go up either eastern corners of Lexington Avenue and East 51st Street while the ones on the Brooklyn Bridge-bound side go up to either western corners.

The Brooklyn Bridge-bound platform has a part-time fare control area near the south end. A seven-step staircase goes up to a turnstile bank and outside fare control, there is a customer assistance booth and one staircase going up to the front entrance of the Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel on the southwest corner of Lexington Avenue and East 50th Street.

Image gallery

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  51st Street tiles

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  Southbound street stair

IND Queens Boulevard Line platforms

Lexington Avenue – 53rd Street New York City Subway rapid transit station
Station statistics
Address	Lexington Avenue & East 53rd Street New York, NY 10022
Coordinates	40.758343°N 73.971033°W / 40.758343; -73.971033
Division	B (IND)
Line	IND Queens Boulevard Line
Services	E  (all times)       M  (weekdays until 11 p.m.)
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Other information
Opened	August 19, 1933 (August 19, 1933)
Accessible
Station succession
Next north	Court Square – 23rd Street: E  M
Next south	Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street: E  M
Next north	Queens Plaza: E  M
Next south	50th Street (via 8th): E  (in southbound direction only) 47th–50th Streets – Rockefeller Center (via 6th): M
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops in station at all times Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekends only Stops weekdays only Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except weekdays Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Station is closed (Details about time periods)

Lexington Avenue – 53rd Street on the IND Queens Boulevard Line opened on August 19, 1933 and has two tracks and one island platform. It is eighty feet below street level, as the line had to pass beneath all of the north–south subway lines that were built before it. As a result, long escalators and staircases are required to reach the mezzanine from the platform.

This station has an un-staffed entrance/exit at the east (railroad north) end. One escalator and one elevator from the platform goes up to a turnstile bank, where two staircases go up to either western corners of Third Avenue and 53rd Street. A larger staircase goes up to the entrance plaza of 205 East 53rd Street at the northeast corner.

At the extreme west (railroad south) end of the platform, a bank of two escalators and one staircase (which were once the longest in the world), a single escalator, and one ADA-accessible elevator go up to the full-time mezzanine with a token booth, where a turnstile bank provide entrance/exit from the station. One glass-enclosed staircase goes up to the entrance plaza of 132 East 53rd Street at the southeast corner of Lexington Avenue. A larger staircase goes up to a sunken shopping plaza of the Citigroup Center at the northeast corner of the aforementioned intersection.

A shopping arcade outside fare control leads to a staircase and elevator inside the south side of 132 East 53rd Street that go up to the northeast corner of East 52nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Here, there is another token booth and turnstile bank leading to the passageway to the IRT Lexington Avenue Line, which was added in 1989. The passageway extends to the staircases and escalators going down to the IND platform and contains a turnstile bank in the center.

There are no tiles, trim line, or mosaics on the track walls. East of this station (railroad north), the line goes under the East River to Long Island City, Queens.

The 2004 artwork here is called Passing Through by Al Held. It features glass mosaic on the mezzanine walls.

Image gallery

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  Lexington Avenue-53rd Street platform

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  Older signage, since removed from the station

• 

  Railfan window picture of train entering Lexington Avenue – 53rd Street station

• 

  Stair at foot of Citicorp Center

External links

• nycsubway.org — IRT East Side Line: 51st Street
• nycsubway.org — Tunnel Vision Artwork by Nina Yankowitz (1989)
• nycsubway.org — Passing Through Artwork by Al Held (2004)
• Station Reporter — 51st Street/Lexington Avenue Complex
• MTA's Arts For Transit — 51st Street/Lexington Avenue-53rd Street Page 1
• MTA's Arts For Transit — Lexington Avenue-53rd Street Page 2
• nycsubway.org — IND Queens Boulevard Line: Lexington Avenue/53rd Street
• Station Reporter — 51st Street/Lexington Avenue Complex
• MTA's Arts For Transit — Lexington Avenue – 53rd Street
• MTA's Arts For Transit — 51st Street/Lexington Avenue - 53rd Street
• Lexington Avenue and 53rd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Lexington Avenue and 52nd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Lexington Avenue and 51st Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Lexington Avenue and 50th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Third Avenue and 53rd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View