72nd Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

72nd Street
72nd Street
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
	Original control house (left) and newer control house, located on opposite sides of 72nd Street
Station statistics
Address	area of West 72nd Street, Broadway & Amsterdam Avenue; New York, NY 10023
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Upper West Side
Coordinates	40°46′44″N 73°58′55″W / 40.779°N 73.982°W
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services	1 (all times); 2 (all times); 3 (all times)
Transit	NYCT Bus: M5, M7, M11, M57, M72, M104; MTA Bus: BxM2
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 island platforms; cross-platform interchange
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904; 119 years ago
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Opposite-; direction; transfer	Yes
Traffic
2023	9,086,110 16.6%
Rank	22 out of 423
Station succession
Next north	Template:NYCS next; Template:NYCS next
Next south	Template:NYCS next; Template:NYCS next
Location
Street map
Station service legend
Symbol	Description
	Stops all times except late nights
	Stops all times
	Stops late nights only
	Control House on 72nd Street
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
MPS	Interborough Rapid Transit Subway Control Houses TR
NRHP reference No.	80002684
Added to NRHP	May 6, 1980
	72nd Street Subway Station (IRT)
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
MPS	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP reference No.	04001017
Added to NRHP	September 17, 2004

72nd Street is an express station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Broadway, 72nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue (including Verdi Square and Sherman Square) on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It is served by the 1, 2 and 3 trains at all times.

History

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Track layout

Legend

					to 96 St
					to 79 St


















					to 66 St
					to 42 St

The 72nd Street station opened on October 27, 1904, as part of the original subway, with trains running from Brooklyn Bridge to 145th Street. The original configuration of the station was inadequate by IRT standards. It had just one entrance (the control house on the traffic island between 71st and 72nd Streets, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places), and the platforms and stairways were unusually narrow. There were no crossovers or crossunders as the control house had separate turnstile banks and token booths for each side. Express trains ran on the innermost two tracks, while local trains ran on the outer pair.

During the 1950s, the New York City Transit Authority (now the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or MTA) considered converting the station to a local station by walling off the express tracks from the platforms. This would have coincided with 59th Street–Columbus Circle, which is a major transfer point to the IND Eighth Avenue Line, becoming an express stop.

A substantial renovation was completed on October 29, 2002, providing a new, larger control house on the traffic island between 72nd and 73rd Streets and slightly wider platforms at the north end of the station.^[6]

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance, fare control, station agent Elevators inside station house on north side of 72nd Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue
Platform level	Northbound local	← toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street (79th Street) ← toward Wakefield–241st Street late nights (79th Street)
	Island platform
	Northbound express	← toward Wakefield–241st Street (96th Street) ← toward Harlem–148th Street (96th Street)
	Southbound express	→ toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College (Times Square–42nd Street) → → toward New Lots Avenue (Times Square late nights) (Times Square–42nd Street) →
	Island platform
	Southbound local	→ toward South Ferry (66th Street–Lincoln Center) → → toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College late nights (66th Street–Lincoln Center) →

At platform level, the station is similar to its original configuration, with two narrow island platforms and four tracks.

Exits

There are two station houses, both of which provide entry and exit: the original station house south of 72nd Street, and the new one north of 72nd Street.^[7]

The crossovers and elevator are only in the northernmost station house. This control house has two staircases and one elevator from each platform going up to a crossover, where on either side a turnstile bank leads to either 72nd or 73rd Streets.^[7] Only the southern turnstile bank, to the northern side of 72nd Street, has a staffed token booth. The elevators from this turnstile bank make this station ADA-accessible.^[7]^[8] This control house has an artwork, Laced Canopy by Robert Hickman, which consists of a mosaic pattern on the central skylight; if looked at in the right way, the knots within the pattern make up the notation for an excerpt of Verdi's Rigoletto.

The original control house was renovated and now has a total of five staircases: two to the southbound platform and three to the northbound platform. These staircases go up to a crossover. On the north side, an unstaffed turnstile bank leads to 72nd Street; on the south side, three High Entry/Exit Turnstiles lead to 71st Street.^[7] This control house has artful wrought iron pillars, dating back to the days of the original subway system, as well as decorated ceiling beams.

Gallery

IRT mosaic tapestries
Detail of the wall decoration with a fleur-de-lis
Old control house
Detail of the decorated ceiling with old lights and iron pillars in the old headhouse
New control house

References

^ "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.
^ New York Times, Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It, October 28, 1904
^ ^a ^b "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
^ "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
^ "New Headhouse Opens at West 72nd Street". www.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. October 29, 2002. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Upper West Side" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
^ "MTA | Press Release | MTA Headquarters | New Headhouse Opens at West 72nd Street". www.mta.info. Retrieved 2016-10-01.

External links

nycsubway.org – IRT West Side Line: 72nd Street
nycsubway.org – Verdi's Rigoletto Artwork by Robert Hickman (2005)
Station Reporter – 1 Train
Station Reporter – 2 Train
Station Reporter – 3 Train
72nd Street at The Subway Nut - [1]
Forgotten NY – Original 28 - NYC's First 28 Subway Stations
MTA's Arts For Transit – 72nd Street (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
Newer headhouse at 72nd Street from Google Maps Street View
Older headhouse at 72nd Street from Google Maps Street View
Platforms from Google Maps Street View
Lobby from Google Maps Street View

[SASDEIS-DIVISION-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.

[145th-2] New York Times, Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It, October 28, 1904

[riderref-3] "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.

[focus-4] "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved November 6, 2011.

[2016-rider-5] "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.

[6] "New Headhouse Opens at West 72nd Street". www.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. October 29, 2002. Retrieved 2016-12-31.

[MTAMaps-2015-7] "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Upper West Side" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2016.

[8] "MTA | Press Release | MTA Headquarters | New Headhouse Opens at West 72nd Street". www.mta.info. Retrieved 2016-10-01.

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[8]

v t e Stations of the New York City Subway, by service
Broadway– Seventh Avenue Local	Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street 238th Street 231st Street Marble Hill–225th Street 215th Street 207th Street Dyckman Street 191st Street 181st Street 168th Street 157th Street 145th Street 137th Street–City College 125th Street 116th Street–Columbia University Cathedral Parkway–110th Street 103rd Street 96th Street 86th Street 79th Street 72nd Street 66th Street–Lincoln Center 59th Street–Columbus Circle 50th Street Times Square–42nd Street 34th Street–Penn Station 28th Street 23rd Street 18th Street 14th Street Christopher Street–Sheridan Square Houston Street Canal Street Franklin Street Chambers Street WTC Cortlandt Rector Street South Ferry
Seventh Avenue Express	Wakefield–241st Street Nereid Avenue 233rd Street 225th Street 219th Street Gun Hill Road Burke Avenue Allerton Avenue Pelham Parkway Bronx Park East East 180th Street West Farms Square–East Tremont Avenue 174th Street Freeman Street Simpson Street Intervale Avenue Prospect Avenue Jackson Avenue Third Avenue–149th Street 149th Street–Grand Concourse 135th Street 125th Street 116th Street Central Park North–110th Street 96th Street 86th Street* 79th Street* 72nd Street 66th Street–Lincoln Center* 59th Street–Columbus Circle* 50th Street* Times Square–42nd Street 34th Street–Penn Station 28th Street* 23rd Street* 18th Street* 14th Street Christopher Street–Sheridan Square* Houston Street* Canal Street* Franklin Street* Chambers Street Park Place Fulton Street Wall Street Clark Street Borough Hall Hoyt Street Nevins Street Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center Bergen Street Grand Army Plaza Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College President Street–Medgar Evers College Sterling Street Winthrop Street Church Avenue Beverly Road Newkirk Avenue–Little Haiti Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College
Seventh Avenue Express	Harlem–148th Street 145th Street 135th Street 125th Street 116th Street Central Park North–110th Street 96th Street 72nd Street Times Square–42nd Street 34th Street–Penn Station 14th Street Chambers Street Park Place Fulton Street Wall Street Clark Street Borough Hall Hoyt Street Nevins Street Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center Bergen Street Grand Army Plaza Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College Nostrand Avenue Kingston Avenue Crown Heights–Utica Avenue Sutter Avenue–Rutland Road Saratoga Avenue Rockaway Avenue Junius Street Pennsylvania Avenue Van Siclen Avenue New Lots Avenue
See also Lists by borough (The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens) Accessible Closed Terminals Transfer Commons category Note: Service variations, station closures, and reroutes are not reflected here. Stations with asterisks have no regular peak, reverse peak, or midday service on that route. See linked articles for more information.

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