Worth Street station

Worth Street
Worth Street
Former New York City Subway station
	Platform of the Worth Street station
Station statistics
Address	Lafayette Street & Worth Street; New York, NY
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Civic Center
Coordinates	40°42′56″N 74°00′11″W / 40.7155°N 74.003°W
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Lexington Avenue Line
Services	None (abandoned)
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904; 120 years ago
Closed	September 1, 1962; 62 years ago
Traffic
2023
Rank	out of 423
Station succession
Next north	Canal Street
Next south	Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall
Location
Street map

Worth Street was a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. It is located at Lafayette Street and Worth Street, in Civic Center, Manhattan. The station opened on October 27, 1904 and closed on September 1, 1962 due to its proximity to the Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall station.

History

Opening

Track layout

Legend

					to Canal Street









					to Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall

Operation of the first subway began on October 27, 1904, with the opening of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from City Hall to 145th Street on the West Side Branch including the Worth Street station.^[5]^[6]

Renovation

The station was lengthened twice. Like all the local stops, it was originally about 200 feet (61 m) long to accommodate five-car trains. The first door of the first car and last door of the last car were left past the platform ends and were not opened. Because of overcrowding, the Public Service Commission ordered the local platforms extended a few yards into the "manholes" at the ends, that is, the space left for access to equipment closets. Completed in 1910, this gave just enough room for six-car local trains with only a door of the first and last cars at the platform. The downtown platform was lengthened in 1948 by the Board of Transportation, providing for the full length of a ten-car, 514-foot-long (157 m) train.^[7]^: 1585 The work was done only on the downtown side to save costs, and that platform was chosen for lengthening since it was the main unloading side in the business district.

Closure

On January 3, 1957, the New York City Transit Authority announced that this station would be closed within two years as part of a plan to improve the Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall station. As part of the project, the platforms at Brooklyn Bridge would be lengthened to accommodate ten-car trains, and the curved platform at Brooklyn Bridge would be eliminated. In order to achieve both of these goals, the platforms would be extended 250 feet (76 m) to the north. The Worth Street station would be closed as it would only be 600 feet (180 m) feet away from the platforms at Brooklyn Bridge. If the station were retained, service on the line would be slowed down, and there was no suitable signal system that could operate with such a short distance. The project would cost $4.4 million and was projected to take two years.^[8] The station was closed on September 1, 1962 once the work at Brooklyn Bridge was completed.^[3] After the Worth Street station's closure, Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall was named Brooklyn Bridge–Worth Street on platform signs until 1995.

Station layout

Ground	Street level
Platform level	Side platform, not in service
	Northbound local	← do not stop here (Canal Street)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	do not stop here →
	Southbound local	do not stop here (Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall) →
	Side platform, not in service

This underground station has four tracks and two side platforms. It lies beneath the sidewalk on the west side of Foley Square. When the Federal Plaza Building was in the planning stages, it was found that, because of the existence of the station, the building could not extend out to Foley Square. As a result, that structure is set far back from the street, well beyond the station. The building's plaza and fountain lie directly above the station. The station's platforms are visible from the side windows of trains between Canal Street and Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall.

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.
^ "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.
^ ^a ^b Grutzner, Charles (September 1, 1962). "New Platform for IRT Locals At Brooklyn Bridge to End Jams". The New York Times. p. 42. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
^ James Blaine Walker, Fifty Years of Rapid Transit, 1864-1917, published 1918, pp. 162-191
^ "New York City subway opens - Oct 27, 1904". history.com. October 27, 1904. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
^ Transportation, New York (N Y. ) Board of (1949). Proceedings ...
^ "IRT Will Abandon Worth St. Station; Decision Based on Planned Extension of the Brooklyn Bridge Stop by 250 Feet" (PDF). Retrieved September 4, 2016.

External links

nycsubway.org – IRT East Side Line: Worth Street
Abandoned Stations — Worth Street
Forgotten NY — Original 28 - NYC's First 28 Subway Stations

[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] "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.

[nyt-1962-09-01-3] Grutzner, Charles (September 1, 1962). "New Platform for IRT Locals At Brooklyn Bridge to End Jams". The New York Times. p. 42. Retrieved May 30, 2010.

[riderref-4] "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.

[5] James Blaine Walker, Fifty Years of Rapid Transit, 1864-1917, published 1918, pp. 162-191

[HISTORY.com_190422-6] "New York City subway opens - Oct 27, 1904". history.com. October 27, 1904. Retrieved October 25, 2015.

[7] Transportation, New York (N Y. ) Board of (1949). Proceedings ...

[8] "IRT Will Abandon Worth St. Station; Decision Based on Planned Extension of the Brooklyn Bridge Stop by 250 Feet" (PDF). Retrieved September 4, 2016.

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