Astor Place station

Astor Place
Astor Place
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
	Downtown platform
Station statistics
Address	Astor Place & Lafayette Street; New York, NY 10003
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	NoHo / East Village
Coordinates	40°43′47″N 73°59′30″W / 40.72972°N 73.99167°W
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Lexington Avenue Line
Services	4 (late nights); 6 (all times) <6> (weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction)
Transit	NYCT Bus: M1, M2, M3, M8
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904 (120 years ago)
Accessible	ADA-accessible to mezzanine only; platforms are not ADA-accessible (Elevator is present only in the southbound direction during KMart operating hours)
Opposite-; direction; transfer	No
Former/other names	Astor Place – Cooper Union; Cooper Union
Traffic
2023	3,717,074 15.4%
Rank	84 out of 423
Station succession
Next north	Template:NYCS next
Next south	Template:NYCS next
Location
Street map
Station service legend
Symbol	Description
	Stops all times
	Stops late nights only
	Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
	Astor Place Subway Station (IRT)
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
MPS	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP reference No.	04001013
Added to NRHP	September 17, 2004

Astor Place, also called Astor Place – Cooper Union on signs, is a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Completed in 1904, it is one of the original twenty-eight stations in the system. Located at the intersection of Lafayette Street, Eighth Street, Fourth Avenue, Cooper Square, and Astor Place between the East Village and NoHo, it is served by the 6 train at all times, the <6> train during weekday in peak direction and by the 4 train during late nights. The station is on the List of Registered Historic Places in New York.

History

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Track layout

Legend


					to 14 St








					to Bleecker St

Construction started on the first IRT line in 1900.^[6] The part of the line from City Hall to just south of 42nd Street was part of the original IRT line including the Astor Place station, opened on October 27, 1904.^[2]

In 1981, the MTA listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system.^[7] The station underwent renovation from June 1984 to May 1986. The station was renovated for $2,500,000, and was part of the Adopt-a-Station program. The money included $600,000 from the Federal Urban Mass Transit Administration, $125,000 from private sources, including some from the Vincent Astor Foundation. The scope of the project included the restoration of the famous glazed ceramic beaver plaques, new improved lighting, the installation of noise-abatement material, as well as the installation of new brown floor tiles. A new piece of porcelain steel artwork by Cooper Union alumnus Milton Glaser was installed, and a cast-iron copy of one of the station's original kiosks was built. There was an underpass between the uptown and downtown sides, but it was closed and covered up in the 1980s renovation.^[8]

The original plans for the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (now PATH) included a spur along Ninth Street to this station.^[9]

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street ([[{{{prev}}} ({{{line}}})\|{{{prev}}}]]) ← toward Wakefield–241st Street late nights ([[{{{prev}}} ({{{line}}})\|{{{prev}}}]])
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ toward South Ferry ([[{{{prev}}} ({{{line}}})\|{{{prev}}}]]) → → toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College late nights ([[{{{prev}}} ({{{line}}})\|{{{prev}}}]]) →
	Side platform

Astor Place is a local station with four tracks and two side platforms. The fare control is at platform level, and the underpass connecting northbound and southbound sides was removed in the 1980s. The access hatch to the underpass is visible behind the northbound token booth inside the fare control area. The northbound platform contains a news and candy stand, which replaced the original public women's lavatory. On the southbound side, the station has a department store entrance into a K-Mart. This store was originally constructed in 1868 as an A. T. Stewart. It had changed ownership and was a Wanamaker's when the station was constructed. The heavy brick-faced square columns on the downtown platform support the store above. The northern building of Wanamaker's store, but not the southern building above, burned in the 1950s. Octagonal windows on the brick wall of the platform were the store's showcases.

Plaques of beavers are located on the walls, in honor of John Jacob Astor's fortune derived from the beaver-pelt trade. The plaques, as well as name tablets, were made by the Grueby Faience Company in 1904. During the renovation, the magnificent maroon and gold tile Cooper Union signs underneath the tile Astor Place signs were destroyed.^[10] Black and white pillar signs read Astor Place on one pillar, then Cooper Union on the next.

Exits

Uptown entrance, a reproduction of an old IRT kiosk

The station has two entrances, one in each direction. The southbound platform's entrance is at the southwest corner of Astor Place and Lafayette Street, while the northbound platform's entrance is in the traffic island bounded by Fourth Avenue, Lafayette Street, and Eighth Street.^[11] There is a reproduction of an IRT entry kiosk on the street level over the northbound entrance.

Points of interest

The station itself is a point of local interest, as it is on the List of Registered Historic Places in New York. Several other sites of historical and cultural importance are located near the station. The New York University and Cooper Union are both located nearby. Visitors to the Astor Place area often rotate the Alamo Cube, at street level above the tail end of the northbound platform.^[12] A tiled-up doorway, on southwest wall behind the southbound token booth, sports a lintel proclaiming "Clinton Hall". This doorway once led to the New York Mercantile Library in the former Astor Opera House.^[13] Other points of interest include:

The Eighth Street – New York University station on the BMT Broadway Line is one block west of the station.^[12]

Image gallery

Faience plaque with beaver, by Heins & LaFarge / Grueby Faience Company, 1904. The Astor fortune was based on trading beaver pelts
Faience name tablet by Heins & LaFarge / Grueby Faience Company, 1904.
Tile with initial "A"
Former women's restroom converted into newsstand
Columns with alternating Astor Place and Cooper Union sign plates

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.
^ ^a ^b "Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It". New York Times. October 28, 1904 – via NYCSubway.org.
^ ^a ^b "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
^ "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
^ "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
^ "Rapid Transit Tunnel Begun - Ground Officially Broken (1900)". www.nycsubway.org.
^ Gargan, Edward A. (June 11, 1981). "Agency Lists Its 69 Most Deteriorated Subway Stations". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
^ Blau, Eleanor (May 17, 1986). "Refurbishing of IRT Station Applauded by Well-Wishers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
^ "Map of Hudson & Manhattan Railroad Hudson Tunnel System" (PDF). columbia.edu. Hudson & Manhattan Railroad. December 31, 1912. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
^ "1982 Photo of Astor Place Signage". Cable (Cooper Union Yearbook). 1982. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
^ "MTA Neighborhood Maps: East Village" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "MTA Neighborhood Maps: East Village" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
^ "Clinton Hall at Astor Place". Forgotten New York.

External links

nycsubway.org – IRT East Side Line: Astor Place
nycsubway.org — Untitled Artwork by Milton Glaser (1986)
Station Reporter — 6 Train
Forgotten NY: Subways and Trains — Original 28 IRT subway stations
MTA's Arts For Transit — Astor Place (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
Fourth Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
Lafayette Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
Platforms from Google Maps Street View
Lobby and Kmart entrance 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] "Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It". New York Times. October 28, 1904 – via NYCSubway.org.

[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 December 9, 2011.

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

[6] "Rapid Transit Tunnel Begun - Ground Officially Broken (1900)". www.nycsubway.org.

[7] Gargan, Edward A. (June 11, 1981). "Agency Lists Its 69 Most Deteriorated Subway Stations". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2016.

[8] Blau, Eleanor (May 17, 1986). "Refurbishing of IRT Station Applauded by Well-Wishers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 5, 2016.

[9] "Map of Hudson & Manhattan Railroad Hudson Tunnel System" (PDF). columbia.edu. Hudson & Manhattan Railroad. December 31, 1912. Retrieved September 5, 2016.

[10] "1982 Photo of Astor Place Signage". Cable (Cooper Union Yearbook). 1982. Retrieved December 9, 2009.

[11] "MTA Neighborhood Maps: East Village" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.

[MTA-NameofNeighborhood-2015-12] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "MTA Neighborhood Maps: East Village" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2015.

[13] "Clinton Hall at Astor Place". Forgotten New York.

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v t e Stations of the New York City Subway, by service
Lexington Avenue Local	Pelham Bay Park Buhre Avenue Middletown Road Westchester Square–East Tremont Avenue Zerega Avenue Castle Hill Avenue Parkchester St. Lawrence Avenue Morrison Avenue–Soundview Elder Avenue Whitlock Avenue Hunts Point Avenue Longwood Avenue East 149th Street East 143rd Street–St. Mary's Street Cypress Avenue Brook Avenue Third Avenue–138th Street 125th Street 116th Street 110th Street 103rd Street 96th Street 86th Street 77th Street 68th Street–Hunter College 59th Street 51st Street Grand Central–42nd Street 33rd Street 28th Street 23rd Street 14th Street–Union Square Astor Place Bleecker Street Spring Street Canal Street Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall
Pelham Bay Park Express	Pelham Bay Park Buhre Avenue Middletown Road Westchester Square–East Tremont Avenue Zerega Avenue Castle Hill Avenue Parkchester Hunts Point Avenue Third Avenue–138th Street 125th Street 116th Street 110th Street 103rd Street 96th Street 86th Street 77th Street 68th Street–Hunter College 59th Street 51st Street Grand Central–42nd Street 33rd Street 28th Street 23rd Street 14th Street–Union Square Astor Place Bleecker Street Spring Street Canal Street Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall
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