157th Street station

Planning for the city's first subway line dates to the Rapid Transit Act, authorized by the New York State Legislature in 1894.[5]^:139–140 The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, chief engineer of the Rapid Transit Commission. It called for a subway line from New York City Hall in lower Manhattan to the Upper West Side, where two branches would lead north into the Bronx.[6]^:3 A plan was formally adopted in 1897, and legal challenges were resolved near the end of 1899.[5]^:148 The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont Jr., signed Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900,[7] in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.[5]^:182 In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations.[6]^:4 Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.[5]^:182

The 137th Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's West Side Line (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) from 133rd Street to a point 100 feet (30 m) north of 182nd Street. Work on this section was conducted by L. B. McCabe & Brother, who started building the tunnel segment on May 14, 1900.[7] The section of the West Side Line around this station was originally planned as a two-track line, but in early 1901, was changed to a three-track structure to allow trains to be stored in the center track.[8]^:93[9]^:189–190 A third track was added directly north of 96th Street, immediately east of the originally planned two tracks.[10]^:14

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.[5]^:186 Two days later, service was extended one stop to 157th Street, which at the time was still incomplete.[11] The station had been soft opened to allow passengers to travel to the Yale–Columbia football game at the Polo Grounds.[12] 157th Street was formally opened on November 12, 1904, as the first extension to the subway. The station's opening had been delayed by two weeks because there was still painting and plastering work going on in the station. 157th Street thus became the terminal for West Side Line trains,[13] relieving congestion at 96th Street, which previously had been the terminus for the IRT's local trains.[14] On March 12, 1906, the IRT was extended from 157th Street to 221st Street.[15] Shuttle trains served the new extension terminating at 157th Street, meaning that passengers south of 157th Street wanting to go to stations on the extension had to transfer at 157th Street.[16] On May 30, 1906, express trains began running through to 221st Street, eliminating the need to transfer at this station.[17]

After the initial system was completed in 1908,[18] the station was served by West Side local and express trains. Express trains began at South Ferry in Manhattan or Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, and ended at 242nd Street in the Bronx. Local trains ran from City Hall to 242nd Street during rush hours, continuing south from City Hall to South Ferry at other times.[19] In 1918, the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line opened south of Times Square–42nd Street, thereby dividing the original line into an "H" system. Local trains were sent to South Ferry, while express trains used the new Clark Street Tunnel to Brooklyn.[20]

In 1909, to address overcrowding, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.[21]^:168 On January 18, 1910, a modification was made to Contracts 1 and 2 to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to $41.2 million in 2019) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $13,719,643 in 2019) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.[22]^:15 The northbound platform at the 157th Street station was extended 70 feet (21 m) to the south and 60 feet (18 m) to the north,[22]^:113 while the southbound platform was not lengthened.[22]^:106 On January 24, 1911, ten-car express trains began running on the West Side Line.[21]^:168[23]

Work to construct new entrances at the station was 49 percent completed in Fiscal Year 1924.[24]

In 1948, platforms on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line from 103rd Street to 238th Street were lengthened to 514 feet (157 m) to allow full ten-car express trains to stop at this station. Previously, the station could accommodate six-car local trains, but ten-car trains could not open some of their doors. The platform extensions at these stations were opened in stages. On April 6, 1948, the platform extension at 157th Street opened.[25][26] At the same time, the IRT routes were given numbered designations with the introduction of "R-type" rolling stock. The first such fleet, the R12, was put into service in 1948.[27] The Broadway/West Side route to 242nd Street became known as the 1.[28] In 1959, all 1 trains became local.[29]

As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the tunnel is covered by a "U"-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The bottom of this trough contains a foundation of concrete no less than 4 inches (100 mm) thick.[32]^:9 Each platform consists of 3-inch-thick (7.6 cm) concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The original platforms contain I-beam columns spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m). Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every 5 feet (1.5 m), support the jack-arched concrete station roofs.[6]^:4[32]^:9 The tiled columns that run along the entire length and contain "157" painted in black.[33] Some of the columns between the tracks have "157" signs in black lettering on white borders.[34] There is a 1-inch (25 mm) gap between the trough wall and the platform walls, which are made of 4-inch (100 mm)-thick brick covered over by a tiled finish.[32]^:9

The decorative scheme consists of blue/green tile tablets; buff tile bands; a green terracotta cornice; and buff terracotta plaques. The decorative work was performed by tile contractor Manhattan Glass Tile Company and terracotta contractor Atlantic Terra Cotta Company.[32]^:40 The platforms contain their original trim line that includes "157" mosaics and name tablets reading "157TH ST." There are also directional signs on the tiles containing white lettering on a black background and brown border.[35]

Downtown entrances

Each platform has one same-level fare control area near the middle. Both are fully staffed, containing a turnstile bank and token booth, and each has two street stairs. The northbound side's two exits lead to the southeast corner of 157th Street and Broadway, and the southbound side's two exits lead to the northwest corner of the intersection. There are no crossovers or crossunders to allow free transfers between directions. Only the South Ferry-bound side token booth is staffed.[36]