161st Street–Yankee Stadium station

The Dual Contracts, which were signed on March 19, 1913, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the City of New York. The contracts were "dual" in that they were signed between the City and two separate private companies (the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company), all working together to make the construction of the Dual Contracts possible. The Dual Contracts promised the construction of several lines in the Bronx. As part of Contract 3, the IRT agreed to build an elevated line along Jerome Avenue in the Bronx.[5][6][7]

161st Street station opened as part of the initial section of the line to Kingsbridge Road on June 2, 1917. Service was initially operated as a shuttle between Kingsbridge Road and 149th Street.[8][9]

On July 1, 1918, trains on the Ninth Avenue El began stopping here, as they were extended from 155th Street, entering the Bronx via the Putnam Bridge, a now-demolished swing bridge immediately north of the Macombs Dam Bridge, to connect with the Jerome Avenue line between 161st Street and 167th Street.[10][11][12]

Through service to the IRT Lexington Avenue Line began on July 17, 1918.[10] The line was completed with a final extension to Woodlawn on April 15, 1918.[13] This section was initially served by shuttle service, with passengers transferring at this station.[14][15] The construction of the line encouraged development along Jerome Avenue, and led to the growth of the surrounding communities.[8]

The IND Concourse Line, also referred to as the Bronx−Concourse Line, was one of the original lines of the city-owned Independent Subway System (IND).[16][17] The line running from Bedford Park Boulevard to the IND Eighth Avenue Line in Manhattan was approved by the New York City Board of Transportation on March 10, 1925, with the connection between the two lines approved on March 24, 1927.[18] The line was originally intended to be four tracks, rather than three tracks, to Bedford Park Boulevard.[17][18]

Construction of the line began in July 1928.[18] The building of the line and proposed extensions to central and eastern Bronx (see below) led to real estate booms in the area.[18] The entire Concourse Line, including 161st Street—River Avenue station, opened on July 1, 1933,[19][20] less than ten months after the IND's first line, the IND Eighth Avenue Line, opened for service. Initial service was provided by the C train, at that time an express train, between 205th Street, then via the Eighth Avenue Line, Cranberry Street Tunnel and the IND South Brooklyn Line (now Culver Line) to Bergen Street.[20] The CC provided local service between Bedford Park Boulevard and Hudson Terminal (now World Trade Center).[20]

On December 15, 1940, with the opening of the IND Sixth Avenue Line, the D train began serving the IND Concourse Line along with the C and CC. It made express stops in peak during rush hours and Saturdays and local stops at all other times.[21] C express service was discontinued in 1949-51, but the C designation was reinstated in 1985 when double letters used to indicate local service was discontinued. During this time, the D made local stops along the Concourse Line at all times except rush hours, when the C ran local to Bedford Park Boulevard. On March 1, 1998, the B train replaced the C as the rush-hour local on the Concourse Line, with the C moving to the Washington Heights portion of the Eighth Avenue Line.[22]

When the IND portion was built in 1933, paper tickets were used to transfer between the two lines; this method was used until the 1950s, when the indoor escalators were built.

Elevators at the station were installed in the early 2000s as part of a three-year renovation of the station complex and opened in late 2002, making the station only the fourth in the Bronx to be fully ADA-compliant.

On each side of River Avenue, there is one street stair to each of 161st Street's two medians. There are also two stairs to the southwest corner and one to the southeast corner. The northeast corner has an ADA-accessible elevator and transfer passageway.[24]

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  The view of the old Yankee Stadium from the IRT Jerome Line platform
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  The IRT Jerome Line station as seen from the street
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  Wall-Slide and Room of Tranquility on the mezzanine
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  Wall-Slide detail beneath the mezzanine, over street level

The full-time mezzanine to the west is at 161st Street and River Avenue with four street staircases. The part-time entrance to the east is at Walton Avenue and has two street staircases and a passageway to 161st Street.[24] Before the renovation, there was a full length mezzanine, with Transit Bureau Offices located to one side. After the renovation, the NYPD area was expanded, and public areas inside fare control were sealed, thus dividing the mezzanine into two separate areas. A few staircases to the platforms were also sealed and removed.

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  Modern sign next to an original-style mosaic
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  An inverted color scheme on the stairway walls
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  Wall-Slide detail at street level