18th Street station (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)

18th Street was a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. It was located at the intersection of Park Avenue South and 18th Street in Gramercy, Manhattan.

For other uses, see 18th Street.
 18th Street
 
Former New York City Subway station
18th Street station shortly after construction
Station statistics
AddressEast 18th Street & Park Avenue South
New York, NY
BoroughManhattan
LocaleGramercy
Coordinates40.737°N 73.989°W / 40.737; -73.989
DivisionA (IRT)
Line   IRT Lexington Avenue Line
ServicesNone (abandoned)
StructureUnderground
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks4
Other information
OpenedOctober 27, 1904 (1904-10-27)[1]
ClosedNovember 8, 1948 (1948-11-08)[2]
Station succession
Next north23rd Street
Next south14th Street–Union Square

Built for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), the 18th Street station was constructed as part of the city's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. Construction on the segment of the line that includes the 18th Street station started on September 12 of the same year. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. The station was closed on November 8, 1948, as a result of a platform lengthening project at 23rd Street.

The 18th Street station contains two abandoned side platforms and four tracks. The station was built with tile and mosaic decorations. Many of these decorations have been covered with graffiti.

History

Construction and opening
The station in 1904

Planning for the city's first subway line dates to the Rapid Transit Act, authorized by the New York State Legislature in 1894.[3]: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.[4]:3 A plan was formally adopted in 1897, and legal challenges were resolved near the end of 1899.[3]: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,[5] in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.[3]:182 In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations.[4]:4 Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.[3]:182

The 18th Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's original line, particularly the section from Great Jones Street to 41st Street. Construction on this section of the line began on September 12, 1900. The section from Great Jones Street to a point 100 feet (30 m) north of 33rd Street had been awarded to Holbrook, Cabot & Daly Contracting Company, while the remaining section to 41st Street was to be done by Ira A. Shaker.[5] The 18th Street station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from City Hall to 145th Street on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line.[3]:186[1]

Service changes and closure

After the initial system was completed in 1908,[6] the station was served by local trains along both the West Side (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street) and East Side (now the Lenox Avenue Line). West Side local trains had their southern terminus at City Hall during rush hours and South Ferry at other times, and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street. East Side local trains ran from City Hall to Lenox Avenue (145th Street).[7] In 1918, the Lexington Avenue Line opened north of Grand Central–42nd Street, thereby dividing the original line into an "H" system. All local trains were sent via the Lexington Avenue Line, running along the Pelham Line in the Bronx.[8]

In 1909, to address overcrowding, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.[9]: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.[10]:15 Platforms at local stations, such as the 18th Street station, were lengthened by between 20 to 30 feet (6.1 to 9.1 m). Both platforms were extended to the north and south.[10]:108

The closing of this station was proposed as early as 1928.[11] The station closed on November 8, 1948. The platforms at 23rd Street had been lengthened, with entrances at 22nd Street, and the 18th Street station was close to the 14th Street–Union Square station.[2]

Station layout
G Street level
P
Platform level		 Side platform, not in service
Northbound local ← do not stop here (23rd Street)
Northbound express ← do not stop here
Southbound express → do not stop here →
Southbound local → do not stop here (14th Street–Union Square) →
Side platform, not in service
Entrance area with ticket booth and control

Like other local stations, 18th Street has four tracks and two abandoned side platforms. The two local tracks, which formerly served the station, are used by the 6 train at all times, <6> trains during weekdays in the peak direction, and the 4 train during late nights. The two express tracks are used by the 4 and 5 trains during daytime hours.[12] The platforms were 200 feet (61 m) long, as at other local stations on the original IRT.[4]:4[13]:8

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.[13]:9 Each former platform consists of 3-inch-thick (7.6 cm) concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The former platforms contain circular, cast-iron Doric-style 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.[4]:4[13]:9 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.[13]:9

The decorative scheme consisted of blue/green tile tablets, buff and violet tile bands, a violet faience cornice, and green faience plaques. The decorative work was performed by tile contractor Manhattan Glass Tile Company and faience contractor Grueby Faience Company.[13]:34 The 18th Street station is fairly well preserved, with the exception of some litter and graffiti.

See also

References
  1. "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.
  2. "IRT Station To Be Closed; East Side Subway Trains to End Stops at 18th Street". The New York Times. November 6, 1948. p. 29. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
  3. Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917. New York, N.Y.: Law Printing. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  4. "Interborough Rapid Transit System, Underground Interior" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. October 23, 1979. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  5. Report of the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners for the City of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1904 Accompanied By Reports of the Chief Engineer and of the Auditor. Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners. 1905. pp. 229–236.
  6. "Our First Subway Completed At Last — Opening of the Van Cortlandt Extension Finishes System Begun in 1900 — The Job Cost $60,000,000 — A Twenty-Mile Ride from Brooklyn to 242d Street for a Nickel Is Possible Now". The New York Times. August 2, 1908. p. 10. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  7. Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac. Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1916. p. 119.
  8. "Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph — Great H System Put in Operation Marks an Era in Railroad Construction — No Hitch in the Plans — But Public Gropes Blindly to Find the Way in Maze of New Stations — Thousands Go Astray — Leaders in City's Life Hail Accomplishment of Great Task at Meeting at the Astor" (PDF). The New York Times. August 2, 1918. p. 1. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  9. Hood, Clifton (1978). "The Impact of the IRT in New York City" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 146–207 (PDF pp. 147–208). Retrieved December 20, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  10. Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1910. Public Service Commission. 1911.
  11. Proceedings of the Board of Transportation of the City of New York. New York Board of Transportation. 1928.
  12. Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
  13. Framberger, David J. (1978). "Architectural Designs for New York's First Subway" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 1-46 (PDF pp. 367-412). Retrieved December 20, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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