Dyckman Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

Planning for the city's first subway line dates to the Rapid Transit Act, authorized by the New York State Legislature in 1894.[4]^: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.[5]^:3 A plan was formally adopted in 1897, and legal challenges were resolved near the end of 1899.[4]^: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,[6] in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line. Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.[4]^:182

The Dyckman Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's West Side Line (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) north of Hillside Avenue. Work on this section was conducted by E. P. Roberts and Terry & Tench Construction Company, who started building the viaduct on January 19, 1903.[6] The West Side Branch of the first subway was extended northward to a temporary terminus of 221st Street and Broadway on March 12, 1906 with the first open station at Dyckman Street, as the stations at 168th Street, 181st Street, and 191st Street were not yet completed.[7][8][9] This extension was served by shuttle trains operating between 157th Street and 221st Street until May 30, 1906 when express trains began running through to 221st Street.[10] The opening of the first subway line, and particularly the Dyckman Street station, helped contribute to the development of Upper Manhattan.[3]^:9

After the initial system was completed in 1908,[11] 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.[12] 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.[13]

A northbound 1 train exits the tunnel portal just south of the station. The northbound platform, at left, was extended between 1910 and 1911.

In 1909, to address overcrowding, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.[14]^: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.[15]^:15 The northbound platform at the Dyckman Street station was extended 100 feet (30 m) to the south, with a new retaining wall being constructed.[15]^:114 The southbound platform was not lengthened.[15]^:106 On January 24, 1911, ten-car express trains began running on the West Side Line.[14]^:168[16]

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 Dyckman Street opened.[17][18] 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.[19] The Broadway/West Side route to 242nd Street became known as the 1.[20]

In April 1988,[21] the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) unveiled plans to speed up service on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line through the implementation of a skip-stop service: the 9 train.[22] When skip-stop service started on August 21, 1989, skip-stop service was implemented during rush hours and middays. Dyckman Street was served by the 1 at all times.[23][24][25] On September 4, 1994, midday skip-stop service was discontinued.[26] Skip-stop service ended on May 27, 2005.[27]

The control house was renovated between 1990 and 1991.[3]^:4 The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 2004.[3]

Starting in 2010, the station was renovated as part of a $45 million project.[28] The project included rehabilitation of the tunnel portal, realignment and rehabilitation of the platforms and installation of new cast iron lighting fixtures.[29][30] Initially, no elevators were planned for the Dyckman Street station because it was not on the MTA's list of "key stations" that would receive disabled access under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).[28] The United Spinal Association subsequently filed a lawsuit to stop the project because it did not include elevators. The suit was settled in 2011, and an elevator to the southbound platform was built.[31][32] No elevator was added to the northbound platform because, at the time, the geology was determined to be too difficult to accommodate an elevator there.[33] The project was completed in February 2014.[29][30][33] Northbound accessibility was proposed in February 2019 as part of the MTA's "Fast Forward" program.[34]

Both platforms have beige windscreens and red canopies with green frames at the center. The red metal roofs contain rafters and are supported by steel truss bars. Along the platform on either side of the canopy, there are waist-high cast-iron railings with lampposts. The southern end of the northbound platform is adjacent to a concrete retaining wall at the portal of the Washington Heights Mine Tunnel, which slopes down toward the north. There is a blue-and-green "DYCKMAN ST" mosaic on this retaining wall.[3]^:5–6 The southern end of the southbound platform contains equipment rooms and is adjacent to Substation 17.[3]^{:6, 16}

As with other original IRT elevated viaducts, the elevated structure north of Dyckman Street is carried on two column bents, one on each side of the road, at places where the tracks are no more than 29 feet (8.8 m) above the ground level. There is zigzag lateral bracing at intervals of every four panels.[3]^:3–4[36]

Southbound elevator inside

The station's only entrance is a station house slightly above ground level at the southern corner of Nagle Avenue, Dyckman Street, and Hillside Avenue.[37] Because of the street layout, the northern end of the station house resembles a wedge in plan. The station house is designed in the Beaux-Arts style with concrete facades that are designed to resemble ashlar.[3]^:4 There is a ramp and stairs leading up from street level to the station house entrance, which consists of a pair of arches under the elevated viaduct.[3]^:4[38] The northwestern corner of the station house contains a plinth, which supports the northern end of the southbound platform. The western facade of the station house, under the southbound platform, has seven arched windows facing Hillside Avenue.[3]^:4

Inside the station house, the ceiling is supported by large metal I-beams and made of concrete. The eastern side of the ceiling is below the track bed and contains an arched ceiling, which is about 5 feet (1.5 m) lower than the rest of the ceiling. The north, west, and east walls contain a buff-brick wainscoting of Roman brick at the lowest part of the walls. The upper sections of these walls are clad with white glass tiles, topped by a green mosaic band about 12 inches (300 mm) wide.[3]^:4–5 The southern wall contains a 1991 artwork called Flight by Wopo Holup. It features ceramic relief tiles depicting birds in flight.[3]^:5[39] For the 2013 renovation, Holup commissioned an addition to her previous work, with a relief-tile depiction of the moon surrounded by a band of white mosaic tiles.[39][33]

The space is divided roughly in half by a turnstile bank, with an accompanying station agent's booth on the eastern wall. South of the turnstile bank, within fare control, one staircase from either side of the station house leads to each platform.[3]^:4–5 An elevator also leads to the southbound platform. The elevator is of a "machine room-less" design and is the first of its type to be installed in the New York City Subway system.[29] The southern wall of the station house contains staff rooms.[3]^{:5, 16}

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  Platforms before renovation
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  Platforms during renovation
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  Platforms after renovation