Fordham Road–190th Street station

Fordham Road–190th Street was an express station on the demolished IRT Third Avenue Line in the Bronx, New York City. It was located at Fordham Road and Third Avenue, one block east of Webster Avenue, in the modern location of Fordham Plaza. Opened in 1901,[4][5] the station was closed in 1973 and demolished in 1977 along with the rest of the Third Avenue Line.[6][7] No trace of the station exists today.

For other uses, see Fordham Road (disambiguation).

 Fordham Road–190th Street
 
Former New York City Subway station
Platforms at Fordham Road, showing right-of-way of the express track.
Station statistics
AddressThird Avenue and Fordham Road
Bronx, NY 10458
BoroughBronx
LocaleFordham, Fordham Plaza
Coordinates40°51′39″N 73°53′27″W
DivisionA (IRT)
LineIRT Third Avenue Line
ServicesNone
Platforms2 island platforms
Tracks3
Other information
OpenedJuly 1, 1901 (July 1, 1901)
ClosedApril 29, 1973 (April 29, 1973)[1]
Former/other namesPelham Avenue
Fordham Square[2][3]
Station succession
Next northGun Hill Road (express)
200th Street (local)
Bronx Park Terminal (Original; Botanical Garden Spur)
Next south183rd Street (local)
Tremont Avenue–177th Street (express)

History

An extension of the Third Avenue El to Fordham Square (now Fordham Plaza) was proposed in 1894.[2] The station opened on July 1, 1901, as part of a three station extension of the line north of Tremont Avenue–177th Street.[4] It was originally called Pelham Avenue,[8] the former name of Fordham Road and Pelham Parkway. It served as a major transfer point to what is today the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem and New Haven Lines at the Fordham station, and St. John's College (now the main Rose Hill campus of Fordham University).[6][8][9] This station served as the terminus of the line until May 21, 1902, when it was extended to Bronx Park Terminal.[5][8] Between 1913 and 1916 under the Dual Contracts, a third track was added to the line to facilitate express service. Express service began on January 17, 1916.[10][11] A second extension to Gun Hill Road along Webster Avenue was also built during the Dual Contracts,[10][12] opening in 1920.[10]

The station had three tracks and two island platforms, situated on the west side of Third Avenue. North of the station, the mainline curved from Third Avenue onto Webster Avenue, while the stub line towards Bronx Park ran along the western edge of the Fordham campus parallel to the Metro-North tracks. The split occurred at an at-grade junction at about East 194th Street.[13][14][15] The next local stop to the north was either Bronx Park (closed in 1951)[16] or 200th Street. The next express stop to the north was the terminus of the line at Gun Hill Road. The next stop to the south was 183rd Street for local trains and Tremont Avenue–177th Street for express trains.[14]

In the 1970s, the city planned to close the elevated line, which was dilapidated and blamed for blight and ills in the borough.[7][13] The station closed on April 29, 1973.[6] The structure was demolished by 1977.[7] Service to the station and along the Third Avenue corridor was replaced by Bx55 buses.[13]

Current status

From 1973 to 2013, the Bx55 limited bus replaced elevated service between The Hub and Gun Hill Road. In 2013, the Bx55 was eliminated, replaced by the Bx15 limited bus which terminates at Fordham Plaza.[13][14][17][18] Service to Gun Hill Road is provided by the Bx41 Select Bus Service route along Webster Avenue.[19]

Currently, the station site is occupied by Fordham Plaza, a major bus hub and commercial center. While the plaza has existed in some form since the 1910s,[20] the current plaza was constructed in the mid-1990s, and has been undergoing reconstruction since 2014.[9][14][21][22][23] The closest subway stop to the former station is Fordham Road on the IND Concourse Line six blocks west.[9]

References
  1. "Third Avenue El Makes Final Run". The Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. April 30, 1973. p. 18. Retrieved June 2, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "North End Rapid Transit; Residents of Fordham and West Farms Want the "L" Road to Extend Its Lines". New York Herald. Fultonhistory.com. July 22, 1894. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  3. "Harlem and the Bronx". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Fultonhistory.com. March 6, 1902. p. 7. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  4. "Elevated Road Extension: Line from 177th Street to Fordham Now in Operation" (PDF). The New York Times. July 1, 1901. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  5. "Elevated Road Extension: Manhattan Company to Land Passengers in Bronx Park at the Botanical Gardens" (PDF). The New York Times. January 30, 1902. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  6. Donovan, Aaron (July 29, 2001). "If You're Thinking of Living In/Belmont; Close-Knit Bronx Area With Italian Aura". The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  7. Blumenthal, Ralph (August 27, 1977). "Now That El's Gone, Bronx Hub Sees A Brighter Future" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  8. "Harlem and the Bronx". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. February 19, 1902. p. 9. Retrieved September 24, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Van Cortlandt Park / NY Botanical Garden" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  10. Sparberg, Andrew J. (October 1, 2014). "13". From a Nickel to a Token: The Journey from Board of Transportation to MTA. Fordham University Press. pp. 111–116. ISBN 978-0-8232-6190-1.
  11. How a Twenty Million Dollar Railroad Was Built in Mid-Air: Third Tracking the New York 'L'. Interborough Rapid Transit. 1917. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  12. "Publiv Service Commission Fixes July 15 For Opening of the New Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subway Lines" (PDF). The New York Times. May 19, 1918. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  13. Seigel, Max H. (July 18, 1972). "City Plans to Raze 3d Ave. El in Bornx" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  14. "The 3rd Avenue Corridor". The Bronx Journal. March 27, 2013. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  15. "Fordham Plaza Advisory Committee - April 4, 2008" (PDF). nycedc.com. New York City Department of Transportation, New York City Economic Development Corporation. April 4, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  16. "City Auctions Two Plots: Property in Brooklyn and Bronx Is Sold for $155,000" (PDF). The New York Times. June 28, 1952. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  17. Faison, Seth (November 18, 1992). "Bronx Bus Line Riders Get Glimpse of Future". The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  18. "3d Avenue El Closes Saturday; Fleet of 60 Buses to Replace It" (PDF). The New York Times. April 22, 1973. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  19. bx41 sbs starting in June 2013 in mta board meeting packet pages 7.6-7.16 Archived October 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  20. "The Real Estate Field" (PDF). The New York Times. November 30, 1911. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  21. Miller, Stephen (August 28, 2014). "City Begins to Reclaim Space for Pedestrians at Fordham Plaza". Streetsblog. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  22. Kazis, Noah (August 3, 2010). "Fordham Plaza Overhaul Promises Big Improvements for Pedestrians". Streetsblog. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
  23. "Fordham Plaza: Conceptual Design Study" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Department of Transportation, New York City Economic Development Corporation. 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
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