Harlem–148th Street station

Harlem–148th Street (also signed as 148th Street–Lenox Terminal[3]) is a New York City Subway station on the IRT Lenox Avenue Line in Harlem, Manhattan. It serves as the northern terminal station of the 3 train at all times. The entrance to the station is located at the intersection of 149th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, which has historically been known as 7th Avenue.[4] The station contains a pair of tracks and an island platform and is located at ground level (although at a lower elevation than the adjacent streets). A parking structure for the adjacent Frederick Douglass Academy is located above the station, forming a roof above the platform and tracks.

 Harlem–148 Street
 
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
View of the platform at Harlem–148th Street
Station statistics
AddressWest 149th Street & Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard
New York, NY 10039
BoroughManhattan
LocaleHarlem
Coordinates40.824°N 73.937°W / 40.824; -73.937
DivisionA (IRT)
LineIRT Lenox Avenue Line
Services   3  (all times)
Transit NYCT Bus: M2
StructureCovered, At-grade
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Other information
OpenedMay 13, 1968 (1968-05-13)
Station code436[1]
Accessiblenot ADA-accessible; accessibility planned
Opposite-
direction
transfer		N/A
Former/other names148th Street–Lenox Terminal
Traffic
20191,120,454[2]  9.1%
Rank342 out of 424[2]
Station succession
Next west(Terminal): 3 
Next east145th Street: 3 

Although the Lenox Avenue Line was constructed in 1904, the Harlem–148th Street station was not part of the original line. The station was first proposed in 1940, and was opened in 1968 within the confines of the preexisting Lenox Yard. The station was intended to replace 145th Street, the next stop south, as the northern terminal of the Lenox Avenue Line. However, the 145th Street station remained open as a result of community opposition.

History
3 train leaving the station

Background

The station's location and tracks were originally part of the Lenox Avenue Yard opened in 1904, where 3 trains are currently stored.[5][6] An extension of the Lenox Avenue line to 149th or 150th Street had been proposed since the Dual Contracts of the 1910s. In 1916, an extension to 149th Street was proposed as part of a connection between the Lenox Avenue Line and the IRT Jerome Avenue Line in the Bronx (served by the 4 train).[7]

In 1940, the New York City Board of Transportation proposed extending the IRT Lenox Avenue Line to the Bronx along the northern portion of the IRT Ninth Avenue Line, in turn connecting to the Jerome Avenue Line at 167th Street.[8] However, the tunnel from Sedgwick Avenue to Anderson–Jerome Avenues was built to elevated-railway standards, whose "open" third rails, which did not have any protective covers on top, were shorter than the subway's "covered" third rails. Another issue was that the Ninth Avenue Line could not carry subway cars, as it was only strong enough to carry the lighter wooden elevated cars.[9] These incompatibilities prevented the connection from being built.[10]

Opening

In 1957, a station at 150th Street within the Lenox Yard was proposed to better serve the local area (including the nearby Harlem River Houses).[11] The station, and the Bronx extension, had been requested by local citizens since the 1940s due to unreliable bus and surface trolley service.[12] The station was later moved to 149th Street due to Lenox Yard's downsizing in the 1960s, with the land sold to the developers that would build the Frederick Douglas Academy and the Esplanade Gardens apartment complex above the yard and station.[13][14]

Station signage

The new terminal, upon completion, was intended to replace the former terminal at 145th Street station due to the proximity of switches that prevented that station's lengthening to accommodate ten-car trains.[15] However, plans to shut down 145th Street were cancelled due to protests from local residents.[16] 148th Street Station opened on May 13, 1968.[17] The project was completed at a relatively low cost because the extension made use of two existing yard tracks.[11][17][18][lower-alpha 1] The station cost $1.29 million, track improvements cost $3.178 million, and signaling cost $3.553 million.[20] The name of the station was originally planned to be 149th Street–Seventh Avenue, but because of possible confusion with 149th Street–Grand Concourse, it was changed to 148th Street–Lenox Terminal.[13]

Later changes

The station sign was reversed as Lenox Terminal–148th Street in the 1990s before reverting to its original name by 2003.[21] From 1995 to 2008, this station lacked full-time service, as 3 trains did not operate during late nights. Full-time service was restored on July 27, 2008.[22]

In December 2019, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that this station would become ADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.[23]

Station layout
Entrance to Harlem–148th Street
S Street level Exit/entrance
Fare control Station agent, MetroCard vending machines
G
Platform level
Yard tracks No passenger service
Track 2 toward New Lots Avenue (Times Square late nights) (145th Street) →
Island platform
Track 1 toward New Lots Avenue (Times Square late nights) (145th Street) →
Maintenance tracks No passenger service

When this station opened, it supplanted 145th Street, the next stop south, as the northern terminal of the IRT Lenox Avenue Line. The station has two tracks and one island platform, and the tracks end at bumper blocks at the west end of the platform. The station is adjacent to Lenox Yard, which is used for train storage and has no maintenance facility.[18] Due to the high ceiling, platform service information signs are hung from heavy cables.[24]

While this station appears to be underground, it and the adjacent yard are actually at-grade. The Esplanade Gardens apartment complex is located between 147th and 149th streets while Frederick Douglass Academy High School sits between 149th and 150th Streets;[25][26][4] both structures rest on pilotis above the station and yard.[26][27][28][29] The Esplanade Gardens are also at the same level of the platforms. Unlike other at-grade stations, 148th Street is not ADA-accessible because there is a staircase down to platform level.[30] Plans to make the station ADA-accessible were included in the 2020-2024 MTA Capital Program.[23]

Exit

The station's only mezzanine is at the west (railroad north) end of the station.[4] From the single island platform, a double-wide stairway leads up to a set of doors that separate the street-level station-house at Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard.[31] There are three turnstiles and a token booth.[32]

Notes
  1. As a comparison, a one stop extension of the IND Sixth Avenue Line between 52nd and 58th Streets to a terminal at 57th Street, which was completed two months later, cost $13.2 million.[19]

References
  1. "Station Developers' Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  2. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2014–2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  3. Cox, Jeremiah (June 24, 2008). "The outside of the headhouse at 148 Street-Lenox Terminal viewed form Adam Clayton Powell Blvd". subwaynut.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  4. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Harlem / Hamilton Heights" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  5. "Task of Placing the Cars in New Subway: Transfer from the Elevated to the Underground Tracks" (PDF). The New York Times. November 15, 1903. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  6. "New Contracts Let for Interboro Yards: Rejection of Earlier Bids by the City Make $50,610 Temporary Facilities Necessary" (PDF). The New York Times. June 8, 1922. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  7. "Two Subway Agreements: Provide for Connecting Links and Station Improvements" (PDF). The New York Times. November 12, 1916. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  8. New York City Board of Transportation; Spinrad, Isidor (1945). Report, Including Analysis of Operations of the New York City Transit System: For Five Years Ended June 30, 1945. The Board. p. 123.
  9. Raskin, Joseph B. (2013). The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City's Unbuilt Subway System. New York, New York: Fordham University Press. doi:10.5422/fordham/9780823253692.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-82325-369-2., p. 244
  10. Feinman, Mark (2000). "History of the Independent Subway". www.nycsubway.org. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  11. "Asks Extension Of IRT Subway". New York Amsterdam News. August 10, 1957. Archived from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  12. "Public Service Gripes Are Old". New York Amsterdam News. October 19, 1946. Archived from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  13. Raudenbush, Henry (January 2007). "148th Street-Lenox Terminal and How it Got its Name". New York Division Bulletin. Electric Railroaders Association. 50 (1). Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  14. "IRT Repair Yard To Revert To City: 19 Acres in Harlem Will Be Turned Back by Dec. 31 -- Realty Men Interested". The New York Times. October 14, 1960. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  15. "Other IRT Notes". The New York Division Bulletin. Electric Railroaders' Association. 6 (5): 1. October 1963 – via Issu.
  16. Edwards, Dick (December 2, 1967). "145th-Lenox Subway Stop To Continue". New York Amsterdam News. Archived from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  17. "IRT Passengers Get New 148th St. Station". The New York Times. May 14, 1968. p. 95. Retrieved October 4, 2011.
  18. Dougherty, Peter (2020). Tracks of the New York City Subway 2020 (16th ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 1056711733., p. 80
  19. "Luncheon in Subway Opens Station". The New York Times. June 27, 1968. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  20. "New Subway Station Opens At 148th St" (PDF). New York Amsterdam News. May 25, 1968. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  21. Weinberg, Brian (June 24, 2003). "Station sign, by 2003". www.nycsubway.org. www.nycsubway.org. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  22. "Service Enhancements on 3 Line" (Press release). MTA New York City Transit. July 24, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2008.
  23. "Press Release - MTA Headquarters - MTA Announces 20 Additional Subway Stations to Receive Accessibility Improvements Under Proposed 2020-2024 Capital Plan". MTA. December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  24. Cox, Jeremiah (April 24, 2013). "Walking up the staircase to the station house". subwaynut.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  25. "Inventory Of Decking Opportunities Over Transportation Properties Final Report: 6.7: Transit And Railroad Yards: Manhattan" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Department of City Planning. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  26. "Inventory Of Decking Opportunities Over Transportation Properties Final Report: 6.7: Transit And Railroad Yards: Brooklyn" (PDF). nyc.gov. New York City Department of City Planning. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 6, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  27. Cox, Jeremiah (June 24, 2008). "A close up of the four doors that lead into the 148 Street-Lenox Terminal Station and the gates that can close the head house off during late nights when the 3 becomes a shuttle bus". subwaynut.com. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  28. Google (September 10, 2018). "Street view of the west end of the station (under the parking lot to the left)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  29. Google (September 10, 2018). "Street view of the east end of the station" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  30. Cox, Jeremiah (March 17, 2006). "Looking up the staircase to the station house at 148 St-Lenox Terminal, the two buffers are visible". subwaynut.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  31. Cox, Jeremiah (June 24, 2008). "A view from the platform of the 18 steps that lead up to the street at 148 Street-Lenox Terminal". subwaynut.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  32. Cox, Jeremiah (June 24, 2008). "The three turnstyles that lead into the subway system at 148 Street-Lenox Terminal". subwaynut.com. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
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