Houston Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

Houston Street is a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at West Houston and Varick Streets in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times and by the 2 train during late nights.

For the demolished station serving the IRT Third Avenue Line, see Houston Street (IRT Third Avenue Line). For the demolished station serving the IRT Ninth Avenue Line, see Houston Street (IRT Ninth Avenue Line).
 Houston Street
 
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Uptown platform
Station statistics
AddressWest Houston Street & Varick Street
New York, NY 10014
BoroughManhattan
LocaleGreenwich Village, West Village, Hudson Square
Coordinates40.728592°N 74.005322°W / 40.728592; -74.005322
DivisionA (IRT)
Line   IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services   1  (all times)
​   2  (late nights)
Transit NYCT Bus: M20, M21
StructureUnderground
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks4
Other information
OpenedJuly 1, 1918 (1918-07-01)
Station code324[1]
Opposite-
direction
transfer		No
Traffic
20194,496,793[2]  0.2%
Rank107 out of 424[2]
Station succession
Next northChristopher Street–Sheridan Square: 1  ​2 
Next southCanal Street: 1  ​2 

History
Name Tablet and trim line
Directional and trim line tablets

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 Brooklyn. As part of Contract 4, the IRT agreed to build a branch of the original subway line south down Seventh Avenue, Varick Street, and West Broadway to serve the West Side of Manhattan.[3][4][5]

The construction of this line, in conjunction with the construction of the Lexington Avenue Line, would change the operations of the IRT system. Instead of having trains go via Broadway, turning onto 42nd Street, before finally turning onto Park Avenue, there would be two trunk lines connected by the 42nd Street Shuttle. The system would be changed from looking like a "Z" system on a map to an "H" system. One trunk would run via the new Lexington Avenue Line down Park Avenue, and the other trunk would run via the new Seventh Avenue Line up Broadway. In order for the line to continue down Varick Street and West Broadway, these streets needed to be widened, and two new streets were built, the Seventh Avenue Extension and the Varick Street Extension.[6] It was predicted that the subway extension would lead to the growth of the Lower West Side, and to neighborhoods such as Chelsea and Greenwich Village.[7][8]

Houston Street opened as the line was extended south to South Ferry from 34th Street–Penn Station on July 1, 1918, and was served by a shuttle.[9] The new "H" system was implemented on August 1, 1918, joining the two halves of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and sending all West Side trains south from Times Square.[10] An immediate result of the switch was the need to transfer using the 42nd Street Shuttle in order to retrace the original layout. The completion of the "H" system doubled the capacity of the IRT system.[7]

Station layout
G Street level Exit/entrance
P
Platform level		 Side platform
Northbound local ← toward 242nd Street (Christopher Street–Sheridan Square)
← toward 241st Street late nights (Christopher Street–Sheridan Square)
Northbound express ← do not stop here
Southbound express → do not stop here →
Southbound local → toward South Ferry (Canal Street) →
→ toward Flatbush Avenue late nights (Canal Street) →
Side platform

This underground station has two side platforms and four tracks. In a fashion similar to 33rd Street on the Lexington Avenue Line, the two center tracks appears to descend within the confines of the station. As a result, the express tracks are at a lower elevation than the local tracks in the northern half of the station. The center tracks are used by the 2 and 3 express trains during daytime hours.

Both platforms have golden mosaic trim lines with blue and green borders and "H" tablets on a light blue background at regular intervals. The large name tablets read "HOUSTON ST." in gold Times New Roman font on dark blue background and gold border. There are also directional tablets in the same style. Yellow i-beam columns lining run along both platforms at regular intervals with alternating ones having the standard black name plate with white Helvetica lettering.

The station's artwork, installed during a 1994 in-house renovation, is entitled Platform Diving by Deborah Brown. It consists of murals on both platforms depicting sea creatures in an underwater subway system.

Stairs for the uptown platform.

Exits

All fare control areas in this station are at platform level and there are no crossovers or crossunders. On both sides, a turnstile bank leads to a two staircases going up to West Houston and Varick Streets, either western corners on the South Ferry-bound side and either eastern corners on the Bronx-bound side. Only the Bronx-bound side has a token booth; the South Ferry-bound side is unstaffed.[11]

Both platforms have an unstaffed secondary fare control area towards their south ends. Two high entry/exit turnstiles and one exit-only turnstile leads to two staircases going up to Varick and King Streets, either western corners on the South Ferry-bound side and either eastern corners on the Bronx-bound side.[11]

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. "Terms and Conditions of Dual System Contracts". nycsubway.org. Public Service Commission. March 19, 1913. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  4. "The Dual System of Rapid Transit (1912)". nycsubway.org. Public Service Commission. September 1912. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  5. "Most Recent Map of the Dual Subway System Which Shows How Brooklyn Borough Is Favored In New Transit Lines". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 9, 1917. p. 37. Retrieved August 23, 2016 – via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com.
  6. Engineering News-record. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. 1916.
  7. Whitney, Travis H. (March 10, 1918). "The Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subways Will Revive Dormant Sections" (PDF). The New York Times. p. 12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  8. "Public Service Commission Fixes July 15 For Opening of The New Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subway Lines" (PDF). The New York Times. May 19, 1918. p. 32. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  9. "Open New Subway to Regular Traffic" (PDF). The New York Times. July 2, 1918. p. 11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  10. "Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph" (PDF). The New York Times. August 2, 1918. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  11. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: SoHo / Tribeca" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
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