City Hall station (IRT Lexington Avenue Line) explained

Type:former
City Hall
Former:City Hall Loop
Line:IRT Lexington Avenue Line
Division:IRT
Service Custom:None (abandoned)
Platforms:1 side platform
Tracks:1 balloon loop
Structure:Underground
Address:Park Row & City Hall Park
New York, NY 10007
Borough:Manhattan
Locale:Civic Center
Next North:Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall
Next South:(Terminal)
Nolegend:yes
Hide Traffic:yes
Embedded:
Embed:yes
City Hall Subway Station (IRT)
Coordinates:40.7126°N -74.0067°W
Location:New York City, New York
Built:1904
Architect:Heins & LaFarge
Architecture:Romanesque Revival
Added:September 17, 2004
Refnum:04001010
Mpsub:New York City Subway System MPS
Designated Other2:New York City Landmark
Designated Other2 Date:October 23, 1979
Designated Other2 Number:1096
Designated Other2 Abbr:NYCL
Designated Other2 Color:
  1. FFE978

The City Hall station, also known as City Hall Loop station, is a closed station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. It is located under City Hall Park, next to New York City Hall, in the Civic Center neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The station was constructed for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as the southern terminal of the city's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. Construction of the segment of the line that includes the City Hall 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. As ridership grew, it was deemed infeasible to lengthen the original platform to accommodate ten-car trains. The station was closed on December 31, 1945, because of its proximity to the Brooklyn Bridge station.

The City Hall station, with its single track and curved side platform, was the showpiece of the original IRT subway. The single platform and mezzanine feature Guastavino tile, skylights, colored glass tilework, and brass chandeliers. The Rafael Guastavino-designed station is unique in the system for the usage of Romanesque Revival architecture. The tunnel passing through the City Hall station is still used as a turning loop for the and can be seen from passing trains. The station is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

Construction and opening

Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864. However, development of what would become the city's first subway line did not start until 1894, when the New York State Legislature passed the Rapid Transit Act.[1] The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer. They 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.[2] A plan was formally adopted in 1897, and all legal conflicts concerning the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899. The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont Jr., signed the initial Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900,[3] in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line. In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations. Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.

The station had always been envisioned as a terminal with loop tracks. The initial plans in the 1890s called for a multi-track loop, extending beneath the City Hall Post Office and Courthouse, which was then at the southern corner of City Hall Park. The loop was planned to have either two tracks (on two levels)[4] or four tracks. When the plans for the IRT line were changed in 1898 to allow the express tracks to go to Brooklyn as part of the subway's Contract 2, the planned City Hall station was changed to a single-track local station, thereby avoiding a grade crossing with the express tracks.[5] Under the 1898 iteration of the plan, the loop was to diverge from the line at the south end of Centre Street, traveling west under City Hall Park, south under Broadway, and then northeast under Park Row. In addition, tracks from the loop would have led to the post office building.[6] East of the loop, there were two express tracks and two storage tracks.

Construction of the loop

A formal groundbreaking ceremony was performed at City Hall on March 24, 1900, pursuant to the contract's requirements. The ceremony was officiated by then-Mayor Robert Van Wyck.[7] Degnon-McLean Contracting Company was awarded the contract for Section 1, from the City Hall loop to Chambers Street. Work began promptly after the groundbreaking. The tunnel was built using a cut and cover method, with steel beams supporting a concrete roof made of jack arches. A further change was requested in September 1900, which would provide more room for the loop on the Park Row side.[8] Plans for the loop under City Hall Park were modified in January 1901, providing for a shortened loop. By that March, the City Hall Loop was planned to be built just north of the post office, rather than around it.[9] At the end of the month, trees in City Hall Park were being removed in preparation for the loop's construction.[10] [11]

The portion of the loop in City Hall Park was excavated starting in April 1901.[12] The trees were removed from the park using derricks.[13] One worker was killed that May when a derrick boom in front of the subway excavation was knocked loose.[14] [15] Sand from the excavation was sold to builders who sought the sand for its "good quality".[16] The short section adjacent to the post office could not be constructed because the Treasury Secretary had not approved the work, leading the IRT to request approval from Congress.[17] [18] The entirety of the loop within City Hall Park had been excavated by that August.[19] Most of the excavation was covered over shortly afterward, although a small part remained open to facilitate work on the station.[20]

In late 1901, the contractors began excavating the tunnel under Park Row, which would carry both the northbound track of the loop and the express tracks to Brooklyn. Work on the station was placed on hold because the station's concrete vaults were difficult to pour during winter.[21] By February 1902, three-fourths of the work for the station's side walls had been completed, and work had started on the vaults. The tunnel under Park Row had been fully excavated and was being covered with steel beams.[22] Most of the loop was completed by late 1902, except for the section under the post office.[23] The contractors excavated the remainder of the loop after they were given temporary permission, in December 1902, to use the vaults underneath the post office.[24]

Completion

By late 1903, the tilework of the sidewalks and the station's staircase were completed. Construction materials were being stored in the station's only entrance and exit.[25] The subway was nearly complete, but the IRT Powerhouse and the system's electrical substations were still under construction, delaying the system's opening.[26] On New Year's Day 1904, mayor George B. McClellan Jr. and a group of wealthy New Yorkers gathered at the City Hall station and traveled to 125th Street using handcars.[27] [28] The IRT conducted several more handcar trips afterward. The first train to run on its own power traveled from 125th Street to City Hall in April 1904.[29]

The City Hall station opened on October 27, 1904, as the southern terminal station of the original 28-station New York City Subway line to 145th Street on the West Side Branch, now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. At the time, the station was called "City Hall Loop". Prior to the opening, more than 15,000 people were issued passes for the first series of rides from the City Hall station's platform. McClellan attended the opening ceremonies, which began at 1:00 p.m.[30] [31] The first subway train departed from City Hall at precisely 2:34 p.m.,[32] with McClellan at the controls.[33] President A. E. Orr of the Rapid Transit Board requested that all New Yorkers join in the celebration by blowing whistles and ringing bells.[34] The new line carried 27,000 passengers for free until 6 p.m., and another 125,000 passengers paid to ride the subway in the six-hour period that followed.

Operation

Early years

Because of the limited number of entrances to the City Hall station, it was served exclusively by local trains, which also stopped at the much larger Brooklyn Bridge station. All express trains terminated at Brooklyn Bridge and did not go around the loop.[35] Furthermore, the City Hall station was originally an entrance-only station; disembarking passengers had to go to the Brooklyn Bridge station. After the Fulton Street station opened in January 1905,[36] the City Hall Loop was served by local trains to the West Side Branch at all times and by local trains to 145th Street on the East Side Branch (now Lenox Avenue Line) during the daytime.[37] By July 1905, East Side local trains to 145th Street ran to City Hall at all times, while West Side locals bypassed this station and went to Bowling Green or South Ferry.[38] To address ventilation issues, the IRT installed ventilation grates in City Hall Park in mid-1906.[39] By the end of the year, West Side locals ran to City Hall during rush hours, and East Side locals ran to City Hall at all times.[40]

Not long after the station opened, the IRT started displaying advertisements in the station, which was highly controversial but was allowed under the IRT's contract to operate the route. The New York City government initially did not find the ads to be problematic, but public outcry led the city to file a lawsuit to force the IRT to remove the ads. In 1907, the New York Supreme Court ruled that the IRT was allowed to keep the ads.[41] To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.[42] As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains.[43] The City Hall station was not lengthened, but the platforms at other stations were extended, and six-car local trains began operating in October 1910.

In 1918, the Lexington Avenue Line opened north of Grand Central–42nd Street, and the original line was divided into an H-shaped system. All local trains were sent via the Lexington Avenue Line, running along the Pelham Line in the Bronx.[44] In 1938, as part of a remodeling of City Hall Park, city parks commissioner Robert Moses proposed relocating the entrances of the IRT's City Hall station and those of the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT)'s adjacent City Hall station.[45] The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.[46] [47]

Decline

Increased subway ridership led to longer trains, and thus longer platforms, in the years after the subway's construction.[48] [49] The City Hall station, built on a tight curve, would have been difficult to lengthen, and it was also quite close to the far busier Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall station. In addition, the new, longer trains had center doors in each car, which were an unsafe distance from the platform edge. Movable platform extensions were installed to fill the gap.[50] By the 1930s, the New York Herald Tribune reported that the City Hall station was little used, "and many of the younger generation have never seen it".[51] During World War II, shortly before the station's closure, the skylights were blacked out with tar for safety.

In its final years, the City Hall station was not open at night and on Sundays,[52] [53] when trains continued to South Ferry. The majority of passengers used the Brooklyn Bridge station, which was only about away. The Brooklyn Bridge IRT station provided both local and express service, including trains to Brooklyn,[54] [55] and it was much closer to the Brooklyn Bridge streetcar terminal and the BMT's Park Row elevated station.[48] The city also wanted to operate ten-car trains after taking over the IRT, but the City Hall station could only fit six cars. Given the extensive renovations that would have been required to bring the station up to modern standards and the fact that the city wanted to improve City Hall Park by removing the entrance kiosks, the city decided to close the station instead. The final day of service was December 31, 1945.[56] [57] The station recorded 255,000 entries in its final year,[58] or about 800 entries per day.[54] By contrast, the Brooklyn Bridge station had 14 million entries the same year.[58]

Post-closure

In 1965, the City Hall station was considered as a possible location for a transit museum.[59] In 1976, the New York City Transit Authority reopened the abandoned Court Street station in Brooklyn as the New York Transit Exhibit, which eventually became the New York Transit Museum (NYTM). The station occasionally was used for tours after its closure, including in 1979 for an event celebrating the subway's 75th anniversary.[60] In 1979, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the City Hall station as a city landmark, along with eleven other stations on the original IRT.[61]

Proposals for reuse

By the 1980s, Mayor Ed Koch suggested allowing a restaurant to open in the old station as part of a larger plan to renovate City Hall Park. As part of this plan, replicas of the IRT's original cast-iron entrance kiosks would have been built.[62] Civic leaders and city officials visited the station in July 1986. Ross Sandler, the city's transportation commissioner and a proponent of the station's reopening, lamented that the station was a "designated landmark that people can't visit".[63] The plan had still not advanced over a year later, when parks commissioner Henry J. Stern said the station's restoration was dependent on whether funding to renovate City Hall Park was secured.[64] Ultimately, the idea was overruled by the New York City Police Department, which expressed concerns that the station's location beneath New York City Hall was a security vulnerability.[65]

In April 1995, the NYTM sought funding to reopen the station as a branch of the museum.[66] [67] The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) estimated that about $1 million would be needed just to reopen the station, though the NYTM wished to raise $3.5 million. The museum had secured a $750,000 federal grant and a $350,000 grant from the NYCTA by that November.[68] By 1997, some $2 million in state and federal funding had been allocated. Had the NYTM branch been built, it would have contained two entrances from street level.[69] Early the next year, MTA officials started refurbishing the station's corridors and offered up to $5 million for underground repairs to City Hall Park, which at the time was being renovated. However, in late 1998, the administration of mayor Rudy Giuliani rejected the proposal, citing security risks in the area around City Hall after terrorist bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Plans for the museum annex were abandoned, and museum tours ceased for several years.[70] The MTA did spend $2 million to repair structural issues at the City Hall station.

21st century

By 2001, the NYCTA planned to temporarily reopen the station three years later for the subway's 100th anniversary.[71] The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. For the subway's Centennial Celebration the same year, one of the street entrances was restored, and the station was opened for the duration of the celebration. The idea of an annex to the Transit Museum was then proposed but due to security concerns (with City Hall being just above the station) the idea was dismissed. Other than that, the station was used only as an emergency exit. By the mid-2000s, the staff of the Transit Museum were again conducting tours of the station;[72] [73] only NYTM members were allowed on these tours. Unlike other abandoned New York City Subway stations, there was generally little graffiti or dust in the City Hall station.[74] The station remained in good condition in 2019, though only one of the original skylights remained. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, the NYTM suspended its tours of the station between 2020 and 2023.[75]

Station layout

GroundStreet level
Platform
level
Northbound local← do not stop here (Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall)
The station consists of a single balloon loop track along a concave side platform, which has a length of [58] and could fit five subway cars. The track has a radius of curvature of,[76] which resulted in 2feet gaps between the train doors and the platform. The fare control area was on a mezzanine slightly above platform level, connected to the platform by a single, wide staircase. Intended as the showpiece of the entire subway system, the City Hall station was designed in a completely different style from the remaining stations on the IRT subway.

According to the Railroad Gazette, all of the City Hall station's public areas were designed "with a view to the beauty of their appearance, as well as to their efficiency", since the station was "a great public work".[77] One observer wrote that there was "not a straight line" in the entire station when it was completed.[78] The travel magazine Travel + Leisure ranked the station 12th in its list of "the most beautiful subway stations in the world" in November 2009.[79] [80] A replica of the station was built for the feature film Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them. According to NYTM officials, the station inspired the main characters' lair in the 1990 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[81]

Design

The station was designed by Rafael Guastavino, and it makes extensive use of classic Guastavino tile to sheathe its soaring roof arches.[82] The main consulting architects were Heins & LaFarge, which designed all of the other IRT stations. This station is unusually elegant in architectural style, and is unique among the original IRT stations, employing Romanesque Revival architecture.[83] The station was constructed by cut-and-cover construction. The bottom of the station shell contains a foundation of concrete no less than 4inches thick. There is a 1adj=onNaNadj=on gap between the trough wall and the station walls, which are made of 4inches brick covered over by a tiled finish.

The ceiling is made of twelve Guastavino vaults. The ceiling surfaces are composed of white tiles, with green and brown tiles along the perimeter of each ceiling vault.[2] [5] The vaults were constructed of thin terracotta tiles bonded with a string mortar, added in successive layers to form a thin structural vault of great strength. Three vaults had leaded glass skylights, which opened upward to vault lights in City Hall Park.[5] [84] The skylights, designed with floral tracery, were blacked out during World War II and were restored in the 2000s. Additional lighting was supplied by twelve chandeliers hung from the center of the vaults, which contain floral motifs and nickel finishes. The chandeliers near the skylights have five arms, while the others have four.[5]

The platform is made of poured concrete. The platforms still contain markings from where the platform extensions were formerly installed. The top half of the wall along the platform, under each of the arches, consists of Roman brick. At the bottom half of each wall is a marble course topped by a brick wainscoting and another marble course. On the platform walls are three blue-on-white faience plaques with letters reading, flanked by a pair of triangles and surrounded by green and buff tiles. Two of these plaques are rectangular, installed on the walls under the brick arches. The third is curved and is installed on an archway above the staircase that leads to the mezzanine. The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted the installations at each station.[5] On the trackside wall, facing the platform, are three bronze plaques with the names of important figures involved in the original IRT's construction, including Parsons, McDonald, Belmont, Rapid Transit Subway Construction Company officials, engineering staff, mayors, commissioners, and city comptrollers. Gutzon Borglum designed the plaques.

The walls of the staircase between mezzanine and platform level are covered with yellow, green, and blue tile. The mezzanine contains a vaulted ceiling with a quoin pattern, consisting of brown trim with white and green tiles. The center of the mezzanine has an oculus skylight, with light bulbs around the skylight. The walls of the mezzanine contain large glass tiles interspersed with opaque ceramic tile. Wire conduits and pipes have been installed onto the mezzanine walls. The mezzanine once had an ornamented oak ticket booth, which has since been removed.[85]

Track layout

North of the City Hall station, the IRT Lexington Avenue Line carries four tracks. From west to east, these are the downtown local track, the downtown express track, the uptown express track, and the uptown local track. The loop connects the downtown and uptown local tracks. The track is slightly canted toward the inner wall of the loop. When the loop was completed, Scientific American magazine wrote that "one of the more important tasks of constrictive engineering which the subway presented is solved".

South of the Brooklyn Bridge station, there is a switch on the downtown local track, allowing trains to leave service and enter either of two storage tracks. Trains in service turn onto a balloon loop, continuing past the abandoned side platform on the west side of the loop, and returning to the Brooklyn Bridge station on the uptown local track. The uptown and downtown express tracks pass above the loop, continuing south.

Exits and access

There were two staircases from outside the City Hall building to the mezzanine of the station, each measuring wide. Heins & LaFarge designed entrance and exit "kiosks" for the City Hall station and the other underground IRT stations. These structures were extremely ornate structures made of cast iron and glass, being inspired by those on the Budapest Metro, which themselves were inspired by ornate summer houses called "kushks".[86] Brooklyn-based manufacturer Hecla Iron Works manufactured the kiosks. Exit kiosks were distinguished by their four-sided pyramidal wire-glass skylights, while entrance kiosks had domed roofs with cast-iron shingles. The kiosks also carried ventilation shafts for the stations' restrooms, which were generally directly underneath each kiosk. One critic said the station's original entrance and exit kiosks gave "a foreign appearance" to City Hall Park and compared the vaults to the interior of a mosque.[87]

After the City Hall station closed, the staircases were covered with slabs. Since then, the only access point to the City Hall station has been a set of metal cellar doors in the ground. On the surface, all that can be seen is a concrete slab inset with glass tiles, the skylights for the platform below. This patch of concrete is in the middle of a grove of dogwoods in front of City Hall, close to Broadway. At street level, in the pavement in front of City Hall, a plaque commemorates the groundbreaking for the subway in 1900.[88]

The station can be viewed by passengers who stay on the as they travel around the loop to head back uptown. Under MTA policy, all riders on southbound must leave the train at Brooklyn Bridge, but the policy is rarely enforced; by the 2010s, the MTA was intentionally allowing riders to stay on the train. Artificial lighting has often been dimmed to save electricity, but the skylights provide some illumination during the daytime. The loop track is classified as a revenue track, since trains can carry passengers through the loop. The announcement programs on the R142A subway cars, which were formerly used on the, announced that trains would turn around via the loop and stop on the northbound platform at Brooklyn Bridge.[89] [90]

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Walker . James Blaine . Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917 . 1918 . Law Printing . New York, N.Y. . November 6, 2016.
  2. Web site: Interborough Rapid Transit System, Underground Interior . October 23, 1979 . . November 19, 2019 . September 21, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200921135400/https://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/1096.pdf . live.
  3. Book: 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 . 229–236.
  4. July 1985 . Eighty Years of Subway Service to the Bronx . The Bulletin . Electric Railroaders' Association . 28 . 7 . April 2, 2018.
  5. Web site: Framberger . David J. . 1978 . Architectural Designs for New York's First Subway . December 20, 2020 . Historic American Engineering Record . 1–46 (PDF pp. 367–412) . January 17, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210117001227/https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf . live.
  6. Book: History and description of rapid transit routes in New York city, adopted under the Rapid transit act, embracing routes constructed, under construction and validated for construction, together with a map of each route and a combination map showing all such routes: Reprint from appendix A of the annual report of the Public service commission for the first district, state of New York, to the Legislature for the year ending December 31, 1909 . Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners . December 31, 1909 . May 15, 2022 . May 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220515200843/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3151644&view=1up&format=plaintext&seq=26&skin=2021 . live .
  7. Web site: Abandoned Stations : City Hall (IRT) . Columbia.edu . December 31, 1903 . May 13, 2014 . March 21, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140321112354/http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/cityirt.html . live.
  8. News: September 16, 1900 . The Rapid Transit Work: Change in Loop at the Post Office Proposed. The Forty-second Street Section May Be Changed – Progress in Other Directions. . en-US . 7 . The New York Times . live . January 6, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210801181622/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1900/09/16/105751370.pdf . August 1, 2021 . 0362-4331.
  9. News: March 5, 1901 . Progress of Rapid Transit; Work on the City Hall Loop to Begin at Once. . en-US . The New York Times . May 10, 2022 . 0362-4331 . May 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220510021433/https://www.nytimes.com/1901/03/05/archives/progress-of-rapid-transit-work-on-the-city-hall-loop-to-begin-at-on.html . live.
  10. News: March 29, 1901 . Work on City Hall Loop Begins . 5 . New-York Tribune . May 10, 2022 . newspapers.com . May 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220510021433/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101565032/work-on-city-hall-loop-begins/ . live.
  11. News: March 29, 1901 . The City Hall Loop . 2 . The New York Times . May 10, 2022 . newspapers.com . 0362-4331 . May 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220510021433/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101564835/the-city-hall-loop/ . live.
  12. News: April 16, 1901 . At Work on City Hall Loop: Operations Begin on the Excavations for the Southern Termini's of the Tunnel Road . 1 . New-York Tribune . January 6, 2021 . newspapers.com . May 2, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220502174942/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67052677/at-work-on-city-hall-loop/ . live.
  13. News: July 28, 1901 . New York's Rapid Transit Tunnel May Be Finished Ahead of Contract Time . 28 . Brooklyn Daily Eagle . live . January 6, 2021 . newspapers.com . May 2, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220502174946/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1619340/the-brooklyn-daily-eagle/.
  14. News: May 12, 1901 . Death at City Hall Loop . 15 . New-York Tribune . May 10, 2022 . newspapers.com . May 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220510010129/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101557517/death-at-city-hall-loop/ . live .
  15. News: May 12, 1901 . Fatal Tunnel Accident; One Man Killed and Others Hurt at City Hall Loop. Derrick Broke and a Steel Bucket Full of Earth Was Thrown Onto the Workingmen -- A Minor Accident Later. . en-US . The New York Times . May 10, 2022 . 0362-4331 . May 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220510011632/https://www.nytimes.com/1901/05/12/archives/fatal-tunnel-accident-one-man-killed-and-others-hurt-at-city-hall.html . live.
  16. News: January 21, 1901 . Subway Work Progress: What Has Been Done in the City Hall Park, at the Park Plaza and Other Points . 4 . New-York Tribune . live . January 6, 2021 . newspapers.com . May 2, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220502174942/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67044513/subway-work-progress-what-has-been/.
  17. News: August 7, 1901 . Subway City Hall Loop.; Bill to Allow Its Passage Through Post Office Vaults to Be Introduced in Congress . en-US . 9 . The New York Times . live . January 6, 2021 . 0362-4331 . August 1, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210801173640/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1901/08/07/117971183.pdf.
  18. News: August 4, 1901 . City Hall "Loop" Blocked . 4 . New-York Tribune . January 6, 2021 . newspapers.com . May 2, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220502174942/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67050962/city-hall-loop-blocked/ . live.
  19. News: August 26, 1901 . The Work on the Subway; All of the Digging in the City Hall Park Accomplished . en-US . 2 . The New York Times . live . January 6, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210801173732/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1901/08/26/101079825.pdf . August 1, 2021 . 0362-4331.
  20. News: September 22, 1901 . Subway Progress: Construction Completed and the Street Restored at Many Points Along the Route . 28 . New-York Tribune . live . January 6, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220502174943/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67050564/subway-progress-construction-completed/ . May 2, 2022 . newspapers.com .
  21. News: December 22, 1901 . Work on the Subway's Down-town Sections; Excavating Near the Brooklyn Bridge to Begin This Week . en-US . 14 . The New York Times . live . January 6, 2021 . 0362-4331 . August 1, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210801174308/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1901/12/22/102632156.pdf.
  22. News: February 2, 1902 . The Subway's Main Line; Only Eighteen Blocks Below 104th Street Remain Unopened. Two of the Sections Are to be Finished in a Year and the Others Will Not Be Far Behindhand. . en-US . The New York Times . May 10, 2022 . 0362-4331 . May 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220510170745/https://www.nytimes.com/1902/02/02/archives/the-subways-main-line-only-eighteen-blocks-below-104th-street.html . live.
  23. News: October 5, 1902 . Tunnel Contractor's Struggle With City Quicksands; Latest Difficulty Comes in the Last Stages of the Excavation in the Old Canal Street Swamp—How the Engineers Are Overcoming the Difficulty. . en-US . The New York Times . May 10, 2022 . 0362-4331 . December 16, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211216174724/https://www.nytimes.com/1902/10/05/archives/tunnel-contractors-struggle-with-city-quicksands-latest-difficulty.html . live.
  24. News: December 14, 1902 . Ask Roosevelt for Permanent Rights; Subway Officials Seek President's Influence to Secure Small Portion of Land Under Post Office . en-US . 27 . The New York Times . live . January 6, 2021 . 0362-4331 . August 1, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210801173612/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1902/12/14/118488371.pdf.
  25. News: November 5, 1903 . By Colors: Subway Stations Will Be Recognized Need Not Look for Names New York's Transit Way Nearing Completion Still Much Is to Be Done . 10 . Courier-Journal . .
  26. News: November 14, 1903 . First of Subway Tests; West Side Experimental Trains to be Run by Jan. 1 Broadway Tunnel Tracks Laid, Except on Three Little Sections, to 104th Street -- Power House Delays. . en-US . The New York Times . May 10, 2022 . 0362-4331 . May 5, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220505030752/https://www.nytimes.com/1903/11/14/archives/first-of-subway-tests-west-side-experimental-trains-to-be-run-by.html . live.
  27. News: January 2, 1904 . On Handcars Through Six Miles of Subway; Tracks Laid All the Way Up to Harlem . en-US . The New York Times . May 10, 2022 . 0362-4331 . May 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220510185717/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/01/02/archives/on-handcars-through-six-miles-of-subway-tracks-laid-all-the-way-up.html . live.
  28. January 9, 1904 . Through the New York Subway on Hand-cars . The Street Railway Journal . 23 . 2 . 75 . .
  29. News: April 14, 1904 . Subway Trip With Engine; Messrs. Belmont, McDonald, and Others Make a Realistic Journey. . en-US . The New York Times . May 10, 2022 . 0362-4331 . May 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220510185718/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/04/14/archives/subway-trip-with-engine-messrs-belmont-mcdonald-and-others-make-a.html . live.
  30. News: Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It; Mayor McClellan Runs the First Official Train. . October 28, 1904 . The New York Times . April 21, 2020 . en-US . 0362-4331 . 1 . December 13, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211213201856/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/10/28/118948832.html . live.
  31. November 20, 1904 . New York Subway Opening . 14 . 11 . 878 . . The Street Railway Review.
  32. News: October 28, 1904 . Subway Travel On With Rush . 1, 5 . New-York Tribune . May 10, 2022 . newspapers.com . May 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220510184829/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101608041/subway-travel-on-with-rush/ . live .
  33. News: October 28, 1904 . M'Clellan Motorman of First Subway Train; Mayor Used Silver Controller to Start Official Trip. . en-US . The New York Times . May 10, 2022 . 0362-4331 . May 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220510185734/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/10/28/archives/mclellan-motorman-of-first-subway-train-mayor-used-silver.html . live.
  34. News: Interesting Facts About Our Subway; Chronology of the Great Underground System . October 28, 1904 . The New York Times . April 19, 2020 . en-US . 0362-4331 . April 3, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190403092231/https://www.nytimes.com/1904/10/28/archives/interesting-facts-about-our-subway-chronology-of-the-great.html . live.
  35. News: March 22, 1903 . Subway Trains in Fall . 38, 39 . New-York Tribune . May 10, 2022 . newspapers.com . May 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220510165334/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67046550/subway-trains-in-fall/ . live .
  36. Web site: Subway at Fulton Street Busy. . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210707225808/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1905/01/17/100481230.pdf . July 7, 2021 . September 4, 2016 . 0362-4331.
  37. News: January 14, 1905 . Fulton St. Trains Monday.; New Style of Subway Platform Will Be Tried There. . en-US . The New York Times . May 10, 2022 . 0362-4331 . May 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220510233512/https://www.nytimes.com/1905/01/14/archives/fulton-st-trains-monday-new-style-of-subway-platform-will-be-tried.html . live.
  38. News: July 10, 1905 . Subway Trains Running From Bronx to Battery: West Farms and South Ferry Stations Open at Midnight . en-US . 1 . The New York Times . live . January 6, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210514172013/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1905/07/10/101363643.pdf . May 14, 2021 . 0362-4331.
  39. News: June 22, 1906 . Three Parks Cut Into for Subway Ventilation; Won't Be Hurt Much, Says Transit Board's Expert. TIMES SQUARE COOLING PLAN. Refrigerating Apparatus Will Be Put In There Temporarily -- Various Schemes for Other Stations. . en-US . The New York Times . May 10, 2022 . 0362-4331 . May 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220510233512/https://www.nytimes.com/1906/06/22/archives/three-parks-cut-into-for-subway-ventilation-wont-be-hurt-much-says.html . live.
  40. Book: The Merchants' Association of New York Pocket Guide to New York . March 1906 . Merchants' Association of New York . 19–26 . en.
  41. News: Gray . Christopher . June 17, 1990 . Streetscapes: IRT Stations; Underground Art the Way It Was Meant to Look . en-US . The New York Times . May 15, 2022 . 0362-4331 . May 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220515205322/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/17/realestate/streetscapes-irt-stations-underground-art-the-way-it-was-meant-to-look.html . live .
  42. Web site: Hood . Clifton . 1978 . The Impact of the IRT on New York City . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210117001227/https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0300/ny0387/data/ny0387data.pdf . January 17, 2021 . December 20, 2020 . Historic American Engineering Record . 146–207 (PDF pp. 147–208) .
  43. Book: Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1910 . 1911 . Public Service Commission . en . January 8, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210120015525/https://books.google.com/books?id=0fBLAQAAMAAJ&q=%20zoological%20station&pg=PA596 . January 20, 2021 . live.
  44. News: August 2, 1918 . 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 . 1 . The New York Times . November 6, 2016 . February 21, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210221065215/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1918/08/02/97011929.pdf . live.
  45. News: November 28, 1938 . Hearing Is Called on Subway Changes; Entrances and Exits ih City Hall Area to Be Relocated . en-US . The New York Times . May 14, 2022 . 0362-4331 . May 14, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220514230441/https://www.nytimes.com/1938/11/28/archives/hearing-is-called-on-subway-changes-entrances-and-exits-ih-city.html . live.
  46. News: June 13, 1940 . City Transit Unity Is Now a Reality; Title to I.R.T. Lines Passes to Municipality, Ending 19-Year Campaign . en-US . The New York Times . May 14, 2022 . 0362-4331 . January 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220107193115/https://www.nytimes.com/1940/06/13/archives/city-transit-unity-is-now-a-reality-title-to-irt-lines-passes-to.html . live.
  47. News: June 13, 1940 . Transit Unification Completed As City Takes Over I. R. T. Lines: Systems Come Under Single Control After Efforts Begun in 1921; Mayor Is Jubilant at City Hall Ceremony Recalling 1904 Celebration . 25 . New York Herald Tribune . .
  48. Web site: Jaffe . Eric . New York's Lovely Abandoned Subway Station . The Atlantic Cities . The Atlantic . July 18, 2012 . July 18, 2012 . July 19, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120719013502/http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2012/07/new-yorks-lovely-abandoned-subway-station/2594/ . live.
  49. News: Guse . Clayton . April 15, 2019 . This 1904 Station Is a Trip! . 10 . New York Daily News . May 14, 2022 . newspapers.com . May 14, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220514230441/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101824356/this-1904-station-is-a-tripclayton/ . live .
  50. Records of the National Park Service, 1785–2006. National Archives. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75313897. National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013–2017. New York MPS City Hall Subway Station (IRT). 75313897. National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: New York.
  51. News: November 29, 1936 . Art in Subways Goes Unnoticed By the Public: Some of Old Underground Stations Are Decorated With Picturesque Panels Stained Glass Is in One Old City Hall Stop Also Has Illuminated Bronzes . A7 . New York Herald Tribune . subscription . January 6, 2021 . . ProQuest . May 2, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220502174956/https://www.proquest.com/docview/1222168348 . live.
  52. News: December 27, 1945 . B'klyn Bridge Next Stop . 450 . New York Daily News . May 15, 2022 . newspapers.com . May 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220515200843/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101914788/bklyn-bridge-next-stop/ . live .
  53. News: 27 Dec 1945 . I. R. T. Closing Old City Hall Station Monday: Lexington Av. Line Stop, One of First in System, to Shut at End of Year . 17 . New York Herald Tribune . 1941-0646 . .
  54. News: December 27, 1945 . Old City Hall Station Of IRT to Close Monday . en-US . The New York Times . live . December 26, 2020 . 0362-4331 . November 11, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201111215929/https://www.nytimes.com/1945/12/27/archives/old-city-hall-station-of-irt-to-close-monday.html.
  55. News: December 27, 1945 . To Remove IRT City Hall Station . 2 . The Daily Worker . .
  56. News: Historic Station Closed After 41 Years . January 1, 1946 . The New York Times . May 30, 2010 . 0362-4331 . March 1, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180301104143/https://www.nytimes.com/1946/01/01/archives/historic-station-closed-after-41-years.html . live.
  57. News: January 1, 1946 . IRT Closes Old Station . 417 . New York Daily News . May 15, 2022 . newspapers.com . May 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220515200842/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101915547/irt-closes-old-station/ . live .
  58. News: Gray . Christopher . April 13, 1997 . Old Subway Stop to Be a Museum . en-US . The New York Times . live . December 26, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171229052236/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/13/realestate/old-subway-stop-to-be-a-museum.html . December 29, 2017 . 0362-4331.
  59. News: Daley . Robert . January 16, 1965 . Elegant but Abandoned IRT City Hall Stop Proposed as Museum . en-US . The New York Times . live . December 26, 2020 . 0362-4331 . May 2, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220502174942/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/01/16/archives/elegant-but-abandoned-irt-city-hall-stop-proposed-as-museum.html.
  60. News: October 22, 1979 . Riding Back (but Not for a Nickel) . 19 . Newsday . May 15, 2022 . newspapers.com . May 15, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220515200844/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101915718/riding-back-but-not-for-a-nickel/ . live .
  61. News: October 27, 1979 . 12 IRT Subway Stops Get Landmark Status . en-US . The New York Times . live . December 26, 2020 . 0362-4331 . March 9, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180309164713/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/27/archives/12-irt-subway-stops-get-landmark-status.html.
  62. News: Dunlap . David W. . April 16, 1986 . Trying to Put the Park Back in City Hall Park . en-US . The New York Times . May 14, 2022 . 0362-4331 . March 22, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210322141423/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/16/nyregion/trying-to-put-the-park-back-in-city-hall-park.html . live.
  63. News: Anderson . Susan Heller . Bird . David . July 25, 1986 . New York Day by Day; Saluting the Mona Lisa of Subway Stations . en-US . The New York Times . live . December 25, 2020 . 0362-4331 . May 24, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150524192958/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/07/25/nyregion/new-york-day-by-day-saluting-the-mona-lisa-of-subway-stations.html.
  64. News: September 27, 1987 . Follow-up on the News; a Subway Station Fit for a Museum . en-US . The New York Times . live . December 26, 2020 . 0362-4331 . November 6, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171106130549/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/27/nyregion/follow-up-on-the-news-a-subway-station-fit-for-a-museum.html.
  65. Web site: Hu . Winnie . Failing New York Subway? Not Always - Once There Were Chandeliers . The New York Times . April 11, 2019 . April 11, 2019 . 0362-4331 . April 11, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190411105901/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/11/nyregion/city-hall-station.html . live.
  66. News: April 6, 1995 . Transit Museum to Offer a Subterranean Tour . 87 . Newsday . May 14, 2022 . newspapers.com . May 14, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220514230440/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101823947/transit-museum-to-offer-a-subterranean/ . live .
  67. News: Siegel . Joel . February 1, 1995 . TA May Unveil Wheel Treasure . 674 . New York Daily News . May 14, 2022 . newspapers.com . May 14, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220514230441/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101824604/ta-may-unveil-wheel-treasurejoel-siegel/ . live .
  68. News: Siegel . Joe . November 24, 1995 . Museum's next stop is City Hall . 1127 . New York Daily News . May 14, 2022 . newspapers.com . May 14, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220514230442/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101824009/museums-next-stop-is-city-halljoe/ . live .
  69. News: Rein . Lisa . May 13, 1999 . Mayor Won't Let Transit Museum Roll . 126 . New York Daily News . May 14, 2022 . newspapers.com . May 14, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220514230441/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26648925/daily-news/ . live .
  70. News: Lueck . Thomas J. . October 17, 1999 . Under City Hall, Dreams and Nightmares; Fears That Reopening Station as Museum Might Lure Terrorists . en-US . The New York Times . live . December 25, 2020 . 0362-4331 . September 16, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170916050638/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/17/nyregion/under-city-hall-dreams-nightmares-fears-that-reopening-station-museum-might-lure.html.
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  72. Web site: How to Tour Old City Hall Station . live . March 9, 2021 . New York Transit Museum . July 12, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160731044648/http://www.nytransitmuseum.org:80/oldcityhall/ . July 31, 2016.
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  74. News: Grynbaum . Michael M. . October 31, 2010 . The Ghosts of New York Subway Stations Past . en-US . The New York Times . May 14, 2022 . 0362-4331 . May 7, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210507031007/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/01/arts/design/01bellyside.html . live.
  75. Web site: Ginsburg . Aaron . Tours of NYC's old City Hall subway station return this spring . 6sqft . August 25, 2020 . March 1, 2023.
  76. Book: Interborough Rapid Transit: The New York Subway, Its Construction and Equipment. 29 . 1904 . Interborough Rapid Transit Company. June 23, 2024 . New York Public Library Digital Collections. 2427927.
  77. September 16, 1904 . History and Physical Aspects of the New York Subway . Railroad Gazette . 37 . 14 . 341 . .
  78. Ruhl . Arthur . Oct 1902 . Building New York's Subway. . Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine . LXIV . 6 . 894 . .
  79. News: McCulloch . Adam . November 2009 . World's Most Beautiful Subway Stations . . live . January 3, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120104090936/http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-most-beautiful-subway-stations . January 4, 2012.
  80. News: November 2009 . New York City: City Hall . . live . January 3, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120102132233/http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-most-beautiful-subway-stations/13 . January 2, 2012.
  81. New Yorker Reveals How to See the 'Ghost Station' Hidden in the Subway System. Newsweek. October 18, 2021. October 1, 2023. Rebecca. Flood.
  82. News: The City's Curves, on Display or Hidden Away . David W. . Dunlap . May 1, 2011 . The New York Times . 36 . 0362-4331 . August 24, 2022 . August 24, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220824134733/https://archive.nytimes.com/query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage-9507E1DA133BF932A35756C0A9679D8B63.html . live .
  83. Book: Brooks, Michael W. . Subway city: riding the trains, reading New York . . 1997 . 0-8135-2396-6 . . 66 . registration.
  84. News: 22 Mar 1903 . Just Two Years Have Elapsed Since Work Began on the Rapid Transit Subway, and It Subway, and Now It is Expected That Trains Will Be Running Next October: Subway Trains in Fall Bright Hopes for Underground Rapid Transit in October . B8 . New-York Tribune . 1941-0646 . .
  85. Web site: October 4, 2010 . The Old City Hall Station . unfit . https://web.archive.org/web/20101004180807/http://untappednewyork.com/2010/09/26/the-old-city-hall-station/ . October 4, 2010 . April 19, 2020 . Untapped New York.
  86. Book: Brooks, Michael W. . Subway City: Riding the Trains, Reading New York . Rutgers University Press . 1997 . 978-0-8135-2396-5 . May 14, 2022 . July 22, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210722163204/https://books.google.com/books?id=kr40kS6yK1AC . live.
  87. News: January 24, 1904 . Trip on a Handcar Through the Rapid Transit Subway . 36, 37, 42 . New-York Tribune . May 10, 2022 . newspapers.com . May 10, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220510184830/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101606962/trip-on-a-handcar-through-the-rapid/ . live .
  88. Web site: City Hall Station . May 13, 2014 . . May 30, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130530001930/http://the-tech.mit.edu/~Subway/Archives/CityHall/CityHall1.html . live.
  89. News: Cuza . Bobby . March 6, 2007 . See A Glimpse Of NYC History For The Price Of A Subway Ride . . dead . November 15, 2009 . https://archive.today/20130130121324/http://ny1.com/1-all-boroughs-news-content/top_stories/?SecID=1000&ArID=67432 . January 30, 2013.
  90. News: Flegenheimer . Matt . November 29, 2013 . In Subways, Suddenly, 2 Glimpses of History . en-US . The New York Times . August 26, 2022 . 0362-4331 . August 26, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220826231710/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/30/nyregion/in-the-subway-tunnels-two-contrasting-paths-into-new-york-history.html . live .

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