Seventh Avenue station (BMT Brighton Line) explained

7 Avenue
Address:Seventh Avenue, Park Place & Flatbush Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
Borough:Brooklyn
Locale:Park Slope, Prospect Heights
Coordinates:40.6794°N -73.9737°W
Division:BMT
Line:BMT Brighton Line
Service:Brighton north
Connection: NYCT Bus:
Platforms:2 side platforms
Tracks:2
Structure:Underground
Open Date:[1]

The Seventh Avenue station is a station on the BMT Brighton Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Seventh Avenue, Park Place and Flatbush Avenue in Park Slope and Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. The station is served by the Q train at all times and by the B train on weekdays only.

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History

Although on the BMT Brighton Line, Seventh Avenue was built almost fifty years after the main segment of the line from Prospect Park to Brighton Beach opened in 1878. Prior to its opening, trains on the line used what is now the Franklin Avenue Shuttle and a connection to the elevated BMT Fulton Street Line on their way to the line's terminus at Fulton Ferry in Brooklyn or Park Row in Manhattan.[2]

Construction and opening

The Dual Contracts were formalized in March 1913, specifying new lines or expansions to be built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT; after 1923, the Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation or BMT). Two lines under Flatbush Avenue, one operated by the BRT and IRT, were approved.[3] [4] [5] The BRT route, an extension of the Brighton Line,[6] was to run under Flatbush Avenue and St. Felix Street in Downtown Brooklyn, with a station at Seventh Avenue.[7] [8] The IRT was authorized to extend its Brooklyn line (now the Eastern Parkway Line) under Flatbush Avenue, with a four-track route paralleling the BRT's subway southeast of the existing Atlantic Avenue station.

The BRT route was originally planned as a four-track line.[9] Groundbreaking for the lines under Flatbush Avenue took place in May 1914, by which point the BRT line was reduced to two tracks.[10] [11] The Seventh Avenue station was built as part of section 1A of the Flatbush Avenue tunnel, which extended from Prospect Place to Grand Army Plaza. The contract for this section was awarded to the Cranford Construction Company on May 1, 1914.[12] The BRT Brighton Line's Seventh Avenue station opened on August 1, 1920,[13] providing direct service between the existing Brighton Line and Midtown Manhattan.[14] This moved trains from the elevated Franklin Avenue Line to the new underground line.

Later years

During the 1964–1965 fiscal year, the platforms at Seventh Avenue, along with those at six other stations on the Brighton Line, were lengthened to 615feet to accommodate a ten-car train of 60feet-long IND cars, or a nine-car train of 67feet-long BMT cars.[15]

Station layout

GroundStreet levelExit/entrance
MezzanineMezzanineFare control, station agent
Platform levelIRT Northbound local← do not stop here
Side platform
Northbound ← weekdays toward or
← toward
Southbound weekdays toward
toward
Side platform
IRT Southbound local do not stop here →
IRT Express Tracks[16] Northbound express← do not stop here
Southbound express do not stop here →
The Seventh Avenue station has two tracks and two side platforms. The platforms are superimposed above the IRT Eastern Parkway Line's express tracks, which run on a lower level. There is a mezzanine above the station, which leads to exits on either side of Flatbush Avenue. The mezzanine crosses over the Eastern Parkway Line's local tracks, which flank the BMT tracks on either side. Each platform has two closed staircases that lead to a closed portion of the mezzanine above the platforms.

North of Seventh Avenue, the Brighton Line tracks descend slightly beneath the Eastern Parkway local tracks at the Bergen Street station, while the Eastern Parkway express tracks rise to a higher level. South of the Seventh Avenue station, the Eastern Parkway local tracks rise above the Brighton Line tracks to serve the Grand Army Plaza station.

Both platform walls have a golden mosaic trim line with blue and brown borders and white on blue "7" friezes appearing within them at regular intervals. Mosaic name tablets reading "7TH AVENUE" in white seriffed lettering on a blue background and gold and brown border appear below the trim lines. Gamboge I-beam columns run along both platforms, alternating ones having the standard black station name plate with white lettering.

This is one of two stations on the B train named "Seventh Avenue"; the other is Seventh Avenue–53rd Street on the IND Sixth Avenue Line in Manhattan.

Exits

This station has two entrances and exits. One stair goes up to the south sidewalk of Park Place east of Flatbush Avenue, while the other stair goes to the south sidewalk of Flatbush Avenue southeast of Park Place.[17]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: New Subways Add Seven More Miles to BRT on Aug 1. July 25, 1920. Brooklyn Daily Eagle. August 19, 2016. newspapers.com.
  2. http://images.nycsubway.org/maps/bmt_1912.pdf 1912 BMT network map
  3. Book: Walker . James Blaine . Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917 . 1918 . Law Printing . New York, N.Y. . November 6, 2016.
  4. March 10, 1910 . A New Subway Line for New York City . live . Engineering News . 63 . 10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120705042944/http://www.nycsubway.org/articles/triboro.html . July 5, 2012 . December 25, 2020.
  5. News: March 20, 1913 . Subway Contracts Solemnly Signed; Cheers at the Ceremonial Function When McCall Gets Willcox to Attest. . en-US . The New York Times . live . January 11, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220504021115/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/03/20/100611839.pdf . May 4, 2022 . 0362-4331.
  6. News: April 13, 1913 . Transit Relief Big Stimulus . 13, 14 . The Brooklyn Citizen . live . May 21, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230522001408/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-brooklyn-citizen-transit-relief-big/125097305/ . May 22, 2023.
  7. News: May 4, 1913 . Dual Subway Stations: Protesting Owners Should File Petitions for Changes . C8 . New-York Tribune . 1941-0646 . .
  8. News: July 6, 1913 . Station Sites for New Subways; Pamphlet Issued by Utilities Board Contains List of Stops on Dual System. . en-US . The New York Times . live . May 20, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230213035017/https://www.nytimes.com/1913/07/06/archives/station-sites-for-new-subways-pamphlet-issued-by-utilities-board.html . February 13, 2023 . 0362-4331.
  9. News: April 13, 1913 . Fix Station Sites on Brooklyn Lines; Prospect Park Plaza Will Become a Great Subway Traffic Centre. . en-US . The New York Times . live . May 21, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230521235902/https://www.nytimes.com/1913/04/13/archives/fix-station-sites-on-brooklyn-lines-prospect-park-plaza-will-become.html . May 21, 2023 . 0362-4331.
  10. News: May 24, 1914 . Subway Festival Held in Brooklyn; McCall Turns the First Sod for Interborough Extension from Atlantic Ave. . en-US . The New York Times . live . May 20, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201103081536/https://www.nytimes.com/1914/05/24/archives/subway-festival-held-in-brooklyn-mccall-turns-the-first-sod-for.html . November 3, 2020 . 0362-4331.
  11. News: May 23, 1914 . M'Call Breaks Ground for Subway on Flatbush Av. and Eastern P'kway . 1, 17 . Brooklyn Times Union . live . May 21, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230522001617/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-union-mcall-breaks-ground-for-sub/125096558/ . May 22, 2023.
  12. News: December 30, 1916 . Many Problems in Dual Subway . 14 . Brooklyn Times Union . May 24, 2023.
  13. News: August 1, 1920 . Brooklyn and Queens Brought Closer to Manhattan and Its Activities by New Subway Transit Links . 32 . New-York Tribune . live . May 21, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230521185801/https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-brooklyn-and-queens-bro/125080164/ . May 21, 2023.
  14. News: July 25, 1920 . New Subways Add Seven More Miles to BRT on Aug 1 . . live . August 19, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161026232118/https://www.newspapers.com/image/55629628/?terms=brt%2Bsubway%2Bmontague . October 26, 2016 . newspapers.com.
  15. Book: Annual Report 1964–1965. New York City Transit Authority. 1965.
  16. http://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Brooklyn_IRT_Map_-_Dual_Contracts_Construction Dual Contracts construction map
  17. Web site: MTA Neighborhood Maps: Park Slope/Prospect Park. mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. August 2, 2015. 2015.