Third Avenue–149th Street station explained

3 Avenue–149 Street
Accessible:yes
Address:East 149th Street, Third, Willis & Melrose Avenues
Bronx, NY
Borough:The Bronx
Locale:The Hub, Mott Haven, Melrose
Coordinates:40.8161°N -73.9177°W
Division:IRT
Line:IRT White Plains Road Line
Service:White Plains
Connection: NYCT Bus:
Platforms:2 side platforms
Tracks:2
Structure:Underground

The Third Avenue–149th Street station is a station on the IRT White Plains Road Line of the New York City Subway. It is located at Third Avenue and East 149th Street (the latter of which is also known as Eugenio Maria de Hostos Boulevard) in the Hub in the South Bronx adjacent to Mott Haven and Melrose. The station is served by the 2 train at all times and the 5 train at all times except nights. The station is the second-busiest in the Bronx and 59th overall, with around 6.768 million passengers using the station as of 2019.

History

The station opened on July 10, 1905, along with the 149th Street–Grand Concourse station and the connection with the IRT Lenox Avenue Line in Manhattan. Free transfers were provided between the subway and the existing 149th Street elevated station of the IRT Third Avenue Line, which opened in 1887.[1] [2] The convergence of the two rapid transit lines, the surface trolley lines along Third Avenue and 149th Street, and the ensuing commercial development led to the coining of the name "the Hub" for the intersection in the early 20th century.[3]

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.[4] [5] Following the closure of the Third Avenue elevated in 1973,[6] [7] free paper transfers were provided between the subway and the Bx55 limited-stop bus, which replaced the elevated.[8] [9] [10] [11] However, scalpers would often resell these transfers for 50 cents.[12] Because of the unique transfer, the station was one of the first to test the MetroCard system in the early 1990s,[10] and the paper transfers were finally scrapped in 1997 with the wider rollout of the MetroCard.[13]

In 1981, the MTA listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system.[14]

In 1996, ceramic mosaics by Jose Ortega were installed at the station, as part of the MTA's Arts for Transit program.

Station layout

The station has two tracks and two side platforms, with no crossovers between the platforms. The station has been renovated, with ADA-accessible elevators installed on both sides of the station.

GStreet levelExit/entrance
P
Platform level		Side platform
Northbound← toward
← PM rush toward or
← AM rush toward or East 180th Street (select rush hour trips) (East 180th Street)
← other times toward Dyre Avenue (Jackson Avenue)
Southbound toward via Seventh →
toward Flatbush Avenue via Lexington weekdays and evenings, weekends (149th Street–Grand Concourse) →
Side platform

The station tiles have dark red and dark green/gray lower accents and dark red upper border. There are ceramic mosaics, installed in 1996 under the MTA's Arts for Transit program, entitled Una Raza, Un Mundo, Universo (One Race, One World, One Universe), by Jose Ortega. Four such mosaics are on each platform near the fare control.[15] The token booths are built into the wall. Prior to the renovation, terra cotta "3" plaques were on the platform walls. One of these has been preserved at the New York Transit Museum.

Immediately east (railroad north) of the station, past Bergen Avenue, the tracks ascend to become an elevated structure for the trip to East 180th Street. This is the longest section of elevated track built under IRT Contract I. At the El level, one can still see the shortened supports for former track connections with the Third Avenue El.[16] The express run to the next express station north, East 180th Street is 3.4miles long and bypasses seven stations, making it the second-longest express run in the system behind the 3.5miles express run between 125th Street and 59th Street–Columbus Circle on the IND Eighth Avenue Line, which also bypasses seven stations.

Exits

The fare control is at platform level and there is a closed crossunder. Each fare control area has a bus transfer booth, which was used for the connection to the former Bx55 bus route that replaced the IRT Third Avenue Line in the Bronx. The extra booths and turnstiles, while still present, are no longer in use, having closed in July 1997 when system-wide free transfers were introduced with the MetroCard.[17]

For each platform, three staircases lead up from fare control to the street; the north side of 149th Street for the Manhattan-bound platform, and the south side for the Bronx-bound platform. The elevators are located on the west side of the intersection.[18] [19] As of December 2023, both elevators are closed for replacement and are scheduled to reopen in June 2024.

Points of interest

The station is located in the Hub, the oldest major shopping locale in the Bronx.[20]

Nearby points of interest include:

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Subway Trains Running From Bronx to Battery. July 10, 1905. The New York Times. October 4, 2011. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200324092623/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1905/07/10/101363643.pdf. March 24, 2020. 0362-4331.
  2. News: Herzberg. Joseph G.. The Bronx Had Everything, Including Own Shows. September 4, 1972. The New York Times. October 7, 2015. live. 0362-4331. August 2, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220802154419/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1972/09/04/90718913.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false.
  4. News: 1940-06-13 . 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 . 2022-05-14 . 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 .
  5. 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 . .
  6. News: Donovan. Aaron. If You're Thinking of Living In/Belmont; Close-Knit Bronx Area With Italian Aura. 2001-07-29. The New York Times. 2020-03-24. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200324213405/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/29/realestate/if-you-re-thinking-of-living-in-belmont-close-knit-bronx-area-with-italian-aura.html?pagewanted=all. March 24, 2020. en-US. 0362-4331.
  7. News: Blumenthal. Ralph. Now That El's Gone, Bronx Hub Sees a Brighter Future. August 27, 1977. The New York Times. September 24, 2015. live. August 2, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220802154353/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1977/08/27/80320612.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false.
  8. News: Seigel. Max H.. City Plans to Raze 3d Ave. El in Bronx. July 18, 1972. September 24, 2015. live. The New York Times. 0362-4331. June 27, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220627215831/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1972/07/18/81897690.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false.
  9. Web site: The 3rd Avenue Corridor. March 27, 2013. The Bronx Journal. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190328121146/http://bronxjournal.com/2013/03/27/the-3rd-avenue-corridor/. March 28, 2019. September 24, 2015.
  10. News: Faison. Seth. Bronx Bus Line Riders Get Glimpse of Future. November 18, 1992. The New York Times. September 24, 2015. live. 0362-4331. September 26, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150926033231/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/18/nyregion/bronx-bus-line-riders-get-glimpse-of-future.html.
  11. News: 3d Avenue El Closes Saturday; Fleet of 60 Buses to Replace It. April 22, 1973. The New York Times. October 7, 2015. live. 0362-4331. June 27, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220627215833/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1973/04/22/90932416.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false.
  12. News: Almeida. Miguel. NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: SOUTH BRONX; Business Is Booming for the Hub's Transfer Hucksters. 1995-02-26. The New York Times. 2020-03-24. en-US. 0362-4331. March 24, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200324225420/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/26/nyregion/neighborhood-report-south-bronx-business-is-booming-for-the-hubs.html. live.
  13. News: Transfer Scheme Ends. 1997-07-08. The New York Times. 2020-03-24. en-US. 0362-4331. December 25, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151225155609/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/08/nyregion/transfer-scheme-ends.html. live.
  14. News: Gargan. Edward A.. Agency Lists Its 69 Most Deteriorated Subway Stations. June 11, 1981. The New York Times. August 13, 2016. live. B5. August 22, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160822235815/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/11/nyregion/agency-lists-its-69-most-deteriorated-subway-stations.html.
  15. Web site: Cotter. Holland. Way Up in the Bronx A Hardy Spirit Blooms. The New York Times. October 7, 2015. May 7, 1999. E29. March 8, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160308112614/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/07/arts/art-review-way-up-in-the-bronx-a-hardy-spirit-blooms.html?pagewanted=all. live.
  16. Web site: 30 Hurt, 500 in Peril in Odd Train Wreck on 3d Av. Elevated – Cars Jump the Rails at Switch and Dash a Signal Tower to Pieces – Flames Menace Wreckage – Police Climb From Street and Put Out the Fire With Sand – Debris Hits Man in Street – Six Among the Victims Seriously Injured – Towerman Disappears – Bronx Prosecutor to Investigate. The New York Times. October 7, 2015. May 31, 1921. 1. August 2, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220802154413/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/05/31/98698360.pdf. live.
  17. News: Transfer Scheme Ends. July 8, 1997. The New York Times. October 7, 2015. live. B3. December 25, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151225155609/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/08/nyregion/transfer-scheme-ends.html.
  18. Web site: Third Avenue–149th Street Neighborhood Map. April 2018. new.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. February 28, 2019. July 3, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180703230522/https://new.mta.info/sites/default/files/2018-04/3%20Av-149%20St%20%282%29%285%29%20web_0.pdf. live.
  19. Web site: NYC Official Accessibility Guide. nyc.gov. City of New York. September 20, 2015. 2008. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150807065656/http://www.nyc.gov/html/mopd/downloads/pdf/accessibility_guide.pdf. August 7, 2015.
  20. http://www.bronxmall.com/commboards/needscb1.html Community Board District 1

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Third Avenue–149th Street station".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.