Astor Place station

Construction and opening

Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864.^[8]: 21 However, development of what would become the city's first subway line did not start until 1894, when the New York State Legislature authorized the Rapid Transit Act.^{[8]: 139–140} The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, chief engineer of the Rapid Transit Commission. It 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.^[7]: 3 A plan was formally adopted in 1897,^[8]: 148 and all legal conflicts concerning the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899.^[8]: 161 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,^[9] in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.^[8]: 165 In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations.^[7]: 4 Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.^[8]: 182

The Astor Place station was constructed as part of the route segment from Great Jones Street to 41st Street. Construction on this section of the line began on September 12, 1900. The section from Great Jones Street to a point 100 feet (30 m) north of 33rd Street was awarded to Holbrook, Cabot & Daly Contracting Company.^[9] In the vicinity of the Astor Place station, the subway was to run under Lafayette Street,^{[10][11]: 17} a new thoroughfare constructed between 1897^[12] and 1905.^[13] This involved widening, connecting, and renaming two formerly unconnected streets: Elm Street, which ran south of Houston Street, and Lafayette Place, which ran north of Great Jones Street to an intersection with Astor Place.^{[10][11]: 17–18 [14]} The southward extension of Lafayette Street and the construction of the subway required the demolition or underpinning of several buildings in the street's path. This resulted in the creation of narrow land lots on either side of Lafayette Street between Houston and Great Jones Streets, slightly south of the Astor Place station's site.^{[10][11]: 18} By late 1903, the subway was nearly complete, but the IRT Powerhouse and the system's electrical substations were still under construction, delaying the system's opening.^{[8]: 186 [15]}

The Astor Place station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from City Hall to 145th Street on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line.^{[8]: 186 [4]} The opening of the first subway line, and particularly the Astor Place station, helped contribute to more development in the East Village; while the neighborhood was already densely populated at the time, the new subway provided connections to other parts of the city.^[2]: 10 After the first subway line was completed in 1908,^[16] the station was served by local trains along both the West Side (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street) and East Side (now the Lenox Avenue Line). West Side local trains had their southern terminus at City Hall during rush hours and South Ferry at other times, and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street. East Side local trains ran from City Hall to Lenox Avenue (145th Street).^[17]

Service changes and station renovations

1900s to 1930s

Columns with alternating Astor Place and Cooper Union sign plates

Plans for the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (H&M; now PATH), devised in the first decade of the 20th century, included a spur from the Uptown Hudson Tubes along Ninth Street to the Astor Place station.^[18] At the time, the Uptown Tubes between New Jersey and Manhattan had been under construction intermittently since 1874.^{[19]: 14–15} By 1904, William Gibbs McAdoo was given the rights to complete the Uptown Tubes. As part of the plan, he would retain perpetual rights to build and operate an east–west crosstown line under Christopher Street and Ninth Street eastward to either Second Avenue or Astor Place,^{[20][19]: 22} with no intermediate stops.^[21] Although the Uptown Tubes opened to 33rd Street in 1908,^{[22][19]: 21} work on the Ninth Street spur stalled. By 1914, the Rapid Transit Commissioners had determined that the spur was unlikely to be built soon, so permission to build the Ninth Street tunnel was denied.^[23]

To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[24]: 168 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. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to $43.6 million in 2021) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $14,541,000 in 2021) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.^[25]: 15 The northbound platform at the Astor Place station was extended 10 feet (3.0 m) in either direction,^[25]: 107 while the southbound platform was not lengthened.^[25]: 106 Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910.^[24]: 168 The Lexington Avenue Line opened north of Grand Central–42nd Street in 1918, thereby dividing the original line into an "H"-shaped system. All local trains were sent via the Lexington Avenue Line, running along the Pelham Line in the Bronx.^[26]

In December 1922, the Transit Commission approved a $3 million project to lengthen platforms at 14 local stations along the original IRT line, including Astor Place and seven other stations on the Lexington Avenue Line. Platform lengths at these stations would be increased from 225 to 436 feet (69 to 133 m).^[27][28] The commission postponed the platform-lengthening project in September 1923, at which point the cost had risen to $5.6 million.^[29][30]

1940s to 1960s

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[31][32] After the closure of the Wanamaker's department store in 1954, the northern building of the two-building complex was sold off and demolished. In July 1956, a fire gutted the building while it was being destroyed.^[33] When the fire was being extinguished, some water pooled in the basement and into a subterranean river parallel to the tracks,^[34][35] a likely tributary of Minetta Creek.^[36] In the aftermath, the Astor Place station was flooded, causing service to be rerouted for one week.^[36][37] The flood undermined the existing track bed, which was composed of a foot of concrete above a layer of earth. As a result, 275 yards (251 m) of new concrete track beds had to be installed.^[38] The repairs cost roughly $250,000.^[37]

In November 1959, the Warshaw Construction Company received a contract to remove fifteen entrance/exit kiosks on IRT lines, including two at the Astor Place station. This was part of a citywide initiative to remove the kiosks, which obstructed motorists' views of pedestrians.^[39] Also in late 1959, contracts were awarded to extend the platforms at Bowling Green, Wall Street, Fulton Street, Canal Street, Spring Street, Bleecker Street, Astor Place, Grand Central–42nd Street, 86th Street, and 125th Street to 525 feet (160 m).^[40] In April 1960, work began on a $3,509,000 project (equivalent to $32.1 million in 2021) to lengthen platforms at seven of these stations to accommodate ten-car trains. The northbound platforms at Canal Street, Spring Street, Bleecker Street, and Astor Place were lengthened from 225 to 525 feet (69 to 160 m); the platform extensions at these stations opened on February 19, 1962.^[41]

1970s to present

In 1979, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the space within the boundaries of the original station, excluding expansions made after 1904, as a city landmark.^[7] The station was designated along with eleven others on the original IRT.^[7][42] The original interiors were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.^[2]

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system in 1981.^[43] This led residents to create the Committee for Astor Place to raise money for restoration of the station.^[44]: 81 In 1981, the MTA announced the creation of its Culture Stations program to install public art in the subway. The Culture Stations program was started to deter graffiti, and was inspired by legislation in the New York City Council that mandated that 1% of the cost of constructing public buildings be used for art. The program was modeled on the Louvre – Rivoli station on the Paris Métro, which featured reproductions of the artwork on display in the Louvre. Four stations, namely Astor Place, Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum, 66th Street–Lincoln Center, and Fifth Avenue/53rd Street, were selected for the program due to their proximity to cultural institutions.^[45][46][47] These would be among the first stations in the MTA's new station refurbishment program, which began in 1982.^[48] Initially, there was funding only for the Astor Place and Fifth Avenue/53rd Street stations.^[47]

By 1982, the Astor Place station was planned to be renovated for $2.25 million.^[49] As part of the Adopt-a-Station program, which sought to renovate some of the subway's most deteriorated stations, the Chemical Bank sponsored a $2.5 million renovation for the station (equivalent to $6.5 million in 2021), while the Committee for Astor Place cosponsored the project.^[50] Other sources of funding included $600,000 from the Federal Urban Mass Transit Administration, as well as $125,000 from private sources such as the Vincent Astor Foundation.^[51] The firm of Prentice & Chan, Ohlhausen was hired to renovate the platforms.^[44]: 81 Rolf Ohlhausen, one of the firm's principals, had photographed the station's original cast-iron station entrance kiosks as an architecture student at the neighboring Cooper Union, and he advocated for a replica kiosk to be installed over the northbound entrance.^{[44]: 81 [52]}

The station's renovation started in June 1984 and was completed by May 1986.^[51] The scope of the project included the restoration of the platform's glazed ceramic beaver plaques; refurbishing the 1950s platform extensions with a design similar to the original station; cleaning the ceiling; and adding new lighting, noise-abatement material, and brown floor tiles.^{[44]: 82–83} A new piece of porcelain steel artwork by Cooper Union alumnus Milton Glaser was installed and a cast-iron copy of one of the station's original kiosks was built.^{[44]: 82–83 [51]} The MTA rejected Glaser's original proposal to include beaver representations in the artwork because the beavers too closely resembled rats.^[44]: 3 Glaser's artwork was installed as a gift, and the kiosk was installed using leftover funding.^[53] An underpass between the northbound and southbound platforms was closed and covered up in the 1980s renovation.^[2]: 4 Sound-deadening panels were also installed in the station.^[54] Following the completion of the project, architectural writer Paul Goldberger wrote that the Astor Place station's "value as architecture lies not in any generous space it offers, but in a series of pleasing details".^[55]

Discover more about History related topics

Early history of the IRT subway

Early history of the IRT subway

The first regularly operated subway in New York City was opened on October 27, 1904, and was operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT). The early IRT system consisted of a single trunk line below 96th Street in Manhattan, running under Broadway, 42nd Street, Park Avenue, and Lafayette Street. The line had three northern branches in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx, and a southern branch to Brooklyn. The system had four tracks between Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall and 96th Street, allowing for local and express service. The original line and early extensions consisted of:The IRT Eastern Parkway Line from Atlantic Avenue–Barclays Center to Borough Hall The IRT Lexington Avenue Line from Borough Hall to Grand Central–42nd Street The IRT 42nd Street Shuttle from Grand Central–42nd Street to Times Square The IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line from Times Square to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street The IRT Lenox Avenue Line from 96th Street to 145th Street The IRT White Plains Road Line from 142nd Street Junction to 180th Street–Bronx Park

John B. McDonald

John B. McDonald

John B. McDonald was an Irish-born contractor who is best known for overseeing construction of the first New York City Subway line from 1900 to 1904.

August Belmont Jr.

August Belmont Jr.

August Belmont Jr. was an American financier. He financed the construction of the original New York City subway (1900–1904) and for many years headed the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, which ran the transit system. He also financed and led the construction of the Cape Cod Canal in Massachusetts, which opened in 1914. Belmont bought the land for and built New York's Belmont Park racetrack—named for his father—and was a major owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses. He served as chairman of the board of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. He also served as a director of the Southern Pacific Co., parent of the railroad, and National Park Bank.

Heins & LaFarge

Heins & LaFarge

Heins & LaFarge was a New York-based architectural firm composed of the Philadelphia-born architect George Lewis Heins (1860–1907) and Christopher Grant LaFarge (1862–1938), the eldest son of the artist John La Farge. They were responsible for the original Romanesque-Byzantine east end and crossing of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York, and for the original Astor Court buildings of the Bronx Zoo, which formed a complete ensemble reflecting the aesthetic of the City Beautiful movement. Heins & LaFarge provided the architecture and details for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, the first precursor to the New York City Subway.

Interborough Rapid Transit Company

Interborough Rapid Transit Company

The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) was the private operator of New York City's original underground subway line that opened in 1904, as well as earlier elevated railways and additional rapid transit lines in New York City. The IRT was purchased by the city in June 1940, along with the younger BMT and IND systems, to form the modern New York City Subway. The former IRT lines are now the A Division or IRT Division of the Subway.

Great Jones Street

Great Jones Street

Great Jones Street is a street in New York City's NoHo district in Manhattan, essentially another name for 3rd Street between Broadway and the Bowery.

Lafayette Street

Lafayette Street

Lafayette Street is a major north-south street in New York City's Lower Manhattan. It originates at the intersection of Reade Street and Centre Street, one block north of Chambers Street. The one-way street then successively runs through Chinatown, Little Italy, NoLIta, and NoHo and finally, between East 9th and East 10th Streets, merges with Fourth Avenue. A buffered bike lane runs outside the left traffic lane. North of Spring Street, Lafayette Street is northbound (uptown)-only; south of Spring Street, Lafayette is southbound (downtown)-only.

Houston Street

Houston Street

Houston Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs the full width of the island of Manhattan, from FDR Drive along the East River in the east to the West Side Highway along the Hudson River in the west. The street is divided into west and east sections by Broadway.

Astor Place

Astor Place

Astor Place is a one-block street in NoHo/East Village, in the lower part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs from Broadway in the west to Lafayette Street. The street encompasses two plazas at the intersection with Cooper Square, Lafayette Street, Fourth Avenue, and Eighth Street – Alamo Plaza and Astor Place Station Plaza. "Astor Place" is also sometimes used for the neighborhood around the street. It was named for John Jacob Astor, soon after his death in 1848. A $21 million reconstruction to implement a redesign of Astor Place began in 2013 and was completed in 2016.

Land lot

Land lot

In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner(s). A plot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property in other countries. Possible owner(s) of a plot can be one or more person(s) or another legal entity, such as a company/corporation, organization, government, or trust. A common form of ownership of a plot is called fee simple in some countries.

IRT Powerhouse

IRT Powerhouse

The IRT Powerhouse, also known as the Interborough Rapid Transit Company Powerhouse, is a former power station of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), which operated the New York City Subway's first line. The building fills a block bounded by 58th Street, 59th Street, Eleventh Avenue, and Twelfth Avenue in the Hell's Kitchen and Riverside South neighborhoods of Manhattan.

Electrical substation

Electrical substation

A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station and consumer, electric power may flow through several substations at different voltage levels. A substation may include transformers to change voltage levels between high transmission voltages and lower distribution voltages, or at the interconnection of two different transmission voltages. They are a common component of the infrastructure, for instance there are 55,000 substations in the United States.

G	Street level	Entrances/exits
P Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Pelham Bay Park or Parkchester (14th Street–Union Square) ← toward Woodlawn late nights (14th Street–Union Square)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ toward Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall (Bleecker Street) → → toward New Lots Avenue late nights (Bleecker Street) →
	Side platform

Like other local stations, Astor Place has four tracks and two side platforms. The 6 stops here at all times,^[56] rush-hour and midday trains stop here in the peak direction;^[56] and the 4 stops here during late nights.^[57] The two express tracks are used by the 4 and 5 trains during daytime hours.^[58] The platforms were originally 200 feet (61 m) long, as at other local stations on the original IRT,^{[7]: 4 [2]: 3} but as a result of the 1959 platform extensions, became 525 feet (160 m) long.^[40] The platform extensions are at the front ends of the original platforms: the southbound platform was extended southward and the northbound platform was extended northward, resulting in the two platforms being offset from each other.^[59]: 33 Both platforms are slightly curved,^[2]: 5–6 since the station itself is placed on an S-curve between Lafayette Street and Fourth Avenue.^[54][60]

Design

Faience plaque with beaver

Faience name tablet

Tile with initial "A"

As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the station was constructed using a cut-and-cover method.^[61]: 237 The tunnel is covered by a "U"-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The bottom of this trough contains a foundation of concrete no less than 4 inches (100 mm) thick.^{[2]: 3–4 [59]: 9} Each platform consists of 3-inch-thick (7.6 cm) concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The original platforms contain circular, cast-iron Doric-style columns spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m), while the platform extensions contain I-beam columns, some clad with white glazed tiles. The columns contain black-and-white signs alternating between "Astor Place" and "Cooper Union". Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every 5 feet (1.5 m), support the jack-arched concrete station roofs.^{[2]: 3–4 [7]: 4 [59]: 9} The ceiling height varies based on whether there are utilities in the ceiling; the areas without utilities is about 15 feet (4.6 m) above platform level, while the area with utilities has a ceiling height of 8 feet (2.4 m).^[2]: 5 There is a 1-inch (25 mm) gap between the trough wall and the platform walls, which are made of 4-inch (100 mm)-thick brick covered over by a tiled finish.^{[2]: 3–4 [59]: 9}

The fare control areas are at platform level and there is no free transfer between directions.^[2]: 4 An underpass between the platforms was closed in the 1980s.^[2]: 4 The underpass had opened along with the rest of the station in 1904, making Astor Place one of the few locations in the original IRT where passengers could transfer between directions for free.^[62]: 146

Former women's restroom converted into newsstand (now closed and walled off)

The walls in this station contain modern enamel artwork. The walls along the platforms near the fare control areas consist of a brick wainscoting on the lowest part of the wall, with bronze air vents along the wainscoting, and white glass tiles above. The platform walls are divided at 15-foot (4.6 m) intervals by buff brick tile pilasters, or vertical bands; the wall sections between each pilaster contain a border of blue mosaic tiles. In the original portion of the station, each pilaster is topped by yellow faience plaques depicting beavers, surrounded by green scrolled and foliate motifs. The beaver plaques are a reference to John Jacob Astor, whose fortune had been derived from the beaver-pelt trade.^{[2]: 4–5 [7]: 8} A faience cornice with green urn and vine motifs runs atop these walls.^{[2]: 4–5 [7]: 8} Cream-on-blue faience plaques with the words "Astor Place" are also spaced at various intervals on the walls, a deviation from the tile plaques seen at other original IRT stations. The platform extensions contain similar decorative elements, but the pilasters are made of tan ceramic tiles, and the wall sections between each pilaster contain a border of blue ceramic tiles. Within the platform extensions' pilasters are tiled plaques with the vertical text "Astor".^{[2]: 5 [44]: 82} There were maroon and gold tile Cooper Union signs underneath the tile Astor Place signs, which were destroyed during the renovation.^[63] The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted the installations at each station.^[59]: 31 The decorative work was performed by tile contractor Manhattan Glass Tile Company and faience contractor Grueby Faience Company.^[59]: 33

The northbound platform contains doorways that formerly led to men's and women's restrooms, with corresponding marble lintels. A news and candy stand was in the former women's restroom, but it has been closed and walled off as of 2021. North of fare control is a rounded seating area.^[2]: 6 The northbound platform was used as a cover image of Billy Joel's 1976 album Turnstiles.^[64]

On the southbound side, the station has an entrance and windows into a vacant store. The heavy brick-faced square columns on the southbound platform support the store above.^[2]: 4–5 The store was originally constructed in 1868 as an A. T. Stewart, but it had become a Wanamaker's by the time the station was constructed and opened.^{[2]: 4–5 [11]: 94} The Wanamaker's store was closed by 1954. It served as Kmart location from November 1996 to July 2021.^[65][66] A Wegmans location is planned to open within the Kmart space in late 2023.^[67][68]

Also present on the southbound side is a sealed doorway with a marble lintel reading "Clinton Hall". This doorway once led to the New York Mercantile Library in the former Astor Opera House.^{[69][2]: 4–5}

Exits

Southbound entrance

Northbound entrance, a reproduction of an old IRT kiosk

Now-closed easement exit to 770 Broadway (last a Kmart) from the southbound platform

The station has one street entrance in each direction. The southbound platform's entrance is at the southwest corner of Astor Place and Lafayette Street.^[70] The street staircase on the southbound side contains modern steel railings like those seen at most New York City Subway stations.^[2]: 6

The northbound platform's entrance is in the traffic island bounded by Fourth Avenue, Lafayette Street, and Eighth Street.^[70] Unlike the southbound entrance, the northbound entrance contains a highly decorative entrance, reminiscent of an entry kiosk seen on the original IRT.^[2]: 7 The structure is an imitation of the IRT's original entrance and exit kiosks, extremely ornate structures made of cast iron and glass. The IRT kiosks were inspired by those on the Budapest Metro, which themselves were inspired by ornate summer houses called "kushks".^{[71]: 443 [72]: 66–67} The Astor Place entrance is a reproduction installed in the 1980s and was made at the same factory as the originals.^{[2]: 7 [52]} The kiosk is 13 feet (4.0 m) wide, 22 feet (6.7 m) long, and 16 feet (4.9 m) tall.^[52] The replica was largely based from photographs by renovating architect Rolf Ohlhausen.^[44]: 81 Like the original entrance kiosks,^[59]: 13 it has a domed roof with cast-iron shingles.^{[2]: 7 [52]} Unlike the originals, the roof of the kiosk have clear tempered glass to allow natural light, while the original kiosks had translucent glass with chicken wire, which tended to become dirty over time. Additionally, the decorative pieces of the new kiosk were molded from fragments of the originals, but the new kiosk was made of lighter-weight material.^[44]: 81

Discover more about Station layout related topics

Side platform

Side platform

A side platform is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms, one for each direction of travel, is the basic design used for double-track railway lines. Side platforms may result in a wider overall footprint for the station compared with an island platform where a single width of platform can be shared by riders using either track.

6 (New York City Subway service)

6 (New York City Subway service)

The 6 Lexington Avenue Local and <6> Pelham Bay Park Express are two rapid transit services in the A Division of the New York City Subway. Their route emblems, or "bullets", are colored forest green since they use the IRT Lexington Avenue Line in Manhattan. Local service is denoted by a (6) in a circular bullet, and express service is denoted by a <6> in a diamond-shaped bullet.

Pelham Bay Park station

Pelham Bay Park station

The Pelham Bay Park station is the northern terminal station of the IRT Pelham Line of the New York City Subway. Located across from Pelham Bay Park, at the intersection of the Bruckner Expressway and Westchester Avenue in the Pelham Bay neighborhood of the Bronx, it is served by the 6 train at all times, except weekdays in the peak direction, when the <6> serves it.

Parkchester station

Parkchester station

The Parkchester station is an express station on the IRT Pelham Line of the New York City Subway. It is located above Hugh J. Grant Circle in the Parkchester neighborhood of the Bronx, where East 177th Street, Metropolitan Avenue, and Westchester Avenue intersect. The station is served by the 6 train at all times and the <6> train during weekdays in the peak direction.

4 (New York City Subway service)

4 (New York City Subway service)

The 4 Lexington Avenue Express is a rapid transit service in the A Division of the New York City Subway. Its route emblem, or "bullet", is colored forest green since it uses the IRT Lexington Avenue Line in Manhattan.

Woodlawn station (IRT Jerome Avenue Line)

Woodlawn station (IRT Jerome Avenue Line)

The Woodlawn station is the northern terminal of the New York City Subway's IRT Jerome Avenue Line. The station is located at the intersection of Bainbridge and Jerome Avenues, outside Woodlawn Cemetery. Despite the station name, this intersection is in the Norwood section of the Bronx, and not in Woodlawn. It is served by the 4 train at all times. This station was constructed by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company as part of the Dual Contracts and opened in 1918.

5 (New York City Subway service)

5 (New York City Subway service)

The 5 Lexington Avenue Express is a rapid transit service in the A Division of the New York City Subway. Its route emblem, or "bullet", is colored forest green since it uses the IRT Lexington Avenue Line in Manhattan.

New Lots Avenue station (IRT New Lots Line)

New Lots Avenue station (IRT New Lots Line)

The New Lots Avenue station is the eastern terminal of the IRT New Lots Line of the New York City Subway. It is the terminal for the 3 train at all times except late nights, when the 4 train takes over service. During rush hours, occasional 2, 4, and 5 trains also stop here.

Several sites of historical and cultural importance are near the station, such as New York University and Cooper Union.^[73] The Alamo, a cube sculpture above the northbound platform, is a popular visitor attraction in the area.^[74] Other points of interest include:

• McSorley's Old Ale House^[73]
• Cooper Union New Academic Building^[73]
• Cooper Square Hotel^[73]
• Public Theater (Astor Library)^[73]
• Colonnade Row / Astor Place Theatre (Blue Man Group)^[73]
• Hamilton Fish House^[73]

The Eighth Street–New York University station on the BMT Broadway Line is one block west of the station.^[73]

Discover more about Points of interest related topics

New York University

New York University

New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.

Cooper Union

Cooper Union

The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in France. The school was built on a radical new model of American higher education based on Cooper's belief that an education "equal to the best technology schools established" should be accessible to those who qualify, independent of their race, religion, sex, wealth or social status, and should be "open and free to all." Cooper is considered to be one of the most prestigious colleges in the United States, with all three of its member schools consistently ranked among the highest in the country.

Alamo (sculpture)

Alamo (sculpture)

Alamo, also known as the Astor Place Cube or simply The Cube, is an outdoor sculpture by Bernard (Tony) Rosenthal, located on Astor Place, in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is a black cube, 8 feet (2.4 m) long on each side, mounted on a corner. The cube is made of Cor-Ten steel and weighs about 1,800 pounds (820 kg). The faces of the cube are not flat but have various indentations, protrusions, and ledges. The sculpture's name, Alamo, is designated on a small plaque on the base and was selected by the artist's wife because its scale and mass reminded her of the Alamo Mission. It was fabricated by Lippincott, Inc.

McSorley's Old Ale House

McSorley's Old Ale House

McSorley's Old Ale House, generally known as McSorley's, is the oldest Irish saloon in New York City. Opened in the mid-19th century at 15 East 7th Street, in today's East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, it was one of the last of the "Men Only" pubs, admitting women only after legally being forced to do so in 1970. The aged artwork, newspaper articles covering the walls, sawdust floors, and the Irish waiters and bartenders give McSorley's an atmosphere reminiscent of "Olde New York". No piece of memorabilia has been removed from the walls since 1910, and there are many items of historical paraphernalia in the bar, such as Houdini's handcuffs, which are connected to the bar rail. There are also wishbones hanging above the bar; supposedly they were hung there by boys going off to World War I, to be removed when they returned, so the wishbones that are left are from those who never returned.

41 Cooper Square

41 Cooper Square

41 Cooper Square, designed by architect Thom Mayne of Morphosis, is a nine-story, 175,000-square-foot (16,300 m2) academic center that houses the Albert Nerken School of Engineering with additional spaces for the humanities, art, and architecture departments in the newest addition to Cooper Union's campus in Cooper Square, Manhattan, New York City; there is also an exhibition gallery and auditorium for public programs and retail space on the ground level. The building, originally known as the New Academic Building, stands on the site where the School of Art Abram Hewitt Building was located; the site of the building formerly used for engineering will be leased to a developer once the move has been completed. Construction of the building began in 2006 and was completed in September 2009. The project has been controversial in the East Village neighborhood where 41 Cooper Square is located.

Astor Library

Astor Library

The Astor Library was a free public library in the East Village, Manhattan, developed primarily through the collaboration of New York City merchant John Jacob Astor and New England educator and bibliographer Joseph Cogswell. It was primarily meant as a research library, and its books did not circulate. It opened to the public in 1854, and in 1895 consolidated with the Lenox Library and the Tilden Foundation to become the New York Public Library (NYPL). During this time, its building was expanded twice, in 1859, and 1881.

Colonnade Row

Colonnade Row

Colonnade Row, also known as LaGrange Terrace, on present-day Lafayette Street in New York City's NoHo neighborhood, is a landmarked series of Greek revival buildings originally built in the early 1830s. They are believed to have been built by Seth Geer, although the project has been attributed to a number of other architects. The buildings' original name comes from the Marquis de Lafayette's estate in France, but the series of nine row houses, of which four remain, owe their existence to John Jacob Astor, who bought the property and whose grandson John Jacob Astor III later lived at No. 424. The buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places under the name LaGrange Terrace and the facades remain standing on Lafayette Street south of Astor Place.

Astor Place Theatre

Astor Place Theatre

The Astor Place Theatre is an off-Broadway house located at 434 Lafayette Street in the NoHo section of Manhattan. The theater is located in the historic Colonnade Row, originally constructed in 1831 as a series of nine connected buildings, of which only four remain. Though it bears the same name, it was not the site of the Astor Place Riot of 1849.

Blue Man Group

Blue Man Group

Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987. It was purchased in July 2017 by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Blue Man Group is known for its stage productions, which incorporate many kinds of music and art, both popular and obscure. Its performers, known as Blue Men, have their skin painted blue. They are mute during shows and always appear in groups of three.

Hamilton Fish House

Hamilton Fish House

The Hamilton Fish House, also known as the Stuyvesant Fish House and Nicholas and Elizabeth Stuyvesant Fish House, is where Hamilton Fish (1808–93), later Governor and Senator of New York, was born and resided from 1808 to 1838. It is at 21 Stuyvesant Street, a diagonal street within the Manhattan street grid, between 9th and 10th Streets in the East Village neighborhood of New York City. It is owned by Cooper Union and used as a residence for the college's president.

Eighth Street–New York University station

Eighth Street–New York University station

The Eighth Street–New York University station is a local station on the New York City Subway's BMT Broadway Line. Located at the intersection of Eighth Street and Broadway in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, it is served by the R train at all times except late nights, the W train on weekdays, the N train during late nights and weekends, and the Q train during late nights.

BMT Broadway Line

BMT Broadway Line

The BMT Broadway Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan. As of November 2016, it is served by four services, all colored yellow: the N and ​Q trains on the express tracks and the R and ​W trains on the local tracks during weekdays. The line is often referred to as the "N and R", since those were the only services on the line from 1988 to 2001, when the Manhattan Bridge's southern tracks were closed for rebuilding. The Broadway Line was built to give the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company access to Midtown Manhattan.