City Hall Subway Station, New York
The City Hall Subway Station is one of the oldest public transit systems in the world and was the original terminal of New York's subway
system. It has long been the country's most comprehensive transportation
system. It was built to
benefit the greatest city in the country.
The City Hall Station was the
original southern terminus of the first "Manhattan Main Line" built
by the Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT) Company, was designed by Valencian
architect Rafael Guastavino who was known for his tile work and is unique among
the original IRT stations.
It opened on the evening of October
27, 1904, along with 27 other Interborough Rapid Transit (I.R.T.) stations up
to 145th Street on the west side. This ornate station was the showpiece of the
New York City subway system .That station is an underground architectural
marvel, with tall arched ceilings covered in antique tile and glass skylights
that flood the space with natural light from above.
On it the night took on a carnival
atmosphere, like New Year's Eve. Many couples celebrated in style by
putting on their best clothes, going out to dinner, and then taking their first
subway ride together. Some people spent the entire evening on the trains,
going back and forth from 145th street to City Hall for hours.
Despite its beauty, the City Hall
subway station was never very busy as it was never an important station. In the
final year of its use it only handled about 600 passengers a day, due to the
much occupied Brooklyn Bridge station. It was located on the turning loop for
local trains from uptown, and both those and the express trains could be easily
taken at the very nearby Brooklyn Bridge station.
The majestic subway station
underneath City Hall has been inactive for more than 70 years, closing for good
on December 31, 1945.
In April 1995 it was announced that
federal grant money was to be sought to restore City Hall station and open it
as a branch of the Transit Museum, but it is within City Hall's protected zone,
and so worries about terrorism have kept it closed.
These days the best way to see the
City Hall station in person is to stay on the downtown 6 as it loops toward the
uptown platform after its final stop.
