Division B (IND) Services F (all times) Platforms 1 island platform Borough Manhattan Tracks 2 | Line IND Sixth Avenue Line Structure Underground Opened 1 July 1968 Locale Midtown Manhattan | |
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Transit connections NYCT Bus: M5, M7, M31, M57 Address New York, NY 10019, United States Similar 75th Avenue, 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center, Avenue X, Roosevelt Island, Avenue U | ||
57th Street is a station on the IND Sixth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 57th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, it is served by the F train at all times. North of the station, the line turns east and becomes the IND 63rd Street Line.
Contents
History
The station was built as part of the Chrystie Street Connection, which started construction in 1957. In 1962, the Sixth Avenue extension to the new terminal at 57th Street was announced. The 57th Street station opened on July 1, 1968, as one of two stations added during construction of the Chrystie Street Connection, the other being Grand Street. Upon its opening, the station acted as the terminus of two services, the B during rush hours and KK during off-peak hours. The KK was renamed the K in 1974 and eliminated in 1976. From 1978 to 1990, this station was also served by the JFK Express service to the eponymous airport.
When the north side of the Manhattan Bridge was closed for construction from 1986-1998 and again from July to December 2001, this station was only served by a shuttle train along Sixth Avenue. Starting in 1988, this station was served by Q trains on weekdays, B trains on weekday evenings and weekends, and F trains during late nights. This was the terminal for all services until the IND 63rd Street Line to 21st Street–Queensbridge opened on October 29, 1989 Late night F-train service was replaced by a shuttle in 1997. Since December 2001, when the 63rd Street Tunnel Connector opened in Queens, the F route has served this station at all times, simultaneous with the withdrawal of all other services from the 63rd Street Line.
Under the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Plan, the station, along with 30 others in the New York City Subway, will undergo a complete overhaul and be entirely closed for up to six months. Planned updates include cellular service, Wi-Fi, charging stations, and improved signage and station lighting.
Station layout
57th Street utilizes a simple two tracks and a single island platform setup common to terminal stations. From the full-length mezzanine, there are six staircases to the platform. The station walls are plain white, with "57th St" stenciled on long, narrow tiles along the wall.
Except for the removal of exit slam gates at fare controls, much of the station design remains unchanged from 1968 opening. Even the "Next Train" indicator lights are still hanging from the platform ceiling, dating from the period when the station was a terminal. The tower and the crew area still exist. They were abandoned after the 1989 63rd Street extension to 21st Street–Queensbridge, but were back in service in 1998 when trains from Sixth Avenue terminated here due to long term construction work that necessitated a shuttle train from Queensbridge to 57th Street–Seventh Avenue on the BMT Broadway Line. Once all construction work was completed on the 63rd Street Connector to the IND Queens Boulevard Line in December 2001, the tower was permanently abandoned.
This station features one of the last surviving telephone booths, located inside one of the three fare control areas at mezzanine level. A plaque dedicated to retired Colonel John T. O'Neill, who served as the New York City Transit Authority's Chief Engineer until his death in 1978, sits next to the booth on the west wall.
Exits
There are eight street staircases spread on both sides of Sixth Avenue from 56th to 57th Streets.