Division A (IRT) Structure Underground Borough Manhattan Locale Upper West Side Tracks 4 | Transit connections NYCT Bus: M79, M104 Platforms 2 side platforms Opened 27 October 1904 Added to NRHP 17 September 2004 | |
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Line IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line Services 1 (all times)
2 (late nights) Address New York, NY 10024, United States Similar 72nd Street, 86th Street, 18th Street, Franklin Street, 28th Street | ||
79th Street is a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 79th Street and Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times and 2 train during late nights.
Contents
History
79th Street opened as part of the original subway on October 27, 1904, with service from Brooklyn Bridge to 145th Street. Subsequent extensions changed this routing to trains running down the entirety of the West Side of Manhattan with branches to Brooklyn, Harlem, and the Bronx.
Station layout
Like other local stations, 79th Street has four tracks and two side platforms. The two express tracks are used by the 2 train during daytime hours and the 3 at all times. At this point on the line, the center express tracks are slightly lower than the local tracks, particularly at the north end.
Exits
All fare control areas are on platform level and there are no crossovers or crossunders. The southbound platform is fully staffed, containing a turnstile bank, token booth, staircase going up to the northwest corner of West 79th Street and Broadway, and passageway separated from the platform by a steel fence leading to a staircase that goes up to the southwest corner of the aforementioned intersection. This passageway has a High Entry-Exit Turnstile to the platform and was added after the station's opening as proven by its cinder block tiles.
The northbound platform's fare control is unstaffed, containing a turnstile bank, now-closed customer assistance booth, staircase going up to the southeast corner of West 79th Street and Broadway, and passageway separated from the platform by a steel fence leading to a staircase that goes up to the northeast corner of the aforementioned intersection. This passageway has a High Exit-Only Turnstile to the platform and was also added after the station's opening.
Design and artwork
Both platforms have cream-colored tiles and a pink trim line with "79TH ST" written on it in black sans serif font at regular intervals. These tilings were installed during a 1970s renovation that covered most of the original mosaics and cartouches. Some of these as well as the decorated ceiling beams can still be seen by the fare control areas.