Division B (BMT/IND) Structure Elevated Borough Brooklyn Level 2 | Transit connections NYCT Bus: B36 Opened 19 May 1919 Locale Coney Island Tracks 4 (2 on each level) | |
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Address West 8th Street near Surf Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11224 Line BMT Brighton Line
IND Culver Line Services F (all times)
Q (all times) Similar Coney Island, Bay Parkway, Kings Highway, Avenue P, Seventh Avenue | ||
West Eighth Street–New York Aquarium is a New York City Subway station, located on the BMT Brighton Line and IND Culver Line. The station is located over the private right-of-way of the defunct New York and Coney Island Railroad, north of Surf Avenue and running easterly from West 8th Street on the Coney Island peninsula in Brooklyn. It is served by the F and Q trains at all times.
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History
The station, originally identified as Coney Island–West Eighth Street, replaced the Culver Depot, the surface terminus of the Brighton Beach and Culver Lines. The new station consisted of a two-level elevated line, with two tracks and two side platforms on each level. Brighton service began serving the station on June 13, 1919, with Brighton Local trains using the lower level and Brighton Express trains (when operated) using the upper level. On May 1, 1920, Culver trains began sharing the lower level with the Brighton Line.
The usage of both levels varied over the years, with different Brighton services using the lower level at different times. Brighton Locals used the lower level of West 8th Street until 1954, when the track connection between the Brighton Line at Ocean Parkway and the lower level of West 8th Street station was severed. Since then Brighton and Culver trains have had exclusive use of their respective levels since. The structure for the connector tracks still exists.
In September 1954, the NYCTA announced that it would build a 700-foot long overpass connecting the station with the then proposed New York Aquarium. The estimated cost for the project was $500,000, and it was expected to be completed by November 1955.
Station layout
The current station continues to have two tracks and two side platforms on each level; the BMT Brighton Line currently occupies the upper level and the IND Culver Line occupies the lower level.
The 2005 artwork here is called Wavewall by Vito Acconci.
The station is two blocks east of the neighboring Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue station, which is the southern terminus of both the Brighton and Culver Lines and of the F and Q services.
Exits
This station contains three entrances. The first one contains three High Entry-Exit turnstiles and leads directly to the Manhattan-bound platform of the lower level. The main entrance is directly underneath and leads to West Fifth Street on one side and Surf Avenue on the other. There was a pedestrian bridge that spanned Surf Avenue and connected the two aforementioned entrances; the walkway was torn down on August 8, 2013, due to safety issues. A crosswalk and widened sidewalks replaced the bridge, which was built when the New York Aquarium was first opened at that location. The third entrance leads to West Sixth Street, which at this point, is a dirt road only for pedestrians that runs directly underneath the Culver Line. This entrance contains HEET and exit-only turnstiles and an escalator that leads directly to the Manhattan-bound platform of the upper level.