23^rd Street (23^rd Street and Broadway/5^th Ave-- "Madison Square") opened 4/14/1918:    Local stop with 4 tracks and 2 side platforms.  Renovated and restored to the 1918 BRT splendor by NYCT in-house in 2001.  If you noticed why the platform level mezzanines are much larger than most stations, it's because when the station opened in 1918, it served Madison Square Garden II, one block to the east named after the intersection), the fare control had to be large enough to accommodate crowds there.  (The first two MSG venues were located on Madison Ave near East 24th Street.).  There is a sealed crossunder inside fare control; it was closed for safety reasons.  There are 4 street stairs on the Northbound side and 2 street stairs on the southbound side.  Each side also has HEET access to East 22^nd St and Broadway.  The historic Flatiron building, the city's first skyscraper building, is outside the southbound exits.  Tile band is beige, while the artwork features many hats from the 19^th and 20^th centuries.  Neighborhood maps show this area as the Ladies Mile where at one time large manufacturing bases of hat producing factories were concentrated in this area.

14^th Street Union Square is discussed on the complexes page

8^th Street (8^th street and Broadway) opened 4/14/1918:  Local stop, 4 tracks on 2 side platforms.  Platform level mezzanines are at 8th Street with 2 street stairs on thee northbound side and 4 street stairs on the southbound side.  Additional HEET access and ghost booths at south end of this station.  Brown stripe on tile band and artwork features people (a man wearing an I Love NY t-shirt, for example) and places around Greenwich Village, East Village, NY University and Washington Square Park. 

".Timothy Snell. Broadway Diary, 2002. Glass mosaic on platform walls. Commenting on his work, artist Timothy Snell says, "The mosaic is composed of 40 'portholes' that depict scenes and historic sites of the neighborhood (Grace Church, Washington Arch, Cooper Union, Astor Place, the vista of Broadway). ... The loose gestural rendering and free use of color with simplified imagery injects a light moment in the hectic schedule of the commuter passing through the station. ... Spreading the elements around the station in an architectural format ... integrates the artwork with the space ... This provides moments of diversion at various locations for people waiting and small surprises for repeat travelers in transit through this station. The repeat of elements like the cyclist through a series of panels in a loose use of line and color was a device to add motion and allow more abstract considerations to enter into the work with the hook of recognizable subject matter."

Prince Street (Prince Street and Broadway) Opened 4/14/1918:  Local stop, 4 tracks and 2 side platforms.  There is only one fare control to each side and the tile band is green with blue borders.  Artwork: "Carrying On", by Janet Zweig (2004), uses water jet-cut steel, marble, and slate to create a mural along then entire length of both platforms, for a total of 1,200' in length.  The 194 different frames in this frieze detail, contain images of New Yorkers from all walks of life.  As the title suggests, almost all of the images involve "carrying something", a shopping cart, purse, bags, etc.  This is something to remind ourselves that even with the aftermath of 9/11, we always carry on with our lives and go about our business.

Canal Street is discussed on the complexes page

City Hall (Broadway at east side of City Hall Park, by Murray Street)  Opened 4/14/1918:  Noteworthy for being only one of 2 single island platform stations to have the fare control area on the same level as the platform, the other station is 110th Street/Central Park North on the IRT 2/3 lines.  You can double back in the opposite direction, as long at you go around the fare control area.  The BMT mosaic is (you guessed it), City Hall on the platform walls, along with platform extensions on the south end.  There is a ghost booth and sealed entrance on the south end, it led to the Woolworth building.  There are 3 street stairs, only one is open during late night hours.  Facing the southbound side are 2 staircases to the disused Lower level platform, which has 3 tracks and 2 island platforms.  The staircases only lead to the west platform (due south) and no staircases were ever built on the east platform, it was originally planned by the BRT as a terminal for express trains from Uptown here.  This area is only used for storing W and some R trains.  The lower level tunnel continues south of this station, no track here, to an unknown area.  Back on the active upper level, a master tower that controls train movements up and down the entire BMT Broadway line in Manhattan, is at the north end.

Cortlandt Street (Cortlandt Street and Church Street) opened 4/14/1918:  2 tracks on 2 side platforms.  This station has connections to the PATH World Trade Center station, and is a survivor of the 9/11 attack of the Twin Towers (which were directly upstairs from this station.)  It was renovated in 1998 by NYCT's in house forces and actually restores the original look of the station, including preservation of all directional name tablets on both sides.  The presence of the restored "To Hudson Tubes" and "to Downtown/Hudson Tubes", proves that NYCT is committed to preserve the original components of future station renovations whenever possible.  The Hudson Tubes was the predecessor to today's PATH system, and operated a terminal station underneath the Hudson Terminal building near the same location at the current WTC station.  Current layout has 4 fare control areas, of which 2 are on each side.  The full time areas are at Dey Street at the north end with an underpass outside fare control that also leads to a lower level with artwork.  The artwork is titled "Trade, Treasures and Travel (1997) by Margurie Hught, she uses ceramic to display several wall sized images, the former WTC is among one of them.  The Southbound area has direct indoor access to PATH World Trade Center, as well as the World Trade Center E Train station.  The southbound platform is also ADA accessible via. ramp from PATH WTC station and PATH elevator from street level, there is no disabled access to the northbound platform. The part time areas are to the south end at Cortlandt Street, the Northbound side has 1 street stair and exit to an adjacent office building, while the S/B side has only 1 street stair, ghost both (removed in 2003), and 24/7 HEET access.
 

Rector Street (Rector Street and Trinity Place) opened 4/14/1918:  2 tracks on 2 side platforms, no crossunder or crossover here.  The station suffers from a lack of identity, as it is now the only BMT station in Manhattan to have the dreaded 60's refrigerator tile, it is blue.  All the other BMT local stations in Manhattan are either renovated or restored stations. The full time side on both sides at Rector Street. The northbound side has 3 street stairs and the southbound side has 4 street stairs.  The staircases themselves look skeletal, it appears that much of the Dual Contracts footprints were removed but never replaced, like the shell for instance.  Another exit only staircase is on the southbound side, about midway through this station.  On the northbound side, a newly constructed HEET only entrance/exit is at the far south end and leads to Morris and Greenwich Streets.  Standing on the southbound platform, to the left of fare control, you can see the remains on the original BMT mosaics and where the platform originally started, along with the original station name tablet exposed, this area is not part of the station that is publicly accessible. There is an original Rector Street at the far north end of the public space within the uptown platform along with an odd looking blue tile wall. The mosaic on both fare control areas is "R" for Rector St, and serves Trinity Church .The original Columbia University was founded in the same location as Trinity Church before the relocation uptown.

 Whitehall Street South Ferry is discussed on the complexes page

Court Street is discussed on the complexes page

Lawrence Street (Lawrence and Willoughby Streets) opened 1/1/1920:  2 tracks on 1 island platform.  The station has a full time area at Lawrence Street, with 3 street stairs, and a escalator.  The escalator is exit only and bypasses the fare control area, high exit gates are at the top of the escalator.  The part time side at Bridge Street has ghost booth and 24/7 HEET access.  The original directional sign exits are preserved, while the platform extends deep to the north end. 

This station has been connected to the Jay Street Station (See A Lefferts, A Rockaway , C Train or F Train pages) with a new in system transfer. This complex is described on the complexes page. It is now called Jay Street MetroTech for the entire complex.

DeKalb Avenue (DeKalb Ave and Flatbush Ave Extension) Opened 1/15/1915.  Realignment in 1957. .  Station is six tracks, 2 island platforms,  3 fare control areas, and 5 stairs to each platform.  The outermost tracks are called "Bridge" tracks because they run to/from the Manhattan Bridge and are used primarily for B and Q trains.  The next 2 tracks are called "Tunnel" tracks for they operate to/from the Montague tunnel.   R trains and late night N trains use these tunnel tracks.  The middle 2 tracks bypass this station, they both operate to/from the Bridge, N and D trains use them to bypass DeKalb (except late nights where they stop at DeKalb), hence the term “DeKalb bypass” 

Here are the facts on these 6 tracks: 

A Manhattan-bound train coming into the station must use the Bridge or tunnel route, they cannot switch routes once they arrive in the station.  So the Bridge side is the "local side" while the tunnel is the express side. 

A Brooklyn-bound train entering DeKalb bypass from the bridge, cannot access the Brighton line, the train is forced to use the 4th Ave express tracks.  This rule also applies for Manhattan-bound travel as Brighton line trains cannot use the DeKalb bypass. 

Prior to the 1956-57 reconfigurations, things were quite different.  A Manhattan-bound train could use either track in the station, and when leaving, can use the diamond “X” crossover switches just north of the station.  Even DeKalb bypass had a switch to the Montague tunnel track, the area by the north where there was no wall separating the bypass track and tunnel track, was the location of the switch (Ever wondered why the wall at DeKalb Ave falls short of the entire length of the old platform BEFORE the north extension?).  Now with the ongoing renovation, this area now has a wall to match with the rest of the existing wall on the tunnel side.  Southbound from Bridge or Tunnel is essentially the same, with the X crossover before entering DeKalb and the lone switch from tunnel to DeKalb bypass can be made.  The platform was curved to the south, the same area that is currently abandoned before the Brighton/4^th Ave split is still there.  The switches to/from Brighton and DeKalb were slightly further to the south.  This accounts why on the Bridge side, that B and Q trains have a slight S curve in both directions between DeKalb and Atlantic Ave stations. In June, 1957, the curved southern portion of DeKalb Ave was closed and abandoned in favor of a straight platform to the north, and the current setup of switches are in place.  This included the removal of the X crossover switches just north of DeKalb Ave.  The north platform extension was built sometime in the 1960’s. 

The full time booth is at the south end by DeKalb Ave and features artwork.  The middle staircase is a crossover, as during the renovation one staircase is removed. At the middle crossover area there is a sealed exit only to the outside of a bank building. This exit was originally closed until the first stage of the recent renovation reopened this exit. The exit is now sealed again, and has the original BMT tile and mosaics, not the replicas that dot the rest of this station (although the replica mosaics are outstanding.)    These stairs were used to be connected to the F/T side until installation and expansion of the DeKalb Ave tower and other RTO facilities took place, so it was a full passageway.  During the 1960's platform extensions (to conform with IND train lengths once Chrystie was completed), the platforms were extended to the north and a new part time fare control area was installed.  The last bits of evidence of the platform extension of 60's wall tile bands in the same design as Grand Street on the bridge side; however they are being covered with the retro BMT look.  The tunnel tracks depress slightly in relation to the other 4 tracks at the north end where the extension was built.  The DEKALB AVE and BMT mosaics are near identical replicas, additional extra large diamond and "X" mosaics are installed on the F/T mezzanine walls.  Elevator to street is on the southwest corner of Flatbush and DeKalb Avenues.  As built it was a local stop for the Fourth Avenue Local (As evidenced in the Booths being prefaced by the letter "C".) When the Brighton Line was extended from Prospect Park the current track against the wall (Bridge Tracks) was added via the wall being pushed back.

According to the MTA Web Site "...Stephen Johnson-DeKalb Improvisation, 2005.Glass mosaic on mezzanine walls. Stephen Johnson describes his mosaic mural and his inspiration for the energy it conveys: "My idea for these murals is to convey a sense of joy through an exuberant juxtaposition of colors, shapes, and familiar images. ... On the surface, the variety of colors and shapes in the mosaics resemble collages and invite the traveler to consider the multiple layers of images found on city walls, particularly in the subway, where posters may tear, revealing previous images and forming exciting compositions....The glass is as diverse as the station's passengers, whose ethnic origins stem from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. ... I wanted the abstract design to be balanced with realistic images that people can instantly get." The work brings vibrancy and texture to the station environment.

Barclays Center ( was Pacific Street is discussed on the complexes page

Union Street (Union Street and 4^th Ave) Opened 6/22/1915:    Tile is gray on the northbound side, and plain white on the southbound side.  This station was renovated (if you call that a renovation.), as the 60’s refrigerator tile is retained.  .  Artwork:  “CommUnion” by Emmett Wigglesworth (1994) shows what appears to be a bunch of people fitted into a straw.  The same artwork is located above every name tablet on both sides. Colorful arrowed tiles are along the track wall, and the warning strip is the old style double orange line (same as 34^th Street/IND station).  Each side has two staircases to street and booth and fare control is at platform level, there is no mezzanine, cross-over or cross-under.  Evidence of 60’s platform extensions are visible to the north end, where the platform ceiling is lower than normal, most of the local stations along the 4^th Avenue line are similar in appearance  The renovation was actually a determent to this station as the Southbound side shows a complete absence of color anywhere 

"...Emmett Wigglesworth. CommUnion, 1994. Porcelain enamel on platform walls; tile design on track walls. In this series of 22 panels set into recessed areas above the subway station signs, symbolic figures move about and interact with one another. Although separated by spacing between panels, each is linked by their graphic quality to form a relationship with those nearby. The artist explains his concept: "As a unit they form a composite to symbolically show as in a 'union' the best of each part of racial, religious, and cultural life make the most positive picture. The community above the Union Street station is mirrored in these panels because they are successfully working at making their community into this reality." Additionally, the station has a series of track wall panels designed by the artist.

9^th Street 4^th Avenue is discussed on the complexes page

Prospect Avenue (underneath Prospect Expressway at 4^th Ave/17^th Street) opened 6/22/1915:  Tile color blue.  Platform curves slightly at north end, 1 stair to street at S/B side, 2 street stairs at the northbound side.  Booth and fare control on platform level so no re-entry is allowed on the opposite side.  BRT mosaic “P” is near the exits.

25^th Street (25^th Street and 4^th Ave) Opened 6/22/1915:  Tile color Orange.  Clear evidence of 60’s platform extension is on the north end, there is no track wall tile.  At fare control, there is the old style change booth opposite the current station agent booth

36^th Street (36^th Street and 4^th Avenue) Opened 6/24/1917 this station serves Bush Terminal; it had an in-house renovation in 1997.  Express stop, 2 island platforms, 4 tracks, relay tracks for shuttles to the north, turnouts to West End line to the south.  The station has 2 sets of stairs to each platform, 3 staircases to street.  The West End line Y shaped turnouts are where the original 36^th St station stood before it was relocated to the north, about 100 feet south of this station.  The mezzanine also features the original X shaped BRT tile band, common in most BMT stations today, and looks restored.  Artwork in mezzanine, inside fare control, features “An Underground Movement; Designers, Builders, and Riders” by Oliver Smith.  Using ceramic mosaics, the artwork depicts the origins of the BRT (hence we now call it the BMT), from the Design, to Building the subway, to the riders of the subway.  The Design painting also has the BRT “X” mosaic.  Platform extensions are clearly to the north end 

45^th Street (45^th Street at 4^th Ave) Opened 6/22/1915:  Tile color Gray.  Full mezzanine and crossover are at south end, 4 staircases to street, 2 stairs from mezzanine to the southbound platform and 1 staircase to the northbound platform.  The southbound platform is one car length longer than the northbound platform.  Abandoned exit at Southbound side leads to 46^th Street.

53^rd Street (53^rd Street at 4^th Ave) Opened 6/22/1915:  Tile color Yellow.  Full mezzanine at south end, 4 stairs to street, additional exit only staircase at S/B end, 2 stairs each side from mezzanine to platforms. The possible "error" on original BRT sign points to Manhattan-bound staircases as “Downtown Trains”. In actuality  it  means Downtown Brooklyn (SOURCE: Joe Cunningham)

59^th Street (59^th Street and 4^th Avenue): opened 9/13/1915 Express stop, 4 tracks, 2 island platforms, 2 mezzanines at either end.  North mezzanine is full time with 4 street stairs and 2 stairs to each platform.  This is the final transfer point to the N train before it branches out towards the Sea Beach line. South mezzanine has Ghost Booth with 24/7 HEET access, 2 stairs to street, 1 stair each to platform level.  Platform extension is clearly to the north end as shown by the break in the walls.  The 59 and BMT mosaics on the wall does need some TLC. 

Upon leaving 59^th Street, the N breaks away from us and curves left, while we continue straight down 4^th Ave.  About halfway between 59^th Street and Bay Ridge Ave, we are greeted to a brief outdoor opening and sunlight, it lasts for only a couple of seconds.  This part is an outdoor recreational area near an apartment complex that was built in the 1960’s.  We continue as a tunnel. The line was designed to be expanded to four tracks with island platform at 86th Street. The bridge plainly shows the provision for the second bridge and added two tracks to the East.

Bay Ridge Avenue (Bay Ridge Avenue and 4^th Avenue) Opened 1/15/1916:  2 tracks, 2 side platforms. The full time mezzanine and crossover at south end with 2 street stairs and 2 stairs to each platform.  Platform extensions are visible to the north of the southbound platform and to the south of the northbound platform; also the Manhattan-bound platform is considerably wider than the 95^th Street-bound side.  Tile color is blue, the “BR” (for Bay Ridge) mosaics are present at the part time exit only on the Southbound platform.  The original BRT staircases, with the shell and pointed bumps, are gone, they were replaced by plain street stairs

77^th Street (77^th Street and 4^th Avenue) Opened 1/15/1916:  Same setup and design at Bay Ridge Ave, only differences are the tile colors (Red), and the skeleton areas for a newsstand and restrooms are present.  On the western street stair, the BRT design is nearly preserved as an original, with the shell and arrowed design (similar to southbound side of Wall and Fulton Street stations on the IRT 4 and 5 lines.).

86^th Street (86^th Street and 4^th Avenue)  Opened 1/15/1916:  From 1916 to 1925, this “unfinished” station was a terminal, an abandoned tower, island platform and a relay switch give evidence of this, (originally built with double crossover switches.).  Currently has 1 full time booth, with 2 street stairs and 1 former part time area with 24/7 HEET access, 1 street stair, and ghost booth.  Walls are green.  A private floral shop once existed inside fare control, the area is now vacant.

95^th Street (95^th Street and 4^th Ave) Opened 10/31/1925:  We have finally come to the last stop on the R line after spending nearly 90 minutes on the local.  The terminal station is your usual 2 track/1 island platform variety with full time access at 95^th Street and part time access at 93^rd St.  A full length mezzanine has passageway both inside and outside fare control.  The part time side is closed at night and the outside fare control passageway is closed as well. The BRT mosaic is in decent shape, with the classic circle inside diamond preserved.  The full time side has 3 street stairs, one stair at eastern end that is in front of a store, has a covered sign of unknown origin.  Although there may have been numerous speculations over the past several decades as to the possibility that the R line may be extended to Staten Island, the proposal is dead in the water (pun intended), and the BRT may never had any plans to extend service into Staten Island. According to Steve Krakowski the line has a false wall at the end of the tracks and was intended to go to 101st Street