D Train

North refers to 205^th Street-Bainbridge and South refers to Coney Island.  This line operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on the full route listed below.    Express between 145^th Street-Harlem and Fordham Road, peak rush direction only (6:15 AM to 9 AM to Manhattan, 4:20 PM to 6:45 PM from Manhattan.)    Although the current route along the West End portion is elevated since the dual contracts construction in 1916-17, the line originally ran at grade (street level) since 1875.

205^th Street Norwood (205^th St at Bainbridge Ave) Opened 7/1/1933:  This is the last stop of the Concourse D line, but this station never was intended to be a terminal, planned extensions would be to the then-unbuilt Co-Op city or the northeastern section of the Bronx.  Like 179^th Street or 71^st/Continental Ave station on the IND Queens Blvd. line, there are tail tracks east of the station to allow relays back downtown.  Trains discharge on one side  and pick up passengers on the southbound side.  Station has 2 tracks on 1 island platform, and two entrances.  The main Fulltime booth at Bainbridge Ave and East 206^th Street has 2 street stairs, 2 platform stairs and one single up escalator.  The stairs from mezzanine to platform show evidence that half of the width is closed and is converted to a station storage area.   The Part time entrance at East 205^th Street and Perry Ave lies in a residential area and has 2 street stairs and one ramp (no stairs) to the extreme eastern end of the platform.  Platform tiles match those of Bedford Park (green).  The signs to the Part time booth also show some strange hours of operation, it is open late on weeknights; however it closes at 1:40 PM on Saturdays. 

Bedford Park Boulevard Bedford Park Blvd/Grand Boulevard and Concourse)  Opened 7/1/1933 Station has 3 tracks, 2 island platforms, D trains use the wall tracks while rush hour B trains use the center track.  2 mezzanines once joined by a full length passageway both inside and outside fare control.  This passageway is now closed and sealed off.  Part-time mezzanine at West 203^rd St. has ghost booth, and was converted to 24/7 HEET access in 2003.  Part-time side also has 2 street stairs and 2 stairs to each platform.  Fulltime side at Bedford Park has 2 street stairs, 2 stairs to each platform and passageway to Bedford Park Blvd underpass.  NOTE: Over half of the stations in the Bronx segment of the Concourse line currently, or used to have, exit underpasses.  These exits usually sit directly alongside the intersecting roadway traveling underneath the Grand Concourse as a tunnel.  When we discuss the underpass, we refer to the pedestrian exit to street (outside fare control), not to be confused with subway underpasses from one platform to another inside fare control.  Had the intermediate full length mezzanine been open, there would’ve been 2 additional platform stairs, 2 stairs are still standing, and 2 were removed.  Current tower sits at south side, and has been replaced by a new Concourse Master Tower that also replaced all other towers along the Concourse line.  Tile band on track wall is green 

Kingsbridge Road (Kingsbridge Road and Grand Concourse) Opened 7/1/1933:  Express stop, 3 tracks, 2 island platforms, 2 mezzanines (one above station and one below station.).  Full time side is at north end and has 2 street stairs and one stair to each platform.  Part Time side is at Kingsbridge Road at south end and has 3 downstairs to Lower Mezzanine, with exits to street via 2 stairs to each side of the Concourse or Kingsbridge Road underpass.  However, prior to a switch in booth operations in the late 90’s, the Fulltime side was at Kingsbridge Road, and the Part time side was at 196^th Street on the north end.  There were 2 additional exits to the South side of Kingsbridge Road, these were closed in the 1990’s and are still visible.  Tile band is Marine Blue and vent chambers are also present.  A strange white wall is near the Kingsbridge Road side of the platforms, it exists for no apparent reason I know.   

Fordham Road Between Fordham Road and 188^th Streets/Grand Concourse) opened 7/1/1933:  This is the largest station on the Concourse line with plenty of hidden stairs and passageways and is home to one of the largest shopping strips in New York City.  Express stop with the usual 3 tracks and 2 island platforms, the Southbound platform widens at the north end to allow a wall that splits the middle track with the Southbound local track, creating 2 “side” platforms, the only station to have a mix of island and side platforms split up in the entire NYC subway system.  The platform wall used to have a passageway when you came down the first staircase at Fordham Road side, from middle track to local track, it is cordoned off permanently.  Fulltime side is actually at East 188^th Street, with 4 street stairs, one for each corner, while Part time side at Fordham Road has 2 street stairs, both at east side of Fordham and Concourse.  There use to be 2 additional street stairs and passageway at the west side of Fordham and Grand Concourse, (that’s nearest where the former Alexander’s/Caldor stores once stood in the large building, today there are a mix of stores inside.  There also was once an exit inside the store) the passageway and exits are closed, but it is a result of the shortening of the mezzanine and elimination of 2 platform stairs for each side.  Uptown side has 6 platform stairs and 2 closed stairs.  Downtown side has 6 platform stairs and 4 closed stairs, 2 existing at north end of local side, and 2 removed stairs at south side.  Tile band is purple with black borders.  A tower was on the south end at the Manhattan-bound platform, and has been closed and removed .

182^nd -183^rd Street (183rd Street/Grand Boulevard and Concourse) Opened 7-1/1933:  Local stop, 4 tracks, 2 side platforms, full length mezzanine (as originally used, now truncated).  It has 4 street stairs at 183^rd Street, 4 stairs to each platform.  Crossover is only allowed from the northern 2 stairs.  Ghost booths are at both ends at 182^nd St. and 184^th St. Passageway (both closed.), with additional staircase closed at far north end.  Tiles show evidence of wrong color used at both sides, as this station is in need of some TLC.  When the original purple tiles were peeling off from the platform wall, NYCT replaced them with odd lilac/blue tiles instead.  This causes an interesting mismatch on the tile band. 

Tremont Avenue (Between Tremont Ave and West 179^th Streets/Grand Concourse) opened 7/1/1933:  This station was renovated in house in 1999, and is an express stop, 3 tracks and 2 island platforms.  Prior to the renovation, the station had a full length mezzanine connecting both the north and south side.  Fulltime booth is on the south side at Tremont Ave, with 3 street stairs and two stairs to each platform.  Street stair on West side has slightly long passageway to one block north of Tremont Ave.  Artwork “Uptown New York” by Frank Leslie Hampton (2000) uses a mixture of glass and marble mosaics to create a full width display of a Bronx apartment building with rooftop garden, and clothes hanging out on a line to dry on a cloudy day.  North Part time side has ghost booth (it was removed during the renovation, a sneak tactic to close booths during ongoing station renovations), 2 street stairs (one to each side of the Concourse at 179^th St.) and 2 stairs to each platform.  There is also one staircase at the center of each platform, this only leads to a storage area, however the passageway can still be seen from platform level.  Artwork “Uptown New York” by Frank Leslie Hampton (2000), uses glass stone and marble to create a large, lifelike picture of the rooftop of a Bronx apartment building and the happenings on it, the clothes hanging out to dry, indicates a bright sunny day.  This mural is as wide as the mezzanine and faces the Fulltime booth area.  Tile band and name mosaics are replicas of original purple band, before the renovation, the condition of the track walls were among the worst in the system.  A tower was on the south end at the Manhattan-bound platform, and is now closed

174^th – 175^th Street  174/175 Streets (Between West 174^th St/Selwyn Ave and West 175^th Street/Morris Ave on the Grand Concourse)  Opened 7/1/1933.

This is an very unusual station, at one time it had six entrances and three booths.  Today the station is whittled down to just 4 entrances and two booths.  The station is divided into 2 mezzanines.  The full time booth is located on the south end and covers 174^th St. and the south side.  To exit the south side, one must go downstairs to exit, although there is an old fashioned HXT exit only at the Bedford Park Blvd-bound side still in use.  A similar HXT on the Manhattan-bound side is cordoned off.  Once reaching the mezzanine, you can use the passageway behind the booth to exit below to 174^th St underpass or the east stairs going back up to reach the Concourse.  The north mezzanine is part time and only 2 staircases both lead to the east and west sides of the Concourse.  The closed off areas are the following:  Ghost Booth at north end, going downstairs from platform to mezzanine that you could’ve exited at Morris Ave, stairs at north mezzanine leading to the Ghost booth 2 levels down and Southbound passageway and stairs leading to west side of the Grand Concourse at the Fulltime end.  This is the only “underground” station in the entire subway system that is built above the expressway (The Cross Bronx expressway was built 20 years after the Concourse line opened and posed a challenge to Robert Moses and his engineers on how to cut across a 1933 subway tunnel.).  There is a painted mural that dots the outside of the south Fulltime entrance at 174^th St. and is an MTA authorized artwork.  “Love Life” (1995) was done by William Walsh and is funded by various public and private partnerships depict various people from different cultures.  The paintings surround the station entrance and the columns supporting the subway underneath the Grand Concourse.  I observed garbage strewn along the closed exit only passageway at the Southbound platform.  There are three staircases to platform, 2 to upper mezzanine at north end and one downstairs to lower mezzanine at south end.  North Mezzanine has 2 street stairs, one for each side of the Concourse.  South mezzanine has one street stair to east side of Concourse and stairs down to East 174^th St./Selwyn Avenues (and where the artwork is located).  The remains of the closed mezzanine at Morris Street at the north end and the staircase to the west side of the Concourse above 174^th St. on the south end are clearly visible.  One name tablet on the S/B platform has the wrong color tiles replaced, thus the name “174-175^th Streets” is chopped in half and barely readable.  Tile band is orange .

170^th Street (West 170^th/171^st Streets and Grand Concourse) opened 7/1/1933:  Local stop, 3 tracks, and 2 side platforms.  Fulltime side is actually at 171^st Street at north end, with crossover mezzanine, 2 street stairs and 2 stairs to each platform.  This station and 167^th St. have unusual tiles, the name tablets are not orange and consistent with the rest of the IND stations built in the 1930’s, they are brown and the lettering is softer and bigger.  There are two platform level Part time exits, one for each platform and both were connected to the underpass at 170^th St. tunnel, and this area is abandoned.  Northbound side is exit-only with 1 street stair; southbound Part time area has 2 street stairs and a booth.  Original signs to 170^th St underpass still exist on the station wall near the closed staircases.

Between 170^th Street and 167^th Street, there is a 4^th track next to us.  It ends at bumper block and goes nowhere, except it merges with the Manhattan-bound local track.  This gives the clearest evidence that then-NYC Mayor John Hylan and the IND wanted a 4 track line in the Bronx to give the most leverage in competing directly with the IRT’s Jerome/9^th Ave elevated lines to the west and to their hopes that the el will fold and be torn down.  Evidently, they had better success with the 3^rd Ave line, than the Jerome line.  The platforms were probably designed later, but before the 1933 completion of the line, as the plans were scaled back to the current 3 track configuration. 

167 STREET

167^th Street 167^th Street (West 167^th St and Grand Concourse) opened 7/1/1933:  local station, side platforms, and 2 tracks.  Similar to 170^th St in layout, there is 1 Fulltime mezzanine and 2 Part time platform level fare control areas.  Fulltime mezzanine side at far north end has 4 street stairs to 167^th St, one stair to each corner, and is larger than the 170^th Street mezzanine.  Alongside the sides of the mezzanine are two winding stairs to 167^th St. underpass and was permanently closed for security reasons in 1993.  There is no pedestrian access to the underpass from either side outside on street level.  At the south end are 2 Part time areas to McClellan Street, the South side has a ghost booth due to the 2003 booth closings,  while Northbound end is exit only.  Each Part time mezzanine has 1 street stair.  A tower sits on the far north end at the Manhattan-bound platform, and is usable.  This tower was closed and removed . 

161^st Street Yankee Stadium (River Ave/West 161^st Street) IND Section opened 7/1/1933, IRT Section opened 7/12/1917:    Is described on the complexes page. 

155^th Street 8^th Avenue (Frederick Douglass Blvd, underneath West 155^th St overpass at east end of Polo Grounds Houses)   Opened 7/1/1933:  The Polo Grounds and home of baseball’s NY Giants was directly upstairs from this station before they packed their bags and headed west, the stadium was used until 1964.  Station currently has only one crossover mezzanine; however there was another mezzanine at the south end.  Much of the station is boarded up, presumably after the Polo Grounds closed in 1964 to make way for public housing that currently is in place.  An extra-wide set of Single Street stairs (to accommodate baseball crowds at that time the station opened) will take to 8^th Ave, there is no access to West 155^th St and the Macombs Dam Bridge unless some amount of roundabout walking is involved.  Current station has 3 stairs to each platform, and 4 closed off staircases.  Some of the abandoned stairs were removed to enhance security.  A tower sits on the south end at the Manhattan-bound platform, it is abandoned.  When the IRT elevated and later Polo Grounds shuttle ran upstairs, there was a provision for transfer tickets between the IND underground level and the IRT shuttle level.  A very, very steep walk upstairs was in store for those who elected this transfer.   

145th Street-Harlem (St. Nicholas Ave between 145th and 147th Streets) opened 9/10/1932:  This station has 2 levels, the upper level is where the A (See A Lefferts and A Rockaway)and C trains stop, and the lower level is where the Concourse B and D trains stop here.  There are 2 full time mezzanines, one at 145th street (4 street stairs available, one for each corner), and the other at 147th street (2 street stairs).  Each side has 3 stairs from mezzanine to the upper level, and 1 escalator from each mezzanine, directly down to the Uptown only side lower level (B/D) platform.  There are no escalators from the Downtown side to upper level.  Like many other IND stations when first opened, it had a full length mezzanine connecting both of today’s mezzanines; this space is now used by the NYPD as a Transit Bureau District Office.  Unknown to most people, there was also exits in the middle of the closed mezzanine, there actually is (what appears to be) an original 1932 IND sign on the Downtown, upper level side that sits overhead in the middle of the platform. To see this sign, you need to stand and face the north end it reads “exit to street”.  Outside of the station, on the street, a closed and slabbed over staircase still sits on the Northwest corner of 146th Street and St. Nicholas.  The upper level is 4 tracks and 2 island platforms; however the lower level has 3 tracks and 2 island platforms.  The Uptown platform on the lower level is wider than the Downtown platform, the possible IND plan was to make the Concourse line in the Bronx as 4 tracks, but plans were scaled back down to 3.  The Concourse line opened a year later after the first IND line (1933).  This station is where midday and evening B trains terminate on the middle track before returning back to Brooklyn.  During AM and PM rush hours, the same middle track is used by D Concourse express trains in the peak direction traveled only (AM Southbound and PM Northbound).  From this point down to 59th Street/Columbus Circle, there are 4 lines (A (See A Lefferts and A Rockaway) , B, C, D) running.  From 145th the train enters a maze of complex switches, but is actually easier to figure things out when you ride area between these points a few times each way.

125th Street (125th Street and Saint Nicholas Ave.)  Opened 9/10/1932:  Express stop in the heart of Harlem’s busiest commercial strip, it is an express stop with 4 tracks and 2 island platforms.   The station had a renovation in the 1980’s, during which the set of stairs to each platform at the north end were removed.  The current plan restored these 2 stairs at the far North end.  Station has full length mezzanine with one each of  Fulltime and Part time fare control areas.  Fulltime side at 125th street has 4 street stairs and Part time side has 2 street stairs. There are 5 stairs to each platform.  There are large scale photos of Harlem in the 1920’s and 1930’s,  In the middle of the mezzanine, there is evidence of closed stairs and exits to 126^th street, one on each side.  One of the stairs appears to lead into a business that existed at street level.  The tile band on the platform walls is untouched from the 1980’s renovation and is green 

59^th Street Columbus Circle   IND opened on 9/10/1932 and is described on the Complexes Page 

7^th Avenue 53^rd Street opened on 12/15/1940 and has two tracks and an island platform on each level. The north track serves Eighth Avenue Service (E train) and the South serves Sixth avenue trains (B and D). The south exit leads to Broadway and the North to Seventh Avenue. Trains to lower Manhattan and Brooklyn are on the upper level and trains to upper Manhattan, Bronx and Queens are on the lower level. This station has been renovated and uses panel tile rather than individually set tiles 

47^th street- 50^th Street Rockefeller Center (Ave of the Americas, between West 47^th and West 50^th Streets)   Opened 12/15/1940:   Very large station, it is an express stop along the prestigious Avenue of the Americas, with 4 tracks and 2 island platforms.  Ordinarily, since this portion of the line is express, we would be arriving on the express track.  Because of the tricky “T” shaped line configuration involving the E, F ,M and B/D lines traveling in different directions, southbound express and local trains come in on opposite sides, the B and D express trains use the local track, while F and M trains use the express track.  Station has numerous passageways and exits, a total count of at least 14 entrances from street level alone, were taken.  This does not include several passageways through Rockefeller Center, all outside fare control.  Fulltime booth is at north end of full-length mezzanine, at West 49^th Street, with 1 passageway through Rockefeller Center on the East side, and another set of passageways through various Concourse levels of office buildings along the west side of Avenue of the Americas.  A passageway to one northern Part time staircase leads to Radio City Music Hall/West 50^th Street and is open late during evening performances.  Another passageway along west side of 49^th St, was recently extended to connect with the BMT 49^th St station on the N, R and former W lines (no free transfer). Middle fare control at West 48^th Street has ghost booth and all-day HEET access.  South fare control at West 47^th St has a Part time booth and more staircases.  Eagle eye movie fans who saw the 1976 thriller “Marathon Man”, will note the old KK rush hour subway route on a street entrance of the east side of Ave of the Americas and West 47^th Street, before the routes’ demise.  Each platform has 7 stairs to mezzanine, the north end of the Northbound platform has an active tower, and is depressed about 10 feet below the Southbound platform.  This is to prepare the lines to be branched out towards the Bronx and Queens.  Color band is red, with dark brown borders, “47” and “50” alternate each other below the tile band 

42^nd Street Bryant Park IND opened on 12/15/1940 and is discussed on the complexes page

34^th Street Herald Square opened on 12/15/1940 and is discussed on the complexes page  

West 4^th Street (Ave of the Americas between West 3^rd St and Waverly Place) Upper level opened 9/10/1932, Lower level opened 12/15/1940. has four tracks on the upper level, serving A,( see A Lefferts and A Rockaway)  C and E trains, a lower Mezzanine and then a lower level serving B, D, F , M and former V trains. The lower Mezzanine is full width and length and also holds numerous offices for NYCT. The north end of the upper level has exits to the street. The south end of the upper level ramps up to a crossover and a booth. Full ADA is  via the south end.. A tower is at the south end of the southbound lower level platform. The North exit leads to West Eighth Street and the south to west Third Street. The exit to west Fourth Street has been removed. The station has a secondary name of Washington Square. 

Broadway Lafayette (West Houston Street between Broadway and Lafayette Ave)   Station  is approx 3 levels deep.  Opened 10/1/1936. The relatively high ceiling at the North end indicates a ramp was  planned . This station features only 1 fulltime fare control area at Broadway and West Houston, with 2 street stairs.  Before the renovation, the fare control was situated in the middle, between the 2 Broadway entrances and the Lafayette Ave entrance.  The Lafayette Ave entrance on the south side is currently 24/7 HEET access.  A new entrance and booth on the North side of Lafayette Ave and Houston was constructed during the renovation, the booth fell victim to the 2003 ax, as is now listed a ghost booth and part-time HEET access.  There is an intermediate level between the mezzanine/IRT level and platform level, it contains artwork on the columns.  “Signal” by Mel Chin (1998) uses various materials to create a lighted appearance at the bottom of the column.  There are 3 stairs from each platform to intermediate level and an additional 2 stairs from intermediate to mezzanine level.  At the far western end (due north in accordance to lines traveled) is another set of stairs (1 for each side) that lead directly up to fare control, 3 levels and a steep walk up. It is now included the the Broadway Lafayette/Bleecker Street Complex.

Grand Street Grand and Chrystie Streets.)  Opened 11/27/1967:  This is one of 2 additional stations added during the massive IND Chrystie St. Connection from 1967-68, and plays an important part for customers traveling to/from Chinatown.  Station is 2 tracks on 2 side platforms, 2 stairs to each platform, and 3 street stairs to the only mezzanine in the station.  The station originally had 2 stairs to the east side of Chrystie St, the 3rd staircase on the west side of Chrystie St was added in the early 1990’s to alleviate overcrowding in the station.  Recent artwork installed at the mezzanine and platform suggests red clay formations made on train sets.  At the Brooklyn-bound side, there is a small sign “Change Radio Channel to B1” indicating the Train Operator must change his channel from B2 (IND) to B1 (BMT), before crossing the Manhattan Bridge.

As we enter the Manhattan Bridge   we see a bellmouth inward. This bellmouth was originally Broadway Line Q/ QB used to enter the North side of the bridge  before the Chrystie realignment.

We are crossing the North Side of the Manhattan Bridge, while the Broadway Line uses the south side.  Before the IND came over the Manhattan Bridge in 1967, the north 2 tracks were for Broadway Line trains, while the south 2 tracks were used for trains using the Nassau St. Loop.  For more details on the Manhattan Bridge track configuration, please see www.nycsubway.org for more details.

As we cross the Manhattan Bridge on the south side, we see evidence that the same side was used for Broad connection trains (before Chrystie connection in 11/27/1967), at the tunnel mouth on the Manhattan side.  Prior to 6^th Ave opening, Broadway N and Q/QB trains used the north side of the bridge, while QT Brighton trains used the south side after using the Nassau St loop from Chambers St.  For more information on the Nassau St loop and Chambers St, please see the J Line Page . 

We  skip  the  abandoned Myrtle Avenue Station and also skip DeKalb Ave via. the bypass track. As we cross  a maze of switches, we always keep to the left side in order to use DeKalb bypass.

Pacific Street opened on 9/13/1915 . It is now called Atlantic Avenue Barclays Center and is discussed on the  complexes page 

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.

We now leave 36^th Street and curve to see daylight as we enter the West End Line. These tracks are non-electrified and run at grade, with grade crossings at3 ^d and 2^nd Avenues. Many R68/68A train sets as well as earlier models, were first delivered here. We enter a half mile long tunnel and two tracks now become four tracks. We use the outer two tracks while to our left we see the end of the 38^th Street Yard, where mostly work trains and some R Trains are stored here. A master tower, Joe Murphy Tower, named after an employee of the tower who served in the National Guard and was killed during the 1991 Gulf War, controls all switches along 9^th Avenue, 62^nd Street and most of 4^th Avenue is also located here. This site extends our gratitude to our armed forces and their efforts to safeguard our nation from foreign threats.

Before entering 9^th Avenue two more tracks descend down to the lower level, while the middle two tracks merge into a single track.

9^th Avenue (East side of 9^th Ave between 38^th and 39^th Streets) Opened 6/24/1916.  This station has a station house on street level, and has a sealed entrance on left side facing from outside.  2 island platforms, with 3 tracks and two staircases for each platform, comprise the upper level.  The lower level was formerly used for the Culver Shuttle (and prior to the 1954 IND Culver connection from Ditmas to Church Avenues, a through route from the McDonald Ave elevated to the 4^th Ave line, along much of the present ROW on the D line today), and was last used for the ending of the original “Crocodile Dundee” (1986), film, a makeshift replacement for the 59^th St/Columbus Circle station.  However, the giveaways that make it clearly 9^th Ave are the wall mosaic “9” and the sunlight to the far end while watching the film’s ending.  The current lower level is so dark, and there are no safety plates on the staircases.  A fluorescent light is left on at the S/B side.  The 2 sets of staircases to lower 9^th Ave are still intact.  The tablet grilles in the mezzanine are still left intact, such as a newsstand that stood opposite to the current location of the station agent booth.  Although the Culver Shuttle bid farewell on 5/11/1975, the el. structure along 37/38^th Streets was still standing until the mid. 1980’s.  The Manhattan-bound platform is slightly wider than the Coney Island-bound platform; a 4^th track once existed at this station but it is unclear whether it served the upper or lower level at this station.  Artwork is by Christopher Russell and is entitled Bees for Sunset Park, 2012. It is Cast bronze.

Christopher Russell’s artwork is centered on the image of the bee. The artist imagined the station as a kind of beehive, a center of activity, with many individuals converging, like bees, darting in and out, to and from their many pursuits. The historic building with its central entrance and peaked roof evokes the feeling of a beehive. The artist found the image of the bee as an appropriate motif since the station’s architecture is inspired by the Arts and Crafts style. During the Arts and Crafts period, artists and designers utilized the bee, the hive, and honeycomb extensively, in the decorative wall coverings, objects and furnishings.

Incorporating this imagery, Russell designed 2 sets of gates and finials for the fences that surround the open spaces at each side of the station. The cast bronze gates are based on honeycombs, greatly magnified. These monumental honeycombs are populated by equally magnified bees depicted in their crowds, busily occupied. The cells of the honeycomb are open, allowing light to pass through, and bringing out the hexagonal pattern of the comb, which creates depth and visual interest, when viewed from a distance.

The finials, atop each the tallest posts along the fences, feature a single bee, larger than life, working on an equally exaggerated flower head. The bees are intended as an affirmation of nature in the city, reminding passers-by of their fertility, productivity, and community. The artwork was fabricated by Modern Art Foundry.

As we rise from embankment to elevated outside 9^th Avenue station we clearly see the old Culver Line ROW below us and to the right side at the curve. There is also a platform present, this was installed in the late 1980s for NYCT employees only and does not represent part of the original Culver ROW. Although there is no express service along this point to Bay 50^th Street, there is a third track along this elevated route. The identification of Express and Local stations is for the purpose of the way the stations were originally built and does not reflect any express service used.    From here to Bay 50^th Street all stations have been renovated and now feature Tudor style windscreens.

Ft. Hamilton Parkway On New Utrecht Ave between 44^th and 45^th Street, crossing Fort Hamilton Parkway in the middle). Opened 6/24/1916 .Local stop with two side platforms and a Ghost Booth on north side at 44^th Street, mezzanine and stairs left intact. Current (2011) plans call for a temporary reopening until renovation is completed. The North mezzanine also has evidence of windows at one time.  Current south side mezzanine has old buzzer lights, 2 stairs to street, and 2 stairs to each platform.  Artwork is by Portia Munson and is entitled Gardens of Fort Hamilton Parkway Station, 2012. It is Laminated glass in platform windscreens.

The Gardens of Fort Hamilton Parkway Station are six sets of flower compositions in laminated glass which bring elements of nature onto the subway platform. Artist Portia Munson created the work from digital scans of actual flowers that are realized as larger than life to create fantastical gardens. Each composition represents a garden at different times in the growing season. The first, Double Happiness, represents early spring. The second grouping, Peony is made up of flowers that bloom from late spring in May. The third, July, depicts mid-summer and the fourth, Hibiscus, shows flowers commonly seen toward the end of August. The last gardens are Morning Glory created in September and October, illustrating a garden in late Fall. These six different gardens are comprised of flowers that can be seen growing in Brooklyn.

Each image appears like an aerial plan of imagined flower gardens. Using arrangements inspired by mandalas, representing the universe, the flowers have been placed into orbiting combinations of color and shape, preserving what was in bloom on the day that the images were created. The large fantastical flower beds are meant to function as meditation garden for subway travelers.

50^th Street (On New Utrecht Ave at 50^th Street) opened 6/24/1916:  Same as 55^th Street, renovated mezzanine, but only 2 streets stairs are present.  The platform is also straight and not curved like 55^th Street. There is no artwork

55^th Street  (on New Utrecht Ave at intersection of 13^th Ave and 55^th Street.)  Opened 6/24/1916:  The mezzanine is renovated and new roof canopies on platform.  Chain link fence replaces bars and new square windows also in mezzanine.  3 stairs to street and 2 stairs for each platform are available at this station. The platforms are curved . There is no artwork

62^nd Street/ New Utrecht Avenue opened on 9/15/1916 for the West End Line and is discussed on the complexes page .Artwork for this line is by Andrea Dezsö and is entitled Nature Rail, 2012. It is Stainless steel.

Nature Rail, created by Andrea Dezsö, is a stainless steel sculptural work installed in the railings of the station’s transfer areas connecting the D with the N line. Nature Rail is composed of five modular compositions by Dezsö’s which can be combined depending on the location and configuration of the station railings.

The plant and animal life that survives on its own, in the urban environment surrounding the elevated train captured Dezsö’s imagination and served as the central theme of Nature Rail. Plants—trees, vines, flowers, and small, wild animals—grasshoppers, bees, birds and rabbits, are depicted in silhouetted details using laser cut-out with sandblasted finishes. The resulting work resembles the traditional paper cut, a popular folk art medium familiar to many of the ethnic groups who make Bensonhurst their home. For Dezsö, Chinese cut paper art may differ from Italian, Jewish or Mexican decorative and folk cut paper art, yet there are common elements among each, including natural subjects and varying degrees of symmetry. With her work, she creates a delightful visual focal point, which can be seen by all who enter the station as well as those on the street below.

71^st Street (71^st Street and New Utrecht Avenue)  Opened 6/24/1916:  Same setup as 79^th Street on both ends, one part time and one Full time area.  Difference is Fulltime area has 4 street stairs instead of 79^th Street’s 2 staircases.  Platform extensions appear to the south, steel fence is present also.  An error on one of the platform signs does reveal “Bay Ridge Ave” as the main cross street on the Part time side.  The exit actually leads to 70^th Street, while Bay Ridge Ave is one block south of this exit. Artwork is by Joan Linder and is entitled The Flora of Bensonhurst, 2012. It is Laminated glass on station platforms

Elevated stations of Bensonhurst provide a dramatic opportunity for glass artwork at the platform level. Joan Linder created drawings of flora based upon wild vegetation seen from the streets and lots within a 6-block radius of the 71st Street station. The result is an elegant, dynamic and specific tribute to the landscape of Bensonhurst, which endures, among other things, as an echo of Brooklyn’s past. These panels act as windows to a lost history—a place shaped by Native Americans and farmers. The botanical images offer passengers an experience that is a counterpoint to the built environment of the city.

Entitled The Flora of Bensonhusrt, the work is composed of six intricate drawings of plants flowing in the direction of train. Three on each platform, the plants rendered in cool colors (blue, green and purple) on the Manhattan bound platform alert the riders as they venture out in the morning. Whereas, those in warm colors (red, turquoise, and orange) are placed on the Brooklyn bound platform to greet the commuters as they make their way home from work.

For the project, Linder painstakingly created large scale drawings in pen and ink on paper, which then be scaled and translated into laminated glass. The plants against a milky white background resemble a lightbox, which are constantly shifting under the daylight and also viewable at night from the street level.

79^th Street (79th Street and New Utrecht Ave) opened 6/22/1915:  Local stop with 3 tracks and 2 side platforms.  There are separate areas to use this station. The Fulltime side at 79th Street is at the south end and has 2 street stairs and 2 stairs to each platform.  The north end at 77^th Street is divided up around the closed and sealed mezzanine.  Fare control is outside the mezzanine as you walk upstairs from street, no crossunder is allowed at this end.  The Manhattan-bound side has HEET access but no room for any MVM machines.  The Coney Island bound side is exit only, no entry from this end.  It is evident that there is a ghost booth inside the mezzanine when it was open and usable.   New tall steel fencing is present on both platforms. Artwork is by Susanna Starr and is entitled A Continuous Thread, 2012. It is Laminated glass in platform windscreens

A Continuous Thread created by Susanna Starr was inspired by the lace doily that has particular significance to the predominantly Italian-American community in the Bensonhurst neighborhood. Lace doilies are iconic images of home. Passed from one generation to the next, connecting the past, present, and future, the colorful laces evoke home and belonging while referencing traditional handcrafts and cultures in the neighborhood such as Chinese paper cuts and Latin American textiles. Accompanying the artwork is a poem by Susan B. Auld, titled In the Shadow of the Design, which Starr considers an important element of the artwork.

In the medium of glass, each of the doilies is made up of two identical layers of brightly colored lace pattern, which were then meticulously positioned to reveal one from another. The effect of the layering adds a physical dimension and depth. The layered laces shift and change when seen from different angles, and as the light changes throughout the day. Though the images are based upon vintage lace doilies, the color combinations of the windows are graphic and modern. As a counter-balance to the landscape of the subway platforms, these large scale and at the same time, intimate domestic objects, act as visual anchors that hover delicately within the station windscreens, a continuous layering of thread.

18^th Avenue (18th Avenue at New Utrecht Ave/85th Street) Opened 6/22/1915.  Station sits in between two curves to the right, platform extensions are to the north on both sides. Has a Single mezzanine with 3 street stairs and 2 stairs to each platform.  While the “French Connection” chase sequence continued past this station, 20 years later some exterior scenes of the Steven Segal action film “Out For Justice” (1992) were shot outside this station.  Standing at either end, one can see trains curve into the station as well . Artwork is by Francesco Simeti and is entitled Bensonhurst Gardens, 2012. It is Laminated glass in platform windscreens

Bensonhurst Gardens depicts imaginary landscapes comprised of native plants with an unexpected array of flowers growing side by side. Simeti selected plants and flowers that are culturally meaningful to the three main ethnic groups currently found in Bensonhurst: Chinese, Italian, and Jewish. The 32 laminated glass panels were created through a process of collage.

One of these examples includes the rose and lily which reference the Santa Rosalia Festival which is highly celebrated in the neighborhoods served by the station. The artist’s aim is not to make the individual panels immediately recognizable to a specific culture but to function as a framework, creating surreal compositions that belong to different times, cultures and habitats. In addition, Simeti’s “light-box” compositions comment on society’s relationship to nature by showing the soil which nurtures the plants also collecting society’s cast-off detritus.

20^th Avenue (20^th Avenue and 86^th Street)  Opened 6/29/1916:  Local stop, 3 tracks, 2 side platforms, 4 street stairs, and 2 stairs to each platform from the only mezzanine.  The Coney Island-bound platform is slightly to the south of the Manhattan bound platform, which accounts for the locations where the platforms were extended in the 1960’s Artwork is by Odili Donald Odita. It is entitled Kaleidoscope, 2012. It is Laminated glass in platform windscreens.

Kaleidoscope, created by Odili Donald Odita, is a laminated glass installation spanning throughout the elevated station platforms, which cross the commercial street and neighborhood hub of 20th Avenue.

Odita is known for creating site-specific wall painting and installations that use abstract color patterns as a personal response to and visual memory of the specific site. Odita shares his perceptions of the Bensonhurst neighborhood in his choice of color and patterns in the artwork. He was particularly aware of the changes in this neighborhood since the 1990s and its parallels to the evolution of communities in general. Impressions of the neighborhood became his major inspiration in the design and the color palette for Kaleidoscope.

Composed of forty panels of vibrant color patterns in an invigorating diagonal movement, the formation of bold to pastel colors in Kaleidoscope exists similarly to the way that color exists in quilts, creating patterns and visual interest while symbolizing the many individual elements it takes to compose a unified whole, in this case, a community. Odita also sought to have the work represent the vitality and diversity within the neighborhood’s businesses. Kaleidoscope represents the vitality of its location at the 20th Avenue subway, and like the subway itself, resonates throughout the City.

Bay Parkway (22^nd Avenue) (Bay Parkway and 86^th Street)   Opened 6/29/1916:  Express stop, 2 island platforms, the center track is served by either platform while the 2 local tracks are at the outer ends. There are 2 stairs to each platform from mezzanine level, the windows in the mezzanine are usable and are facing to the west.  However on the area over Bay Parkway to any of the 4 street stairs, there is black tar covering what were once windows.  Had the windows existed today, you would have a clear, unobstructed view on both directions of Bay Parkway below. Artwork is by Xin Song and is entitled Tree Of Life, 2012. It is laminated glass in Mezzanine window

Located in the mezzanine window at the Bay Parkway Station, Tree of Life bridges the art of contemporary photo collage and traditional Chinese paper cut to evoke the community that surrounds the Bay Parkway Station, in a masterwork of precision and grace.

Xin Song began by photographing the busy street scene below the elevated station. Using traditional paper cutting techniques, she transformed the colorful imagery from her photos into an intricate pattern, creating a symmetrical and vibrant flowering tree. This unique work is laminated between thick panes of glass, and can be viewed from two sides. From the outside of the window, a black silhouette appears, creating a graphic filigree reminiscent of Brooklyn’s historic iron work. The interior view, which serves as the focal point upon entering the station mezzanine, is a colorful collage of the contemporary life in the neighborhood. For Song, the subway itself, the surrounding neighborhoods and peoples’ daily movements, are the threads that connect the diverse community.

The complex interplay of Song’s cut paper designs with the color, forms and figures meticulously cut out from the photographs offer riders a visual record to continuously rediscover their surroundings. The pattern and techniques in Tree of Life will speak to all, including the many Asian-American families who have transformed the community in recent years.

25^th Avenue (25th Avenue and 86th Street)  Opened 6/29/1916: Similar to Bay 50th Street, it has 3 tracks, 2 side platforms, 4 street stairs, and 1 stair to each platform.  This station is adopted by students of Lafayette High School as part of NYCT’s Adopt a Station program.  This is the clerk’s answer when Popeye Doyle asks for the next stop in pursuing the sniper.   As we all know, the tough detective takes someone else’s car and starts one of the best chase sequences ever filmed, up to 62^nd Street station on this line, car to train.  Although the entire sequence appears to be shot on location, some close up scenes (the car narrowly missing the woman and her stroller) were actually filmed in Bushwick, near Central and Myrtle Avenues as well . Artwork is by Amy Cheng and is entitled Rediscovery, 2012. It is laminated glass in platform windscreens.

Amy Cheng’s series of four windscreen compositions are designed as imaginative land and skyscapes representing mystery and adventure. They refer to the largeness of life, the wonders and mystery of the natural world, rendered in resplendent color and form.

As an immigrant, Cheng feels a deep affinity with the West End D Line neighborhoods, particularly the work ethic and diversity of the residents. A Turkish restaurant sits cheek-by-jowl with a Japanese restaurant, which faces a Spanish bodega, which shares the sidewalk with a Chinese green grocer, who faces an Italian bakery, who neighbors an Afghan restaurant, and so on. It is as if the places of business were proclaiming in unison: “We come from all over the globe, we have chosen to make our living in this corner of Brooklyn, and we want to share the riches of our culture and cuisine with you.”

Whether from this year or 100 years ago, it takes courage for immigrants to leave the safety of the familiar and set out for the greater unknown world. Rediscovery echoes the human longing for discovery, adventure, and spiritual quests.

Bay 50^th Street (Bay 50th Street at Stillwell Ave) Opened 7/21/1917:  This stop is where the classic chase sequence, “The French Connection” (1971) started; the sniper boards the train here, and then hijacks it.  Of course the change booth where Popeye Doyle asks the clerk the next stop of the train which the sniper boarded is no longer there.   This is a Local stop, 3 tracks, 2 side platforms, 1 Fulltime mezzanine with 4 street stairs and 1 stair to each platform.  There are 1960’s Platform extensions visible to the north on the Manhattan-bound platform and to the south on the Coney Island bound platform, allowing you to see trains enter and leave the yard. The tracks are from both ends past this station.  The station is positioned between 2 yard leads to/from, Coney Island Yard.  An abandoned tower sits above and the middle of the Manhattan-bound platform.  It is replaced by a modern tower about 20 feet south of the original tower.  This station is adopted by the students of John Dewey H.S. as part of the NYCT’s Adopt a Station Program . Artwork is by Dan Zeller and is entitled Internal Connectivity, 2012. It is laminated glass in platform windscreens

Bay 50th station is adjacent to John Dewey High School and is one station away from Coney Island, which provides a natural setting for Dan Zeller’s detailed and intricate abstract drawings to address the connectivity of lives in an urban environment. Zeller studied satellite imagery, local streets, and biological systems along the West End Line (D) and interpreted them into abstract patterns. Six drawings were recreated in luminous color in laminated glass panels installed along the platform windscreens.

As the artist’s response to the site, these colorful images have an organic quality that is in concert with the green space next to the station and the nearby bay area. In his drawings, Zeller introduces colors and curvilinear elements to the rigid structure of the elevated train line, as it sweeps through the Brooklyn terrain. Among the drawings, the satellite view of Brooklyn surrounding the Bay 50th Street station may be most recognizable in some compositions. Others reflect varying degrees of abstraction that evolved from the satellite drawing and related images. The work represents an artist keenly aware of his surroundings and who makes it his own, as he illuminates and highlights the ways in which infrastructure, nature, and human activity interact and evolve.

We leave Bay 50th and  see a subway yard to our left, this is Stillwell Yard. The Coney Island Yard complex is between the N and F lines  and is partially visible. In terms of operation both yards are combined into one yard complex. For more information on Coney Island Yards and Shops see www.nycsubway.org. As we pass the yard’s end, the N Sea Beach line meets up with us, side by side. The Sea Beach line returned to Stillwell in May 2005. We enter Stilwell Avenue.

Coney Island (Stillwell and Surf Avenues) opened 7/21/1917:  This station is fully discussed in our Complexes page.