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57th Street (IND Sixth Avenue Line)
Encyclopedia
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
.
, the other being Grand Street
. Upon its opening, the station acted as the terminus
of two services, the B
and KK, the former during rush hour and the latter during off-peak hours. The B ran to Coney Island via the Manhattan Bridge
and the West End Line
while the KK ran to 168th Street
via the Williamsburg Bridge
and Jamaica Line
. The KK was renamed as the K and truncated to Broadway Junction in 1972 and eliminated in 1976 altogether. In 1978, the MTA created the JFK Express
service to the eponymous airport, with 57th Street acting as the northern terminal of the route.
The reconstruction of the Manhattan Bridge caused radical services changes at the station. The B
was re-routed to its current route down Central Park West via the Seventh Avenue station to the Sixth Avenue Line and was replaced by the S
to Grand Street. In 1988, the Q
became a Sixth Avenue service and ran via the Manhattan Bridge to the Brighton Line
, acting as an express in Brooklyn; when the 63rd Street Tunnel opened in 1989, the Q was simultaneously extended to the new terminal at 21st Street – Queensbridge. The B, and eventually the F
, replaced the Q in 1990.
setup common to terminal stations. 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 crew area still exists. They were abandoned after the 1989 63rd Street extension to 21st Street – Queensbridge, but was 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 booth
s, located inside one of the three fare control areas at mezzanine
level. The door on the booth is broken. 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. The island platform is comparatively wide. There are six staircases to the platform and eight street staircases spread on both sides of Sixth Avenue from 56th to 57th Streets. The station walls are plain white, with "57th St" appearing on the wall.
. Gangsters Harry and Marv can be seen exiting onto Sixth Avenue from the station. The JFK Express
label is still visible.
57th Street Station also appears in the 2011 film "A Very Harold And Kumar 3D Christmas" in the scene when Harold and Kumar are carrying a Christmas tree "Neil Patrick Harris
" gave them before getting kidnapped by the Ukrainian mobsters.
Metro station
A metro station or subway station is a railway station for a rapid transit system, often known by names such as "metro", "underground" and "subway". It is often underground or elevated. At crossings of metro lines, they are multi-level....
on the IND Sixth Avenue Line
IND Sixth Avenue Line
The Sixth Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in the United States. It runs mainly under Sixth Avenue in Manhattan, and continues south through the Rutgers Street Tunnel to Brooklyn...
of the New York City Subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
. Located at the intersection of 57th Street
57th Street (Manhattan)
57th Street is one of New York City's major east-west thoroughfares, which runs east-west in the Midtown section of the borough of Manhattan, from the New York City Department of Sanitation's dock on the Hudson River at the West Side Highway to a small park overlooking the East River built on a...
and Sixth Avenue
Sixth Avenue (Manhattan)
Sixth Avenue – officially Avenue of the Americas, although this name is seldom used by New Yorkers – is a major thoroughfare in New York City's borough of Manhattan, on which traffic runs northbound, or "uptown"...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, it is served by the F
F (New York City Subway service)
The F Sixth Avenue Local is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange on route signs, station signs, and the official subway map, since it runs on the IND Sixth Avenue Line through Manhattan....
train at all times. North of the station, the line turns east and becomes the IND 63rd Street Line
IND 63rd Street Line
The IND 63rd Street Line is a rapid transit line of the IND division of the New York City Subway system. It runs from the IND Sixth Avenue Line at 57th Street east under 63rd Street and the East River through the 63rd Street Tunnel to the IND Queens Boulevard Line in Queens...
.
History
57th Street opened on 1 July 1968 as one of two stations added during construction of the Chrystie Street ConnectionChrystie Street Connection
The Chrystie Street Connection is a major connecting line of the New York City Subway, and is one of the few connections between lines of the BMT and IND divisions...
, the other being Grand Street
Grand Street (IND Sixth Avenue Line)
Grand Street is a station in Manhattan on the IND Sixth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. It was one of two stations added in 1967–68 as part of the Chrystie Street Connection . It is served by the D at all times and the B on weekdays.The station has two tracks and two narrow side platforms...
. Upon its opening, the station acted as the terminus
Terminal Station
Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...
of two services, the B
B (New York City Subway service)
The B Sixth Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange on route signs, station signs, and the official subway map, since it runs over the IND Sixth Avenue Line in Manhattan....
and KK, the former during rush hour and the latter during off-peak hours. The B ran to Coney Island via the Manhattan Bridge
Manhattan Bridge
The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan with Brooklyn . It was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn and the Williamsburg bridges...
and the West End Line
BMT West End Line
The BMT West End Line is a line of the New York City Subway, serving the Brooklyn, communities of Borough Park, New Utrecht, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Coney Island. The D train operates on the line at all times, providing service to Manhattan and the Bronx via the IND Sixth Avenue Line...
while the KK ran to 168th Street
168th Street (BMT Jamaica Line)
168th Street was a station on the demolished section of the BMT Jamaica Line. It had 2 tracks and 1 island platform This station was built as part of the Dual Contracts. It opened December 12, 1916, seventeen years after the closing of Canal Street Station along the Atlantic Avenue Rapid Transit...
via the Williamsburg Bridge
Williamsburg Bridge
The Williamsburg Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City across the East River connecting the Lower East Side of Manhattan at Delancey Street with the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn at Broadway near the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway...
and Jamaica Line
BMT Jamaica Line
The Jamaica Line is an elevated rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway, in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It runs from the Williamsburg Bridge southeast over Broadway to East New York, Brooklyn, and then east over Fulton Street and Jamaica Avenue to...
. The KK was renamed as the K and truncated to Broadway Junction in 1972 and eliminated in 1976 altogether. In 1978, the MTA created the JFK Express
JFK Express
The JFK Express, advertised as The Train to The Plane, was a premium-fare service of the New York City Subway, connecting midtown Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport.-Fares and Rolling Stock:...
service to the eponymous airport, with 57th Street acting as the northern terminal of the route.
The reconstruction of the Manhattan Bridge caused radical services changes at the station. The B
B (New York City Subway service)
The B Sixth Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange on route signs, station signs, and the official subway map, since it runs over the IND Sixth Avenue Line in Manhattan....
was re-routed to its current route down Central Park West via the Seventh Avenue station to the Sixth Avenue Line and was replaced by the S
Grand Street Shuttle
The Grand Street Shuttle was a New York City Subway service that operated during the long Manhattan Bridge rehabilitation, while the north tracks were closed...
to Grand Street. In 1988, the Q
Q (New York City Subway service)
The Q Broadway Express is a service of the New York City Subway. It is colored yellow on the route sign, on station signs and the official subway map, as it represents a service provided on the BMT Broadway Line through Manhattan....
became a Sixth Avenue service and ran via the Manhattan Bridge to the Brighton Line
BMT Brighton Line
The BMT Brighton Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. Local service is provided at all times by the Q train. The Q is joined by the B express train on weekdays...
, acting as an express in Brooklyn; when the 63rd Street Tunnel opened in 1989, the Q was simultaneously extended to the new terminal at 21st Street – Queensbridge. The B, and eventually the F
F (New York City Subway service)
The F Sixth Avenue Local is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored orange on route signs, station signs, and the official subway map, since it runs on the IND Sixth Avenue Line through Manhattan....
, replaced the Q in 1990.
Station layout
57th Street utilizes a simple two tracks and a single island platformIsland platform
An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...
setup common to terminal stations. 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
Terminal Station
Terminal Station is a 1953 film by Italian director Vittorio De Sica. It tells the story of the love affair between an Italian man and an American woman. The film was entered into the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.-Production:...
. The tower and crew area still exists. They were abandoned after the 1989 63rd Street extension to 21st Street – Queensbridge, but was back in service in 1998 when trains from Sixth Avenue terminated here due to long term construction work that necessitated a shuttle train
63rd Street Shuttle
The 63rd Street Shuttle was a name given to three shuttle trains that served the IND 63rd Street Line on the New York City Subway during various times from 1997 to 2001.-63rd Street Shuttle – 1997:...
from Queensbridge to 57th Street – Seventh Avenue on the BMT Broadway Line
BMT Broadway Line
The BMT Broadway Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan, New York City, United States. , it is served by three services, all colored yellow: the on the express tracks and the on the local tracks...
. Once all construction work was completed on the 63rd Street Connector to the IND Queens Boulevard Line
IND Queens Boulevard Line
The Queens Boulevard Line is a fully underground line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Manhattan and Queens, New York City, United States. The line provides crosstown service across Manhattan under 53rd Street and east through Queens to Jamaica...
in December 2001, the tower was permanently abandoned.
This station features one of the last surviving telephone booth
Telephone booth
A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box or telephone box is a small structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience. In the USA, Canada and Australia, "telephone booth" is used, while in the UK and the rest of the Commonwealth it is a "telephone...
s, located inside one of the three fare control areas at mezzanine
Mezzanine (architecture)
In architecture, a mezzanine or entresol is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building, and therefore typically not counted among the overall floors of a building. Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and projects in the form of a balcony. The term is also used for the lowest balcony in...
level. The door on the booth is broken. A plaque dedicated to retired Colonel John T. O'Neill, who served as the New York City Transit Authority
New York City Transit Authority
The New York City Transit Authority is a public authority in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City...
's Chief Engineer until his death in 1978, sits next to the booth on the west wall. The island platform is comparatively wide. There are six staircases to the platform and eight street staircases spread on both sides of Sixth Avenue from 56th to 57th Streets. The station walls are plain white, with "57th St" appearing on the wall.
In film
57th Street Station appears in the 1992 film Home Alone 2: Lost in New YorkHome Alone 2: Lost in New York
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is a 1992 American Christmas comedy film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. It is the second film in the Home Alone series and the direct sequel to Home Alone. The film stars Macaulay Culkin in the lead role as Kevin McCallister, while...
. Gangsters Harry and Marv can be seen exiting onto Sixth Avenue from the station. The JFK Express
JFK Express
The JFK Express, advertised as The Train to The Plane, was a premium-fare service of the New York City Subway, connecting midtown Manhattan to John F. Kennedy International Airport.-Fares and Rolling Stock:...
label is still visible.
57th Street Station also appears in the 2011 film "A Very Harold And Kumar 3D Christmas" in the scene when Harold and Kumar are carrying a Christmas tree "Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris is an American actor, singer, director, and magician.Prominent roles of his career include the title role in Doogie Howser, M.D., Colonel Carl Jenkins in Starship Troopers, the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, a fictionalized version of himself in the Harold...
" gave them before getting kidnapped by the Ukrainian mobsters.