Astor Place station

The Astor Place station, also called Astor Place–Cooper Union on signs, is a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at Fourth Avenue, Cooper Square, and Astor Place between the East Village and NoHo, it is served by 6 trains at all times, <6> trains during weekdays in the peak direction, and 4 trains during late night hours.

Astor Place  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Southbound platform
Station statistics
Address	Astor Place & Lafayette Street New York, New York
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	NoHo / East Village
Coordinates	40°43′47″N 73°59′30″W
Division	A (IRT)[1]
Line	IRT Lexington Avenue Line
Services	4  (late nights) ​   6  (all times) <6>  (weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction)
Transit	NYCT Bus: M1, M2, M3, M8
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904 (119 years ago) (1904-10-27)[2]
Opposite- direction transfer	No
Former/other names	Astor Place–Cooper Union Cooper Union
Traffic
2023	3,717,074[3]  15.4%
Rank	84 out of 423[3]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 14th Street–Union Square 4  ​6  <6> toward Pelham Bay Park Local Bleecker Street 4  ​6  <6> toward Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall does not stop here
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to 14th Street–Union Square to Bleecker Street
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops late nights only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
Astor Place Subway Station (IRT)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
New York City Landmark No. 1096
MPS	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP reference No.	04001013[4]
NYCL No.	1096
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	September 17, 2004
Designated NYCL	October 23, 1979[5]

The Astor Place station was constructed for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as part of the city's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. Construction of the line segment that includes the Astor Place station started on September 12 of the same year. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. The station's platforms were lengthened in the late 1950s, and the station was renovated in the mid-1980s.

The Astor Place station contains two side platforms and four tracks; express trains use the inner two tracks to bypass the station. The station was built with tile and mosaic decorations. The platforms contain exits to Astor Place and are not connected to each other within fare control. The original station interior is a New York City designated landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

Construction and opening

Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864.^[6]: 21 However, development of what would become the city's first subway line did not start until 1894, when the New York State Legislature passed the Rapid Transit Act.^{[6]: 139–140} The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer. It called for a subway line from New York City Hall in lower Manhattan to the Upper West Side, where two branches would lead north into the Bronx.^[5]: 3 A plan was formally adopted in 1897,^[6]: 148 and all legal conflicts concerning the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899.^[6]: 161 The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont Jr., signed the initial Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900,^[7] in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.^[6]: 165 In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations.^[5]: 4 Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.^[6]: 182

The Astor Place station was constructed as part of the route segment from Great Jones Street to 41st Street. Construction on this section of the line began on September 12, 1900. The section from Great Jones Street to a point 100 feet (30 m) north of 33rd Street was awarded to Holbrook, Cabot & Daly Contracting Company.^[7] In the vicinity of the Astor Place station, the subway was to run under Lafayette Street,^[8][9]: 17 a new thoroughfare constructed between 1897^[10] and 1905.^[11] This involved widening, connecting, and renaming two formerly unconnected streets: Elm Street, which ran south of Houston Street, and Lafayette Place, which ran north of Great Jones Street to an intersection with Astor Place.^{[8][9]: 17–18 [12]} The southward extension of Lafayette Street and the construction of the subway required the demolition or underpinning of several buildings in the street's path. This resulted in the creation of narrow land lots on either side of Lafayette Street between Houston and Great Jones Streets, slightly south of the Astor Place station's site.^[8][9]: 18 By late 1903, the subway was nearly complete, but the IRT Powerhouse and the system's electrical substations were still under construction, delaying the system's opening.^{[6]: 186 [13]} As late as October 26, 1904, the day before the subway was scheduled to open, the wall on the southbound platform next to the Wanamaker's store was incomplete.^[14]

The Astor Place station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from City Hall to 145th Street on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line.^{[6]: 186 [2]} The opening of the first subway line, and particularly the Astor Place station, helped contribute to more development in the East Village; while the neighborhood was already densely populated at the time, the new subway provided connections to other parts of the city.^[4]: 10 After the first subway line was completed in 1908,^[15] the station was served by local trains along both the West Side (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street) and East Side (now the Lenox Avenue Line). West Side local trains had their southern terminus at City Hall during rush hours and South Ferry at other times, and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street. East Side local trains ran from City Hall to Lenox Avenue (145th Street).^[16]

Service changes and station renovations

1900s to 1930s

Columns with alternating Astor Place and Cooper Union sign plates

Plans for the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad (H&M; now PATH), devised in the first decade of the 20th century, included a spur from the Uptown Hudson Tubes along Ninth Street to the Astor Place station.^[17] At the time, the Uptown Tubes between New Jersey and Manhattan had been under construction intermittently since 1874.^{[18]: 14–15} By 1904, William Gibbs McAdoo was given the rights to complete the Uptown Tubes. As part of the plan, he would retain perpetual rights to build and operate an east–west crosstown line under Christopher Street and Ninth Street eastward to either Second Avenue or Astor Place,^{[19][18]: 22} with no intermediate stops.^[20] Although the Uptown Tubes opened to 33rd Street in 1908,^{[21][18]: 21} work on the Ninth Street spur stalled. By 1914, the Rapid Transit Commissioners had determined that the spur was unlikely to be built soon, so permission to build the Ninth Street tunnel was denied.^[22]

To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[23]: 168 As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to $49.1 million in 2023) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $16.4 million in 2023) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.^[24]: 15 The northbound platform at the Astor Place station was extended 10 feet (3.0 m) in either direction,^[24]: 107 while the southbound platform was not lengthened.^[24]: 106 Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910.^[23]: 168 The Lexington Avenue Line opened north of Grand Central–42nd Street in 1918, and the original line was divided into an H-shaped system. All local trains were sent via the Lexington Avenue Line, running along the Pelham Line in the Bronx.^[25]

In December 1922, the Transit Commission approved a $3 million project to lengthen platforms at 14 local stations along the original IRT line, including Astor Place and seven other stations on the Lexington Avenue Line. Platform lengths at these stations would be increased from 225 to 436 feet (69 to 133 m).^[26][27] The commission postponed the platform-lengthening project in September 1923, at which point the cost had risen to $5.6 million.^[28][29]

1940s to 1960s

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[30][31] After the closure of the Wanamaker's department store in 1954, the northern building of the two-building complex was sold off and demolished. In July 1956, a fire gutted the building while it was being destroyed.^[32] When the fire was being extinguished, some water pooled in the basement and into a subterranean river parallel to the tracks,^[33][34] a likely tributary of Minetta Creek.^[35] In the aftermath, the Astor Place station was flooded, causing service to be rerouted for one week.^[35][36] The flood undermined the existing track bed, which was composed of a foot of concrete above a layer of earth. As a result, 275 yards (251 m) of new concrete track beds had to be installed.^[37] The repairs cost roughly $250,000.^[36]

In November 1959, the Warshaw Construction Company received a contract to remove fifteen entrance/exit kiosks on IRT lines, including two at the Astor Place station. This was part of a citywide initiative to remove the kiosks, which obstructed motorists' views of pedestrians.^[38] Also in late 1959, contracts were awarded to extend the platforms at Bowling Green, Wall Street, Fulton Street, Canal Street, Spring Street, Bleecker Street, Astor Place, Grand Central–42nd Street, 86th Street, and 125th Street to 525 feet (160 m).^[39] In April 1960, work began on a $3,509,000 project (equivalent to $36.1 million in 2023) to lengthen platforms at seven of these stations to accommodate ten-car trains. The northbound platforms at Canal Street, Spring Street, Bleecker Street, and Astor Place were lengthened from 225 to 525 feet (69 to 160 m); the platform extensions at these stations opened on February 19, 1962.^[40]

1970s to present

In 1979, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the space within the boundaries of the original station, excluding expansions made after 1904, as a city landmark.^[5] The station was designated along with eleven others on the original IRT.^[5][41] The original interiors were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.^[4]

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system in 1981.^[42] This led residents to create the Committee for Astor Place to raise money for restoration of the station.^[43]: 81 In 1981, the MTA announced the creation of its Culture Stations program to install public art in the subway. The Culture Stations program was started to deter graffiti, and was inspired by legislation in the New York City Council that mandated that 1% of the cost of constructing public buildings be used for art. The program was modeled on the Louvre – Rivoli station on the Paris Métro, which featured reproductions of the artwork on display in the Louvre. Four stations, namely Astor Place, Eastern Parkway–Brooklyn Museum, 66th Street–Lincoln Center, and Fifth Avenue/53rd Street, were selected for the program due to their proximity to cultural institutions.^[44][45][46] These would be among the first stations in the MTA's new station refurbishment program, which began in 1982.^[47] Initially, there was funding only for the Astor Place and Fifth Avenue/53rd Street stations.^[46]

By 1982, the Astor Place station was planned to be renovated for $2.25 million.^[48] As part of the Adopt-a-Station program, which sought to renovate some of the subway's most deteriorated stations, the Chemical Bank sponsored a $2.5 million renovation for the station (equivalent to $7.3 million in 2023), while the Committee for Astor Place cosponsored the project.^[49] Other sources of funding included $600,000 from the Federal Urban Mass Transit Administration, as well as $125,000 from private sources such as the Vincent Astor Foundation.^[50] The firm of Prentice & Chan, Ohlhausen was hired to renovate the platforms.^[43]: 81 Rolf Ohlhausen, one of the firm's principals, had photographed the station's original cast-iron station entrance kiosks as an architecture student at the neighboring Cooper Union, and he advocated for a replica kiosk to be installed over the northbound entrance.^{[43]: 81 [51]}

The station's renovation started in June 1984 and was completed by May 1986.^[50] The scope of the project included the restoration of the platform's glazed ceramic beaver plaques; refurbishing the 1950s platform extensions with a design similar to the original station; cleaning the ceiling; and adding new lighting, noise-abatement material, and brown floor tiles.^{[43]: 82–83} A new piece of porcelain steel artwork by Cooper Union alumnus Milton Glaser was installed and a cast-iron copy of one of the station's original kiosks was built.^{[43]: 82–83 [50]} The MTA rejected Glaser's original proposal to include beaver representations in the artwork because the beavers too closely resembled rats.^[43]: 3 Glaser's artwork was installed as a gift, and the kiosk was installed using leftover funding.^[52] An underpass between the northbound and southbound platforms was closed and covered up in the 1980s renovation.^[4]: 4 Sound-deadening panels were also installed in the station.^[53] Following the completion of the project, architectural writer Paul Goldberger wrote that the Astor Place station's "value as architecture lies not in any generous space it offers, but in a series of pleasing details".^[54]

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Entrances/exits
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Pelham Bay Park or Parkchester (14th Street–Union Square) ← toward Woodlawn late nights (14th Street–Union Square)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ toward Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall (Bleecker Street) → → toward New Lots Avenue late nights (Bleecker Street) →
	Side platform

Like other local stations, Astor Place has four tracks and two side platforms. The 6 stops here at all times,^[55] rush-hour and midday <6> trains stop here in the peak direction;^[55] and the 4 stops here during late nights.^[56] The two express tracks are used by the 4 and 5 trains during daytime hours.^[57] The station is between 14th Street–Union Square to the north and Bleecker Street to the south.^[58] The platforms were originally 200 feet (61 m) long, like at other local stations on the original IRT,^{[5]: 4 [4]: 3} but as a result of the 1959 platform extensions, became 525 feet (160 m) long.^[39] The platform extensions are at the front ends of the original platforms: the southbound platform was extended southward and the northbound platform was extended northward, resulting in the two platforms being offset from each other.^[59]: 33 Both platforms are slightly curved,^[4]: 5–6 since the station itself is placed on an S-curve between Lafayette Street and Fourth Avenue.^[53][60]

Design

Faience plaque with beaver

Faience name tablet

Tile with initial "A"

As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the station was constructed using a cut-and-cover method.^[61]: 237 The tunnel is covered by a U-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The bottom of this trough contains a foundation of concrete no less than 4 inches (100 mm) thick.^{[4]: 3–4 [59]: 9} Each platform consists of 3-inch-thick (7.6 cm) concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The original platforms contain circular, cast-iron Doric-style columns spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m), while the platform extensions contain I-beam columns, some clad with white glazed tiles. The columns contain black-and-white signs alternating between "Astor Place" and "Cooper Union". Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every 5 feet (1.5 m), support the jack-arched concrete station roofs.^{[4]: 3–4 [5]: 4 [59]: 9} The ceiling height varies based on whether there are utilities in the ceiling; the areas without utilities is about 15 feet (4.6 m) above platform level, while the area with utilities has a ceiling height of 8 feet (2.4 m).^[4]: 5 There is a 1-inch (25 mm) gap between the trough wall and the platform walls, which are made of 4-inch (100 mm)-thick brick covered over by a tiled finish.^{[4]: 3–4 [59]: 9}

The fare control areas are at platform level and there is no free transfer between directions.^[4]: 4 The underpass that formerly connected the platforms opened along with the rest of the station in 1904, making Astor Place one of the few locations in the original IRT where passengers could transfer between directions for free.^[62]: 146

Former women's restroom converted into newsstand (now closed and walled off)

The walls in this station contain modern enamel artwork. The walls along the platforms near the fare control areas consist of a brick wainscoting on the lowest part of the wall, with bronze air vents along the wainscoting, and white glass tiles above. The platform walls are divided at 15-foot (4.6 m) intervals by buff brick tile pilasters, or vertical bands; the wall sections between each pilaster contain a border of blue mosaic tiles. In the original portion of the station, each pilaster is topped by yellow faience plaques depicting beavers, surrounded by green scrolled and foliate motifs. The beaver plaques are a reference to John Jacob Astor, whose fortune had been derived from the beaver-pelt trade.^{[4]: 4–5 [5]: 8} A faience cornice with green urn and vine motifs runs atop these walls.^{[4]: 4–5 [5]: 8} Cream-on-blue faience plaques with the words "Astor Place" are also spaced at various intervals on the walls, a deviation from the tile plaques seen at other original IRT stations. The platform extensions contain similar decorative elements, but the pilasters are made of tan ceramic tiles, and the wall sections between each pilaster contain a border of blue ceramic tiles. Within the platform extensions' pilasters are tiled plaques with the vertical text "Astor".^{[4]: 5 [43]: 82} There were maroon and gold tile Cooper Union signs underneath the tile Astor Place signs, which were destroyed during the renovation.^[63] The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted the installations at each station.^[59]: 31 The decorative work was performed by tile contractor Manhattan Glass Tile Company and faience contractor Grueby Faience Company.^[59]: 33

The northbound platform contains doorways that formerly led to men's and women's restrooms, with corresponding marble lintels. A news and candy stand was in the former women's restroom, but it has been closed and walled off as of 2021. North of fare control is a rounded seating area.^[4]: 6 The northbound platform was used as a cover image of Billy Joel's 1976 album Turnstiles.^[64]

On the southbound side, the station has an entrance and windows into a store. The heavy brick-faced square columns on the southbound platform support the store above.^[4]: 4–5 The store was originally constructed in 1868 as an A. T. Stewart, but it had become a Wanamaker's by the time the station was constructed and opened.^{[4]: 4–5 [9]: 94} The Wanamaker's store was closed by 1954. It served as Kmart location from November 1996 to July 2021.^[65][66] A Wegmans location opened within the Kmart space in late 2023.^[67]

Also present on the southbound side is a sealed doorway with a marble lintel reading "Clinton Hall". This doorway once led to the New York Mercantile Library in the former Astor Opera House.^{[68][4]: 4–5}

Exits

Southbound entrance

Northbound entrance, a reproduction of an old IRT kiosk

Easement exit to 770 Broadway from the southbound platform in 2016

The station has one street entrance in each direction. The southbound platform's entrance is at the southwest corner of Astor Place and Lafayette Street.^[69] The street staircase on the southbound side contains modern steel railings like those seen at most New York City Subway stations.^[4]: 6

The northbound platform's entrance is in the traffic island bounded by Fourth Avenue, Lafayette Street, and Eighth Street.^[69] Unlike the southbound entrance, the northbound entrance contains a highly decorative entrance, reminiscent of an entry kiosk seen on the original IRT.^[4]: 7 The structure is an imitation of the IRT's original entrance and exit kiosks, extremely ornate structures made of cast iron and glass. The IRT kiosks were inspired by those on the Budapest Metro, which themselves were inspired by ornate summer houses called "kushks".^{[70]: 443 [71]: 66–67} The Astor Place entrance is a reproduction installed in the 1980s and was made at the same factory as the originals.^{[4]: 7 [51]} The kiosk is 13 feet (4.0 m) wide, 22 feet (6.7 m) long, and 16 feet (4.9 m) tall.^[51] The replica was largely based from photographs by renovating architect Rolf Ohlhausen.^[43]: 81 Like the original entrance kiosks,^[59]: 13 it has a domed roof with cast-iron shingles.^{[4]: 7 [51]} Unlike the originals, the roof of the kiosk have clear tempered glass to allow natural light, while the original kiosks had translucent glass with chicken wire, which tended to become dirty over time. Additionally, the decorative pieces of the new kiosk were molded from fragments of the originals, but the new kiosk was made of lighter-weight material.^[43]: 81

Points of interest

Several sites of historical and cultural importance are near the station, such as New York University and Cooper Union.^[72] The Alamo, a cube sculpture in the traffic island above the northbound platform, is a popular visitor attraction in the area.^[73] Other points of interest include:

• McSorley's Old Ale House^[72]
• Cooper Union New Academic Building^[72]
• Cooper Square Hotel^[72]
• The Public Theater (formerly the Astor Library)^[72]
• Astor Place Theatre (part of Colonnade Row; occupied by Blue Man Group)^[72]
• Hamilton Fish House^[72]

The Eighth Street–New York University station on the BMT Broadway Line is one block west of the station.^[72]

References

1. "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
2. "Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It; Mayor McClellan Runs the First Official Train". The New York Times. October 28, 1904. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
3. "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
4. "New York MPS Astor Place Subway Station (IRT)". Records of the National Park Service, 1785 – 2006, Series: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records, 2013 – 2017, Box: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: New York, ID: 75313927. National Archives.
5. "Interborough Rapid Transit System, Underground Interior" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. October 23, 1979. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
6. Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917. New York, N.Y.: Law Printing. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
7. Report of the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners for the City of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1904 Accompanied By Reports of the Chief Engineer and of the Auditor. Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners. 1905. pp. 229–236.
8. Gray, Christopher (June 17, 2010). "Along Lafayette Street, Some Very Odd Lots". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
9. Presa, Donald G. (June 29, 1999). "NoHo Historic District" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
10. Hanly, Thomas B. (November 7, 1897). "Elm Street Past and Present" (PDF). The New York Times. p. 32. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
11. "Elm Street Off the Map" (PDF). The New York Times. April 26, 1905. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
12. Moscow, Henry (1978). The Street Book: An Encyclopedia of Manhattan's Street Names and Their Origins. New York: Hagstrom Company. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-8232-1275-0.
13. "First of Subway Tests; West Side Experimental Trains to be Run by Jan. 1 Broadway Tunnel Tracks Laid, Except on Three Little Sections, to 104th Street -- Power House Delays". The New York Times. November 14, 1903. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
14. "Clamor for Tickets for Subway Opening; Distribution Plan Criticised by Engineers and Many Others". The New York Times. October 26, 1904. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
15. "Our First Subway Completed At Last — Opening of the Van Cortlandt Extension Finishes System Begun in 1900 — The Job Cost $60,000,000 — A Twenty-Mile Ride from Brooklyn to 242d Street for a Nickel Is Possible Now". The New York Times. August 2, 1908. p. 10. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
16. Herries, William (1916). Brooklyn Daily Eagle Almanac. Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 119. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
17. "Map of Hudson & Manhattan Railroad Hudson Tunnel System" (PDF). columbia.edu. Hudson & Manhattan Railroad. December 31, 1912. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 5, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
18. Cudahy, Brian J. (2002), Rails Under the Mighty Hudson (2nd ed.), New York: Fordham University Press, ISBN 978-0-82890-257-1, OCLC 911046235
19. "M'Adoo Subway Wins Fight For Franchise; Crosstown Line Perpetual – 25 Years Under Sixth Avenue". The New York Times. December 16, 1904. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
20. D'Orazio, Bernard (April 23, 2018). "In 1874, a Daring Downtown Plan: Build a Train Tunnel Under the Hudson". Tribeca Trib Online. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
21. "Trolley Tunnel Open to Jersey; President Turns On Power for First Official Train Between This City and Hoboken". The New York Times. February 26, 1908. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 25, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
22. "M'Adoo's Railroad Slow In Building; Two Months More Time Given for Extension to Grand Central". The New York Times. April 9, 1914. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
23. Hood, Clifton (1978). "The Impact of the IRT in New York City" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 146–207 (PDF pp. 147–208). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
24. Report of the Public Service Commission for the First District of the State of New York For The Year Ending December 31, 1910. Public Service Commission. 1911. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
25. "Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph — Great H System Put in Operation Marks an Era in Railroad Construction — No Hitch in the Plans — But Public Gropes Blindly to Find the Way in Maze of New Stations — Thousands Go Astray — Leaders in City's Life Hail Accomplishment of Great Task at Meeting at the Astor" (PDF). The New York Times. August 2, 1918. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
26. "33d Street to Be I.R.T. Express Stop; Reconstruction One of Many Station Improvements Ordered by Commission". The New York Times. December 17, 1922. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
27. "$4,000,000 in Construction on I. R. T. Ordered: 33d St. on East Side Subway Will Be Express Stop; Local Stations to Have 10-Car Train Capacity Aim to Speed Service Improvements Will Relieve Congestion Along Both Routes. Board Believes". New-York Tribune. December 18, 1922. p. 22. ProQuest 573974563.
28. "Express Stop Plan Opposed by I.R.T.; Officials Say Money Is Not Available for Change at 33d Street Station". The New York Times. September 7, 1923. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
29. "I. R. T. Wins Delay At Subway Platform Extension Hearing: Transit Commission Head Tells Meeting Widening West Side Stations Would Increase Capacity 25 P. C". New-York Tribune. September 7, 1923. p. 6. ProQuest 1237290874.
30. "City Transit Unity Is Now a Reality; Title to I.R.T. Lines Passes to Municipality, Ending 19-Year Campaign". The New York Times. June 13, 1940. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
31. "Transit Unification Completed As City Takes Over I. R. T. Lines: Systems Come Under Single Control After Efforts Begun in 1921; Mayor Is Jubilant at City Hall Ceremony Recalling 1904 Celebration". New York Herald Tribune. June 13, 1940. p. 25. ProQuest 1248134780.
32. "Wanamaker's Fire". norman.hrc.utexas.edu. New York Journal-American. July 15, 1956. Archived from the original on September 15, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2020 – via Harry Ransom Center at University of Texas at Austin. Wanamaker's Fire : The scene on the streets as firemen and firetrucks battle the 25-hour long blaze at the old Wanamaker's Department Store.
33. "Old Wanamaker's Gutted; IRT Line Hit Gas Cut Off". New York Herald Tribune. July 15, 1956. p. 1. ProQuest 1324029887.
34. Morris, Larry (July 15, 1956). "Wanamaker Fire Imperils IRT Line; 77 Hurt at Scene; Service Between Brooklyn Bridge and Grand Central Stations Is Halted". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
35. Kihss, Peter (July 18, 1956). "Full IRT Service Resuming Friday". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
36. Gleason, Gene (July 18, 1956). "Full IRT Service To Resume Friday: Police Ease Rush-Hour Confusion Last BMT Lines Back to Normal". New York Herald Tribune. p. 1. ProQuest 1327089960.
37. Kihss, Peter (July 19, 1956). "IRT at Astor Place Gets Concrete Bed". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
38. "15 More City Kiosks Slated for Scrap". The New York Times. November 9, 1959. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 30, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
39. Annual Report For The Year Ending June 30, 1959 (PDF). New York City Transit Authority. 1959. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
40. "4 IRT Stops To Open Longer Platforms". The New York Times. February 18, 1962. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
41. "12 IRT Subway Stops Get Landmark Status". The New York Times. October 27, 1979. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 9, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
42. Gargan, Edward A. (June 11, 1981). "Agency Lists Its 69 Most Deteriorated Subway Stations". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
43. "Eager Beaver" (PDF). Architectural Record: 81–83. January 1987. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 29, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
44. Fitzpatrick, Tracy (2009). Art and the Subway: New York Underground. Rutgers University Press. p. 229. ISBN 9780813544526.
45. Wallach, Amei (September 11, 1985). "The Arts Go Underground". Newsday. p. 145. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
46. Anderson, Susan Heller (August 9, 1982). "How Culture in the Subways May Look". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
47. "Untangling Knots in the Subway; Architect's Challenge Is to Make DeKalb Station Flow". The New York Times. February 3, 2000. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
48. Haberman, Clyde; Johnston, Laurie (July 13, 1982). "New York Day by Day". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
49. United Press International (June 8, 1984). "Station at Astor Place Slated for Restoration". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
50. Blau, Eleanor (May 17, 1986). "Refurbishing of IRT Station Applauded by Well-Wishers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
51. Bird, David; Dunlap, David W. (February 28, 1986). "New York Day by Day; Latter-Day Kiosk". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
52. Shepard, Joan (August 21, 1988). "'Underground art' at high level". New York Daily News. p. 592. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 17, 2021.
53. Dwyer, Jim (March 31, 1989). "Astor Place Subway Stop City's Dead Man's Curve". Newsday. p. 3. ProQuest 278100073.
54. Goldberger, Paul (October 18, 1986). "2 Subway Projects, 2 Outcomes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
55. "6 Subway Timetable, Effective December 17, 2023". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
56. "4 Subway Timetable, Effective December 4, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
57. Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
58. "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
59. Framberger, David J. (1978). "Architectural Designs for New York's First Subway" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 1–46 (PDF pp. 367–412). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
60. McFadden, Robert D. (March 31, 1989). "2 Subway Workers Killed by a Train Rounding a Curve". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
61. Scott, Charles (1978). "Design and Construction of the IRT: Civil Engineering" (PDF). Historic American Engineering Record. pp. 208–282 (PDF pp. 209–283). Archived (PDF) from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved December 20, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
62. Appendices to the Report of the Royal Commission on London Traffic with Index Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of His Majesty. Royal Commission on London Traffic. 1906. Archived from the original on October 15, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
63. "1982 Photo of Astor Place Signage". Cable (Cooper Union Yearbook). 1982. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
64. Katz, Mike, 1962– (June 2018). Rock and roll explorer guide to New York City. Kott, Crispin,, McNeil, Legs. Guilford, Connecticut. p. 150. ISBN 978-1-63076-316-9. OCLC 1007036799. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2020.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
65. Offenhartz, Jake (July 12, 2021). "Kmart, An Unlikely Astor Place Icon, Shutters Without Notice". Gothamist. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
66. "Vornado Lines Up Grocer for Astor Place Kmart Space". The Real Deal New York. July 16, 2021. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
67. Kvetenadze, Téa (October 18, 2023). "New Yorkers celebrate opening of first Manhattan Wegmans at Astor Place". New York Daily News. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
68. "Clinton Hall at Astor Place". Forgotten New York. April 20, 1998. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
69. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Astor Pl (6)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2018. Archived from the original on December 16, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
70. Stern, Robert A. M.; Gilmartin, Gregory; Massengale, John Montague (1983). New York 1900: Metropolitan Architecture and Urbanism, 1890–1915. New York: Rizzoli. ISBN 0-8478-0511-5. OCLC 9829395.
71. Brooks, Michael W. (1997). Subway City: Riding the Trains, Reading New York. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-2396-5. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
72. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: East Village" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 24, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
73. Bleyer, Jennifer (January 30, 2005). "A Famous Cube Puzzles Its Biggest Fans". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2010.

Further reading

• Stookey, Lee (1994). Subway ceramics : a history and iconography of mosaic and bas relief signs and plaques in the New York City subway system. Brattleboro, Vt: L. Stookey. ISBN 978-0-9635486-1-0. OCLC 31901471.

External links

• nycsubway.org – IRT East Side Line: Astor Place
• nycsubway.org — Untitled Artwork by Milton Glaser (1986)
• Station Reporter — 6 Train
• Forgotten NY: Subways and Trains — Original 28 IRT subway stations
• MTA's Arts For Transit — Astor Place (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
• Fourth Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Lafayette Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View
• Lobby and Kmart entrance from Google Maps Street View