238th Street (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 238th Street station is a local
station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...
on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the
New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...
. Located at the intersection of 238th Street and Broadway in the Kingsbridge Heights neighborhood of
the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, it is served by the 1 train at all times. Built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), the station opened on August 1, 1908, as part of the first subway. The northbound platform was lengthened in 1910 while the southbound platform was lengthened in 1948. In 2018, the fare controls at the station were changed to allow entries in the northbound direction.


History


Construction and opening

Planning for a
subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Interconti ...
line in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
dates to 1864. However, development of what would become the city's first subway line did not start until 1894, when the
New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...
authorized the Rapid Transit Act. The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by
William Barclay Parsons William Barclay Parsons (April 15, 1859 – May 9, 1932) was an American civil engineer. He founded Parsons Brinckerhoff, one of the largest American civil engineering firms. Personal life Parsons was the son of William Barclay Parsons (1828– ...
, chief engineer of the Rapid Transit Commission. It called for a subway line from
New York City Hall New York City Hall is the Government of New York City, seat of New York City government, located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center, Manhattan, Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, Park R ...
in
lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
to the
Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...
, where two branches would lead north into
the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
. A plan was formally adopted in 1897, and all legal conflicts concerning the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899. The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by
John B. McDonald John B. McDonald (November 7, 1844 – March 17, 1911) was an Irish people, Irish-born contractor who is best known for overseeing construction of the first New York City Subway line from 1900 to 1904. Early life John B. McDonald was born on Nov ...
and funded by
August Belmont Jr. August Belmont Jr. (February 18, 1853 – December 10, 1924) was an American financier. He financed the construction of the original New York City subway (1900–1904) and for many years headed the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, which ran ...
, signed the initial Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900, under which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line. In 1901, the firm of
Heins & LaFarge Heins & LaFarge was a New York-based architectural firm composed of the Philadelphia-born architect George Lewis Heins (1860–1907) and Christopher Grant LaFarge (1862–1938), the eldest son of the artist John La Farge. They were respons ...
was hired to design the underground stations. Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway. Operation of the first subway began on October 27, 1904, with the opening of all stations from
City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
to 145th Street on the West Side Branch. The line was mostly underground, except for the section surrounding 125th Street, which ran across the elevated Manhattan Valley Viaduct to cross a deep valley there. Service was extended to 157th Street on November 12, 1904, as that station's opening had been delayed because of painting and plastering work. The West Side Branch was extended northward to a temporary terminus at 221st Street and Broadway on March 12, 1906 served by shuttle trains operating between 157th Street and 221st Street. However, only the Dyckman Street, 215th Street, and 221st Street stations opened on that date as the other stations were not yet completed. The 168th Street station opened on April 14, 1906. The 181st Street station opened on May 30, 1906, and on that date express trains on the Broadway branch began running through to 221st Street, eliminating the need to transfer at 157th Street to shuttles. The original system as included in Contract 1 was completed on January 14, 1907, when trains started running across the
Harlem Ship Canal Spuyten Duyvil Creek () is a short tidal estuary in New York City connecting the Hudson River to the Harlem River Ship Canal and then on to the Harlem River. The confluence of the three water bodies separate the island of Manhattan from th ...
on the Broadway Bridge to 225th Street, and the nearby 221st Street station was closed. Once the line was extended to 225th Street on January 14, 1907, the 221st Street platforms were dismantled and moved to 230th Street for a new temporary terminus. Service was extended to the temporary terminus at 230th Street on January 27, 1907. An extension of Contract 1 north to 242nd Street at
Van Cortlandt Park Van Cortlandt Park is a park located in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, it is managed with assistance from the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance. The park, the city's third-lar ...
was approved in 1906 and opened on August 1, 1908, along with the 238th Street station. After the first subway line was completed in 1908, the station was served by West Side local and express trains. Express trains began at South Ferry in Manhattan or
Atlantic Avenue Atlantic Avenue may refer to: Highways * Atlantic Avenue (Boston) in Massachusetts * Atlantic Avenue (New York City) in Brooklyn and Queens, New York * Florida State Road 806 in Palm Beach County, locally known as Atlantic Avenue * Atlantic Avenue ...
in Brooklyn, and ended at 242nd Street in the Bronx. Local trains ran from City Hall to 242nd Street during rush hours, continuing south from City Hall to South Ferry at other times. In 1918, the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line opened south of Times Square–42nd Street, thereby dividing the original line into an "H"-shaped system. The original subway north of Times Square thus became part of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. Local trains were sent to South Ferry, while express trains used the new Clark Street Tunnel to Brooklyn.


Station renovations

To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening platforms at stations along the original IRT subway. 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 $ million in ) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 () was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent. The northbound platform at the 238th Street station was extended to the south, while the southbound platform was not lengthened. Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910, and ten-car express trains began running on the West Side Line on January 24, 1911. Subsequently, the station could accommodate six-car local trains, but ten-car trains could not open some of their doors. The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940. Platforms at IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line stations between and 238th Street were lengthened to between 1946 and 1948, allowing full ten-car express trains to stop at these stations. A contract for the platform extensions at 238th Street and five other stations on the line was awarded to the Rao Electrical Equipment Company and the Kaplan Electric Company in June 1946. The platform extensions at these stations were opened in stages. On July 9, 1948, the platform extensions at stations between 207th Street and 238th Street were opened for use at the cost of $423,000. At the same time, the IRT routes were given numbered designations with the introduction of "R-type" rolling stock, which contained rollsigns with numbered designations for each service. The route to 242nd Street became known as the 1. Between September 4, 2018, and January 2, 2019, Manhattan-bound trains did not stop at this station due to stairway replacement. In preparation for this, the northbound platform's fare control was converted so that it could accommodate both entries and exits.


Station layout

This elevated station has two
side platform A side platform (also known as a marginal platform or a single-face platform) is a platform positioned to the side of one or more railway tracks or guideways at a railway station, tram stop, or transitway. A station having dual side platforms ...
s and three tracks, with the center one not used in revenue service. Each platform has beige windscreens and red canopies with green roofs in the center and black waist-high fences on either side. North of this station is the
240th Street Yard The New York City Transit Authority operates a total of 24 rail yards for the New York City Subway system, and one for the Staten Island Railway. There are 10 active A Division yards and 11 active B Division yards, two of which are shared betwe ...
, where cars assigned to the 1 train are inspected and maintained. The yard has a footbridge to the tracks of the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, crossovers and leads that allow this station to serve as a terminal. During the morning and afternoon rush-hours, some 1 trains begin their trips here as direct put-ins from the nearby 240th Street Yard, and some morning and afternoon rush-hour 1 trains end their trips either here or at 215th Street and drop-out and lay-up at the 240th Street Yard to prevent congestion at Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street, which is the next and last stop on the 1 train to the north.


Exits

The northbound platform was originally exit only since 242nd Street is a short walking distance north, containing two platform-level
turnstile A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a t ...
s, each of which leads to a staircase that goes down to either eastern corner of 238th Street and Broadway. The Manhattan-bound platform has an adjacent elevated station house that contains a turnstile bank, token booth, and a single street stair going down to the southwest corner of 238th Street and Broadway.


References


External links

* * Station Reporter â€
1 Train
* The Subway Nut â€


238th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View

Platforms from Google Maps Street View
{{DEFAULTSORT:238th Street (Irt Broadway - Seventh Avenue Line) IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line stations Broadway (Manhattan) U.S. Route 9 New York City Subway stations in the Bronx New York City Subway stations located aboveground Railway stations in the United States opened in 1908 1908 establishments in New York City Riverdale, Bronx Kingsbridge, Bronx