The 34th Street station was a local station on the demolished

IRT Third Avenue Line The IRT Third Avenue Line, commonly known as the Third Avenue Elevated, Third Avenue El, or Bronx El, was an elevated railway in Manhattan and the Bronx, New York City. Originally operated by the New York Elevated Railway, an independent railwa ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The station was served by Third Avenue local trains and a shuttle to the 34th Street Ferry. Third Ave service originally had two tracks and 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 platform ...

s. During the

Dual Contracts The Dual Contracts, also known as the Dual Subway System, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the City of New York. The contracts were signed on March 19, 1913, by the Interborough Ra ...

, a center express track was built. The shuttle to the ferry was served by two tracks and an

island platform An island platform (also center platform, centre platform) is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange. Island platforms are popular on ...

attached to the northbound side platform. North of the station the westbound track of the shuttle merged with the main line.

History

34th Street station was opened on August 26, 1878 by the

New York Elevated Railway Company New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

which ran the line as far north as

Grand Central Depot Grand Central Terminal is a major commuter rail terminal in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, serving the Metro-North Railroad's Harlem, Hudson and New Haven Lines. It is the most recent of three functionally similar buildings on the same s ...

, until the line was expanded to 67th Street on September 16, 1878. In 1879 the

Manhattan Railway Company The Manhattan Railway Company was an elevated railway company in Manhattan and the Bronx, New York City, United States. It operated four lines: the Second Avenue Line, Third Avenue Line, Sixth Avenue Line, and Ninth Avenue Line. History 19 ...

acquired this station as well as all south-to-north lines in Manhattan, and by July 1, 1880 they added a spur east along 34th Street to the 34th Street Ferry Terminal, which connected commuters to railroad station and ferry terminal in Long Island City. The next stop to the north was 42nd Street. The next stop to the south was 28th Street. Eastbound on the shuttle, the next stop was Second Avenue. The shuttle platform was closed on July 14, 1930, five years after ferry service was ended by the Long Island Rail Road. This station closed entirely on May 12, 1955, with the ending of all service on the Third Avenue El south of 149th Street.NYCTA Notice of Third Avenue Rail Closure for May 12, 1955
/ref>

References

* * IRT Third Avenue Line stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1878 Railway stations closed in 1955 1878 establishments in New York (state) 1955 disestablishments in New York (state) Former elevated and subway stations in Manhattan Defunct New York City Subway stations located aboveground {{Manhattan-railstation-stub Third Avenue 34th Street (Manhattan)