Station: Grand Central (Flushing Line)
From nycsubway.org
| IRT Flushing Line |
Overview
Opened: 6/22/1915
Transfer here to: IRT East Side Line, IRT Times Square-Grand Central Shuttle, Metro-North Commuter Rail
Two tracks, one island platform. Recently renovated with the addition of new lighting and an ADA-compliant elevator at the Lexington Avenue exit.
The Grand Central station was originally constructed as part of August Belmont's "Steinway Tunnels" project, described in the Flushing line overview and more completely in a 1960 Electric Railroaders' Association publication entitled The Steinway Tunnels. The length of line from here at Grand Central to Vernon-Jackson Aves. was constructed between 1905 and 1907, designed for operation by streetcars. The original station, with its western edge at Lexington Ave. was accessible through a temporary building at 156 East 42nd St. via a long staircase down to the single platform 65 ft. below street level. The streetcar operation lasted only a month due to legal issues and the tunnel and stations lay fallow until 1915.
For subway operation the 181 foot platform at Grand Central needed to be extended and widened. The original tube tunnels ran all the way to a loop under Park Avenue, so the plaform extension effort took advantage of this by removing the rock from in between the existing tunnels. At the western end, the southern tube was pushed outwards to allow a wider platform and a shaft containing three elevators and a stairwell up to Grand Central Depot near the east side of Park Avenue. The former tubes and new platform were roofed by a concrete arch ceiling. Another exit, at around the west side of Lexington Avenue, leads directly to the IRT Lexington line platforms. In later renovations the Park Avenue-end elevators were removed and the stairs replaced by an escalator bank with a mid-point landing, and an elevator was added to the Lexington Avenue exit as well as to the Lexington subway platforms.
A diagram indicating the respective locations of the Flushing line and Lexington line subway stations. The Lexington subway transfer and Park Avenue former elevator shaft locations are visible.
Cross-section of the station.
Some relative depths of stations in the Grand Central complex are as follows, +/- 10 feet.
- Shuttle, 20 feet below street
- Lexington/East Side Subway Platforms, 50 feet
- Flushing/#7 Subway Platforms, 80 feet
- Metro North, Upper Level, 20 feet
- Metro North, Lower Level, 60 feet
Artwork
V-Beam, Christopher Sproat (2000)
Photo Gallery
 Image 527 (138k, 1044x699) Photo by: David Pirmann Location: Grand Central |
 Image 528 (145k, 1044x690) Photo by: David Pirmann Location: Grand Central |
 Image 530 (124k, 640x480) Photo by: Richard Brome Location: Grand Central |
 Image 533 (57k, 640x480) Photo by: Peggy Darlington Location: Grand Central |
 Image 6099 (97k, 875x581) Photo by: Gary Chatterton Location: Grand Central |
 Image 12974 (192k, 1024x675) Photo by: Eric Oszustowicz Collection of: Joe Testagrose Location: Grand Central |
 Image 23999 (173k, 1024x692) Collection of: Joe Testagrose Location: Grand Central |
 Image 35935 (232k, 1044x788) Photo by: Richard Panse Location: Grand Central |
 Image 55859 (170k, 1044x641) Photo by: Brian Weinberg Location: Grand Central |
 Image 77889 (196k, 1044x788) Photo by: Bill E. Location: Grand Central |
 Image 79414 (263k, 1044x788) Photo by: David-Paul Gerber Location: Grand Central |
 Image 88906 (131k, 820x620) Photo by: Gary Chatterton Location: Grand Central |
 Image 91291 (275k, 1044x788) Photo by: John Barnes Location: Grand Central |
 Image 107222 (235k, 1044x700) Photo by: Zach Summer Location: Grand Central |
 Image 108728 (101k, 1024x768) Photo by: Robbie Rosenfeld Location: Grand Central |