Fort Hamilton Parkway station (IND Culver Line)

For other uses, see Fort Hamilton Parkway (disambiguation).

The Fort Hamilton Parkway station is a local station on the IND Culver Line of the New York City Subway. It is served by the F and G trains at all times.

Fort Hamilton Parkway  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
G train arriving on the northbound platform
Station statistics
Address	Fort Hamilton Parkway & Prospect Avenue Brooklyn, New York
Borough	Brooklyn
Locale	Windsor Terrace
Coordinates	40°39′5.24″N 73°58′33.08″W
Division	B (IND)[1]
Line	IND Culver Line
Services	F  (all times) ​   G  (all times)
Transit	MTA Bus: B103, BM3, BM4
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	October 7, 1933; 90 years ago (1933-10-07)
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Traffic
2023	1,341,506[2]  16.1%
Rank	231 out of 423[2]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 15th Street–Prospect Park via Bergen Street Local Church Avenue services split 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 15th Street–Prospect Park to Church Avenue
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times

This underground station, opened on October 7, 1933, has two tracks and two side platforms. The Culver Line's express tracks run underneath the station and are not visible from the platforms.

History

One of the goals of Mayor John Hylan's Independent Subway System (IND), proposed in the 1920s, was a line to Coney Island, reached by a recapture of the BMT Culver Line.^[3][4] As originally designed, service to and from Manhattan would have been exclusively provided by Culver express trains, while all local service would have fed into the IND Crosstown Line.^[5] The line was extended from Bergen Street to Church Avenue on October 7, 1933, including the Fort Hamilton Parkway station.^[6][7]

The IND Culver Line's Church Avenue and Fort Hamilton Parkway stations were the last underground stations to get fluorescent lighting on platform level, which replaced the incandescent lighting in 1987.

The station received aesthetic improvements in early 2024 as part of the Re-New-Vation program.^[8] The work included new signage, lighting, and tiles.^[9]

Service patterns

The station was originally served by the A train. In 1936, the A was rerouted to the IND Fulton Street Line and was replaced by E trains from the Queens Boulevard Line.^[6] In 1937, the connection to the IND Crosstown Line opened and GG (later renamed the G) trains were extended to Church Avenue, complementing the E. In December 1940, after the IND Sixth Avenue Line opened, E trains were replaced by the F, and the GG was cut back to Smith–Ninth Streets.^[6] Following the completion of the Culver Ramp in 1954,^[10][11] D Concourse Express trains replaced F service to Coney Island.^[11][12] In November 1967, the Chrystie Street Connection opened and D trains were rerouted via the Manhattan Bridge and the BMT Brighton Line to Coney Island. F trains were extended once again via the Culver Line.^[12][13]

The station acted as a local-only station from 1968 to 1976, when F trains ran express in both directions between Bergen Street and Church Avenue during rush hours.^[14] G trains were extended from Smith–Ninth Streets to Church Avenue to provide local service.^[15][5] Express service between Bergen and Church ended in 1976 due to budgetary concerns and passenger complaints, and the GG, later renamed the G, was again terminated at the Smith–Ninth Streets station.^[15][5][16]

In July 2009, the G was again extended from its terminus at Smith–Ninth Streets to a more efficient terminus at Church Avenue to accommodate the rehabilitation of the Culver Viaduct.^[15][17] The G extension was made permanent in July 2012.^[18] In July 2019, the MTA revealed plans to restore express service on the Culver Line between Jay Street and Church Avenue. Express service started on September 16, 2019.^[19][20]

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Mezzanine		Fare control, station agent
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Jamaica–179th Street (15th Street–Prospect Park) ← toward Court Square (15th Street–Prospect Park)
	Southbound local	→ toward Coney Island–Stillwell Avenue (Church Avenue) → → toward Church Avenue (Terminus) →
	Side platform
Express tracks	Northbound express	← does not stop here
	Southbound express	→ does not stop here →

Northeastern staircase

There are two local tracks and two side platforms. The express tracks run under the station and are not visible from the platforms.

Both platforms have an orange-yellow trim line with a medium red-brown border and mosaic name tablets reading "FT. HAMILTON PKWAY." in white sans-serif lettering on a red-brown background and orange-yellow border. There are several replacement tiles in bright orange-red throughout the station. Below the trim line are tile captions in white lettering on a black background reading "FT HAMILTON PKWAY", and below some of the name tablet mosaics are directional tile captions. Wide columns run along the platforms at regular intervals, alternating ones having the standard black name plate with white lettering. The tiles were part of a color-coded tile system used throughout the IND.^[21] The tile colors were designed to facilitate navigation for travelers going away from Lower Manhattan. As such, the yellow tiles used at Fort Hamilton Parkway were also used at Seventh Avenue, the next express station to the north, while a different tile color is used at Church Avenue, the next express station to the south. Yellow tiles are also used at 15th Street–Prospect Park, the only other local station between Seventh Avenue and Church Avenue.^[22][23]

South of this station, on the express tracks on the lower level, there are bellmouths for a proposed subway line along Fort Hamilton Parkway and/or the parallel Tenth Avenue. After diverging into two lines at around 65th Street, the mainline would have terminated at 86th Street in Bay Ridge, and the other line would travel west from the mainline towards a partially-built tunnel to Staten Island. An alternate plan proposed a connection to the BMT West End Line at New Utrecht Avenue. These lines were planned as part of the IND Second System.^[24]

Exits

South ramp

The full-time, northern entrance is by Greenwood and Prospect Avenues, with two street staircases. A block-long passageway leads northward to the northeast corner of Prospect Avenue and Reeve Place for one additional street staircase. There is a closed staircase that would have led to a fare control area at platform level at the Manhattan-bound side. This area is gated shut, and about half of the space is taken by station facilities with additional tiles.^[25]

At the north end of the station, there is also a sealed entrance at the northwestern corner of Reeve Place and Prospect Avenue, which was never opened. The property owner of 1246 Prospect Avenue filed a suit, claiming that it obstructed access to their property, which was scheduled to be tried on January 20, 1936. Since the New York City Board of Transportation deemed that it would probably not be needed for a considerable period, it ordered that the closure of the stairway, the removal the entrance structure, and the slabbing over of the entrance be done at once. The report stated that the entrance could be reopened at its former location with the consent of the owner, or at the curb line, without their consent, when "traffic warrants reopening".^[26]

The south end exit is to Fort Hamilton Parkway and has full-time HEET access and a former booth. The only exit at this end is a ramp (no staircase) that runs along the western side of the Prospect Expressway, up and down a small hill. This exit replaced the original 1933 staircase exit, when Robert Moses built the expressway. From the mezzanine area, one can see the variation in tile colors and styles when the new entrance was added in 1962, coinciding with the opening of the expressway. This can be seen when facing the ramp.^[25]

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. "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
3. "Plan to Recapture Culver Line Ready" (PDF). The New York Times. July 12, 1932. p. 9. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
4. "New Subway Routes in Hylan Program to Cost $186,046,000" (PDF). The New York Times. March 21, 1925. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
5. Feasibility and Analysis of F Express Service in Brooklyn (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Report). May 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 27, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
6. "Independent Subway Services Beginning in 1932". thejoekorner.com. August 21, 2013. Archived from the original on November 22, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
   Information adapted from:

   • New York Division Bulletin (Report) (October and November 1968 ed.). Electric Railroaders’ Association, Inc. Fall 1968.
7. "City Subway Extended" (PDF). The New York Times. October 7, 1933. p. 16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
8. Euzarraga, Matthew; Mocker, Greg (January 26, 2024). "13 NYC subway stations to get repairs and remodels under MTA 'Re-NEW-vations' enhancements". PIX11. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
9. Daly, Adam (February 14, 2024). "MTA completes first Brooklyn subway station renovation of the year at Fort Hamilton Parkway". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
10. "NYCTA- Pass for Culver Line Ceremonies - 1954". flickr.com. New York City Transit Authority. 1954. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
11. "Adequate Transit Promised For City" (PDF). The New York Times. October 29, 1954. p. 25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
12. Sparberg, Andrew J. (October 1, 2014). From a Nickel to a Token: The Journey from Board of Transportation to MTA. Fordham University Press. ISBN 978-0-8232-6190-1.
13. Perlmutter, Emanuel (November 16, 1967). "Subway Changes To Speed Service" (PDF). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
14. "'F' Line Rush-Hour Service Will Be Added in Brooklyn" (PDF). The New York Times. June 8, 1969. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
15. Review of F Line Operations, Ridership, and Infrastructure (PDF). nysenate.gov (Report). MTA New York City Transit Authority. October 7, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 31, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
16. Geberer, Raanan (March 6, 2013). "Light at End of Tunnel: F Train Express may return". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
17. Review of the G Line (PDF). mta.info (Report). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 10, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 24, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
18. Flegenheimer, Matt (July 19, 2012). "M.T.A. Subway, Train and Bus Services to be Restored". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
19. Barone, Vincent (July 9, 2019). "Limited F express service coming to Brooklyn for rush hour". AMNY. Archived from the original on October 3, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
20. "MTA NYC Transit Adding Limited F Express Service for Brooklyn Residents with Longest Commutes" (Press release). New York City Transit. July 10, 2019. Archived from the original on September 14, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
21. "Tile Colors a Guide in the New Subway; Decoration Scheme Changes at Each Express Stop to Tell Riders Where They Are". The New York Times. August 22, 1932. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
22. Carlson, Jen (February 18, 2016). "Map: These Color Tiles In The Subway System Used To Mean Something". Gothamist. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
23. Gleason, Will (February 18, 2016). "The hidden meaning behind the New York subway's colored tiles". Time Out New York. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
24. See:

    • Raskin, Joseph B. (2013). The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City's Unbuilt Subway System. New York, New York: Fordham University Press. doi:10.5422/fordham/9780823253692.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-82325-369-2.
    • Roger P. Roess; Gene Sansone (August 23, 2012). The Wheels That Drove New York: A History of the New York City Transit System. Springer Science & Business Media. pp. 416–417. ISBN 978-3-642-30484-2.
    • "Suggested Rapid Transit Lines in Richmond Borough". historicrichmondtown.org. Historic Richmond Town. 1930. Archived from the original on July 17, 2015. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
    • Convissor, Daniel (October 7, 1994). "DC: A Tunnel from SI to Brooklyn?". Daniel Convissor's Web Site. Archived from the original on August 30, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2010.
    • "Transit Progress on Staten Island" (PDF). The New York Times. April 19, 1931. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
    • "City Rapid Transit Urged in Richmond" (PDF). The New York Times. April 19, 1932. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
    • "New Yorkers Urge Loan For Tunnel" (PDF). The New York Times. Washington, D.C. September 22, 1932. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
    • "Vogel to Press for West End L, Culver Links". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. August 14, 1940. pp. 1–2 – via Newspapers.com.
25. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Flatbush" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
26. Proceedings. New York City Board of Transportation. January 1936. p. 54.

External links

• nycsubway.org – IND Crosstown: Fort Hamilton Parkway
• Station Reporter — F Train
• The Subway Nut — Fort Hamilton Parkway Pictures
• Fort Hamilton Parkway entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Greenwood and Prospect Avenues entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Reeve Place entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View