Prospect Avenue station (IRT White Plains Road Line)

Not to be confused with Prospect Avenue (BMT Fourth Avenue Line).

The Prospect Avenue station is a local station on the IRT White Plains Road Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Prospect and Westchester Avenues in the Longwood neighborhood of the Bronx, it is served by the 2 train at all times, and the 5 train at all times except late nights and rush hours in the peak direction.

Prospect Avenue  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northbound platform with Casa Amadeo
Station statistics
Address	Prospect & Westchester Avenues Bronx, New York
Borough	The Bronx
Locale	Longwood
Coordinates	40.819°N 73.901°W / 40.819; -73.901
Division	A (IRT)[1]
Line	IRT White Plains Road Line
Services	2  (all times) ​   5  (all times except rush hours in the peak direction and late nights)
Transit	NYCT Bus: Bx4, Bx17, Bx46[2]
Structure	Elevated
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	3
Other information
Opened	November 26, 1904; 119 years ago (1904-11-26) (3rd Ave. Line; Bergen Avenue By-pass) July 10, 1905; 119 years ago (1905-07-10) (White Plains Rd. Line)
Opposite- direction transfer	No
Traffic
2023	1,248,614[3]  1.3%
Rank	247 out of 423[3]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station Intervale Avenue 2  ​5  via East 180th Street Local Jackson Avenue 2  ​5  toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to Intervale Avenue to Jackson Avenue
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times
Prospect Avenue Subway Station (IRT)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
MPS	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP reference No.	04001026[4]
Added to NRHP	September 17, 2004

History

Early history

The initial segment of the IRT White Plains Road Line opened on November 26, 1904 between 180th Street–Bronx Park and Jackson Avenue. Initially, trains on the line were served by elevated trains from the IRT Second Avenue Line and the IRT Third Avenue Line. Once the connection to the IRT Lenox Avenue Line opened on July 10, 1905, trains from the newly opened IRT subway ran via the line.^[5][6][7]

To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[8]: 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.^[9]: 15 The northbound platform at the Prospect Avenue station was extended about 80 feet (24 m) to the front and 50 feet (15 m) to the rear,^[9]: 114 while the southbound platform was not lengthened.^[9]: 106 On January 23, 1911, ten-car express trains began running on the White Plains Road Line.^{[8]: 168 [10]}

Later years

The New York State Transit Commission announced plans to extend the southbound platforms at seven stations on the line from Jackson Avenue to 177th Street to accommodate ten-car trains for $81,900 on August 8, 1934. The platform at Prospect Avenue would be lengthened from 349 feet (106 m) to 496 feet (151 m).^[11]

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[12][13] The Bergen Avenue cutoff, which allowed Third Avenue trains to access the White Plains Road Line, was abandoned on November 5, 1946, as part of the gradual curtailment of elevated service on the IRT Third Avenue Line.^[6] On June 13, 1949, the platform extensions at this station, as well as those on White Plains Road Line stations between Jackson Avenue and 177th Street, opened. The platforms were lengthened to 514 feet (157 m) to allow full ten-car express trains to open their doors. Previously the stations could only accommodate six-car local trains.^[14]

This station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 2004.^[4] It was renovated in 2006.

Station layout

Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Wakefield–241st Street (Intervale Avenue) ← toward Eastchester–Dyre Avenue (Intervale Avenue)
	Peak-direction express	← PM rush does not stop here ← AM rush does not stop here →
	Southbound local	← toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College via Seventh (Jackson Avenue) → ← toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College via Lexington weekdays, Bowling Green evenings/weekends (Jackson Avenue) →
	Side platform
Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance

Artwork

Northbound station house

Western stair

The station has three tracks and two side platforms. The center express track is used by the 5 train during rush hours in the peak direction.

The center of both platforms have beige windscreens with green frames, red canopies, and green support columns. The ends have waist high, green steel fences with lampposts at regular intervals. The station signs are in the standard black station name plate with white lettering.

As with other original IRT elevated viaducts, the elevated structure at Prospect Avenue is carried on two column bents, one on each side of the road, at places where the tracks are no more than 29 feet (8.8 m) above the ground level. There is zigzag lateral bracing at intervals of every four panels.^[15]

The 2006 artwork here is called Bronx, Four Seasons by Ukrainian artist Marina Tsersarskaya. It consists of stained glass panels on the platform windscreens and station houses depicting images related the four seasons of meteorology.^[16]

Exits

This station is very close to street level. As a result, the stations houses are adjacent to their respective platforms and there are no crossovers or crossunders.

On the Manhattan-bound side, one staircase from the northwest corner of Westchester Avenue and 160th Street goes up to the north side of the station house. Another from the northern intersection of Prospect Avenue and 160th Street goes up to the south side. Inside the station house, there is a token booth, turnstile bank, waiting area, and doors leading to the platform. The platform has two exit-only turnstiles, each of which leads to one of the street stairs.^[17]

On the northbound side, two staircases from the northeast corner of Longwood and Westchester Avenues go up to the north side of the station house, which has a now closed customer assistance booth, turnstile bank, waiting area, and doors leading directly to the platform. A high exit-only turnstile from the platform leads directly to the staircases. Towards the south end of the platform, another exit-only turnstile leads to a double-flight staircase going down to the northeast corner of Prospect and Westchester Avenue.^[17] Both station houses have heaters.

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. "Bronx Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. October 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
3. "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
4. "New York MPS Prospect Avenue 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: 75312124. National Archives.
5. "Discuss Subway Signs in 18th St. Station" (PDF). The New York Times. November 27, 1904. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2020.
6. Kahn, Alan Paul (January 1, 1973). Tracks of New York /. New York : Electric Railroaders' Association.
7. "Subway Trains Running From Bronx to Battery" (PDF). The New York Times. July 10, 1905. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
8. 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)
9. 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.
10. "Ten-car Trains in Subway to-day; New Service Begins on Lenox Av. Line and Will Be Extended to Broadway To-morrow". The New York Times. January 23, 1911. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
11. "I.R.T. To Extend Stations. Platform Changes to Be Made on White Plains Line". The New York Times. August 9, 1934. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
12. "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.
13. "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.
14. Report for the three and one-half years ending June 30, 1949. New York City Board of Transportation. 1949. hdl:2027/mdp.39015023094926.
15. Transit Journal. 1904. p. 470. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved April 16, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain..{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
16. "Prospect Avenue - MARINA TSERSARSKAYA - Bronx. Four Seasons., 2008". web.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
17. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Pelham Bay" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2016.

External links

• nycsubway.org – IRT White Plains Road Line: Prospect Avenue
• MTA's Arts For Transit — Prospect Avenue (IRT White Plains Road Line)