81st Street–Museum of Natural History station

For the demolished station serving the IRT Ninth Avenue Line, see 81st Street station (IRT Ninth Avenue Line).

The 81st Street–Museum of Natural History station is a local station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. It is served by the B on weekdays, the C train at all times except nights, and the A train during late nights only.

81 Street–  Museum of Natural History  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northwest entrance
Station statistics
Address	West 81st Street & Central Park West New York, New York
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Upper West Side
Coordinates	40.781971°N 73.971763°W / 40.781971; -73.971763
Division	B (IND)[1]
Line	IND Eighth Avenue Line
Services	A  (late nights) ​   B  (weekdays during the day) ​   C  (all except late nights)
Transit	NYCT Bus: M10, M79 SBS MTA Bus: BxM2
Structure	Underground
Levels	2
Platforms	2 side platforms (1 on each level)
Tracks	4 (2 on each level)
Other information
Opened	September 10, 1932 (92 years ago) (1932-09-10)[2]
Accessible	not ADA-accessible; accessibility planned
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Traffic
2023	3,780,675[3]  16%
Rank	89 out of 423[3]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 86th Street A  ​B  ​C  via 145th Street Local 72nd Street A  ​B  ​C  via 59th Street–Columbus Circle 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 86th Street Superimposed tracks (right tracks above left) to 72nd Street Upper level Lower level
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops weekdays during the day

History

New York City mayor John Francis Hylan's original plans for the Independent Subway System (IND), proposed in 1922, included building over 100 miles (160 km) of new lines and taking over nearly 100 miles (160 km) of existing lines. The lines were designed to compete with the existing underground, surface, and elevated lines operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and BMT.^[4][5] On December 9, 1924, the New York City Board of Transportation (BOT) gave preliminary approval for the construction of the IND Eighth Avenue Line.^[6] This line consisted of a corridor connecting Inwood, Manhattan, to Downtown Brooklyn, running largely under Eighth Avenue but also paralleling Greenwich Avenue and Sixth Avenue in Lower Manhattan.^[6][7] The BOT announced a list of stations on the new line in February 1928, with a local station at 79th Street (corresponding to the American Museum of Natural History's main entrance).^[8]

The finishes at the five stations between 81st Street and 110th Street were 18 percent completed by May 1930.^[9] By that August, the BOT reported that the Eighth Avenue Line was nearly completed and that the five stations from 81st to 110th Street were 99 percent completed.^[10] The entire line was completed by September 1931, except for the installation of turnstiles.^[11] A preview event for the new subway was hosted on September 8, 1932, two days before the official opening.^[12][13] The 81st Street station opened on September 10, 1932, as part of the city-operated IND's initial segment, the Eighth Avenue Line between Chambers Street and 207th Street.^[14][15] Construction of the whole line cost $191.2 million (equivalent to $4,269.8 million in 2023. While the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line already provided parallel service, the new Eighth Avenue subway via Central Park West provided an alternative route.^[16]

The station was renovated in 1998–2000, in coordination with the building of the new Hayden Planetarium, within the Rose Center for Earth and Space.^[17] The floors were replaced, new lighting was installed, the token booth was upgraded, and the walls and staircases were re-tiled. Structural improvements were also made during the renovation.^[17] In 2019, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that the station would become ADA-accessible as part of the agency's 2020–2024 Capital Program.^[18]

A request for proposals was put out on May 18, 2023 for the contract for a project bundle to make 13 stations accessible, including 81st Street.^[19] The contract to add two elevators at the station was awarded in December 2023.^[20]

The work would include upgrades to electrical systems and the removal or relocation of some artwork. By mid-2024, the work was expected to be completed by 2026.^[21]

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Basement 1	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Northbound local	← weekdays toward Bedford Park Boulevard or 145th Street (86th Street) ← toward 168th Street (86th Street) ← toward Inwood–207th Street late nights (86th Street)
	Side platform
	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent, MetroCard and OMNY machines, entrance to American Museum of Natural History
Basement 2	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ weekdays toward Brighton Beach (72nd Street) → → toward Euclid Avenue (72nd Street) → → toward Far Rockaway–Mott Avenue late nights (72nd Street) →
	Side platform

This underground station has four tracks and two side platforms. On this section of the line, the local tracks are stacked, uptown above downtown, and the express tracks are stacked in the same order to the east of them, so both platforms are on the west side, one above the other. The station is at Central Park West and 81st Street, rather than the major crosstown 79th Street, in order to accommodate the American Museum of Natural History,^[22] which largely fills the area of what was once called the Manhattan Square. The 79th Street Transverse Road, through Central Park, exits the park here.

South of this station are storage/lay up tracks between the local and express tracks on each level. Both ends of the tracks merge with the express tracks, with switches to the local tracks.^[23][24]

Exits

There are two fare control areas, both on the upper platform. One is at the station's extreme south end, on Central Park West midblock between 77th and 81st Streets.^[25] From this fare control, a passageway leads to a staircase on the west side of Central Park West, just south of the American Museum of Natural History's front entrance.^[25] This fare control also has an underground entrance directly into the museum's lowest level.^[26] The other is at the station's north end, at Central Park West and West 81st Street. There is one staircase each to the northwest and southwest corners of the intersection.^[25]

Artwork

Dinosaur artwork on the lower level wall

In 1976, with funding from the Exxon Corporation, this station, as well as three others citywide, received new "artfully humorous graffiti" murals and artwork.^[27] Local designer Mayers and Schiff received $5,000 to add murals of dinosaurs such as "Thesaurus Rex, the dinosaur that had a vocabulary of a thousand words" and "Elongatomus, an elongated critter that stretched from coast to coast whose pelvic remains support a highway interchange in Missouri."^[27]

As part of the 1998–2000 station renovation, a program of tile mosaics was undertaken, covering the stairs and platforms, extending to floor inlays. Stairwells evoke descending into the geological strata of the Earth (at 81st Street) or into the Ocean (79th Street). Many creatures are evoked in mosaic vignettes that punctuate the stretches of white tiled wall. Fossil casts seem to emerge from the tiles as though the subway platform itself were an excavation, which it actually is.^[28] Under the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)'s Arts for Transit program, a mixed-media installation was created in 2000.^{[17][28][29][30]} Entitled "For Want of a Nail",^[29] named after the old proverb, it addresses the interconnections of entities that are as vast as a galaxy and as small as a single cell. Using ceramic tile, glass tile, glass mosaic, bronze relief, and granite as primary materials, the design team depicted the evolution of extinct, existing, and endangered life forms, from single-celled organisms to the towering T. rex dinosaur.^[28][31] It shows images and symbols ranging from the Earth's core, to the sea, the sky and the cosmos beyond. No artist has been identified in this group project.^[28][31]

In media

The station has been featured in the 2002 film Men in Black II. The station was also mentioned in Night at the Museum.

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. "List of the 28 Stations on the New 8th Av. Line". The New York Times. September 10, 1932. p. 6. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
3. "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
4. "Two Subway Routes Adopted by City". The New York Times. August 4, 1923. p. 9. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
5. "Plans Now Ready to Start Subways". The New York Times. March 12, 1924. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
6. "Hylan Subway Plan Links Four Boroughs at $450,000,000 Cost". The New York Times. December 10, 1924. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
7. 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.
8. "Express and Local Stations For New Eighth Avenue Line". New York Herald Tribune. February 5, 1928. p. B1. ISSN 1941-0646. ProQuest 1113431477.
9. "Progress is Rapid on 8th Av. Subway; Board's Engineers Report Spurt in Building Is Likely to Open the Line in July, 1930". The New York Times. May 26, 1930. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
10. "Eighth Av. Subway Nearly Completed; Basic Construction Work From Chambers to 207th St. Done Except on Few Short Stretches". The New York Times. August 24, 1930. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
11. O'Brien, John C. (September 9, 1931). "8th Ave. Line Being Rushed For Use Jan. 1: Turnstile Installation on Subway Begins Monday; Other Equipment Ready for Start of Train Service City Has Yet to Find Operating Company Transit Official on Trip, 207th to Canal Street, Inspects Finished Tube". New York Herald Tribune. p. 1. ISSN 1941-0646. ProQuest 1331181357.
12. "Sightseers Invade New Subway When Barricade Is lifted". The New York Times. September 9, 1932. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
13. "8th Av. Subway Gets First 5c. by Woman's Error: She Peers Into a Station, Hears Train, Pays for Ride, but Is Day Too Early Preparing for Tomorrow's Rush on 8th Ave. Subway". New York Herald Tribune. September 9, 1932. p. 1. ProQuest 1125436641.
14. Crowell, Paul (September 10, 1932). "Gay Midnight Crowd Rides First Trains In The New Subway: Throngs at Station an Hour Before Time, Rush Turnstiles When Chains are Dropped" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
15. Sebring, Lewis B. (September 10, 1932). "Midnight Jam Opens City's New Subway: Turnstiles Click Into Action at 12:01 A. M. as Throngs Battle for Places in 'First' Trains Boy, 7, Leads Rush At 42d St. Station City at Last Hails 8th Ave. Line After 7-Year Wait; Cars Bigger, Clean Transit Commissioner Officially Opening New Subway at Midnight". New York Herald Tribune. p. 1. ISSN 1941-0646. ProQuest 1114839882.
16. Duffus, R. l (September 9, 1932). "NEW LINE FIRST UNIT IN CITY-WIDE SYSTEM; 8th Av. Tube to Ease West Side Congestion at Once -- Branches to Link 4 Boroughs Later. LAST WORD IN SUBWAYS Run From 207th to Chambers St. Cut to 33 Minutes -- 42d St. Has World's Largest Station. COST HAS BEEN $191,200,000 Years of Digging Up City Streets, Tunneling Rock and Building Road Finally Brought to Completion". The New York Times. p. 12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
17. Siegal, Nina (September 13, 1998). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: UPPER WEST SIDE/UPPER MANHATTAN; At This Stop, B and C Spell Walk". The New York Times. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
18. "MTA Announces 20 Additional Subway Stations to Receive Accessibility Improvements Under Proposed 2020-2024 Capital Plan". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 19, 2019. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
19. "A37758 Design-Build Services for ADA Upgrades Package 5: Accessibility Upgrades at 13 Stations in the City of New York". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. May 18, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
20. "December 2023 MTA Board Action Items". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 20, 2023. pp. 46–47. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
21. Mishkin, Mike (May 15, 2024). "Major ADA Upgrades Planned at Two UWS Subway Stations". iLovetheUpperWestSide.com. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
22. "American Museum of Natural History". AMNH. May 1, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
23. "NYC Subway Track Map (Midtown Manhattan) (Zoom to section by clicking)". www.nycsubway.org. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
24. Marrero, Robert (January 1, 2017). "472 Stations, 850 Miles" (PDF). B24 Blog, via Dropbox. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
25. "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Upper West Side" (PDF). mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
26. "Directions and Transportation". AMNH. May 1, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
27. Burks, Edward C. (November 18, 1976). "A Subway Elongatomus? Why, It's Preposterous!". The New York Times. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
28. "81st Street-Museum of Natural History: ARTS FOR TRANSIT COLLABORATIVE: For Want of a Nail, 2000". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
29. Review of the A and C Lines (PDF) (Report). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. December 11, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 3, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
30. "81st Street Museum of Natural History Station Reopening". AMNH. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
31. Kennedy, Randy (June 15, 2000). "Where Stepping Off the Subway Means Stepping Into the Wild". The New York Times. Retrieved January 1, 2011.

External links

• nycsubway.org – 81st Street — Museum of Natural History (8th Avenue)
• nycsubway.org – "For Want of a Nail" Artwork (MTA Arts for Transit) (1999)
• The Subway Nut – 81st Street–Museum of Natural History pictures
• MTA's Arts For Transit – 81st Street–Museum of Natural History (IND Eighth Avenue Line)
• Corner of 81st Street and Central Park West subway entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Central Park West subway entrance in front of the American Museum of Natural History from Google Maps Street View
• Platform from Google Maps Street View