Chambers Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

The Chambers Street station is an express station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Chambers Street and West Broadway in the TriBeCa and the Financial District neighborhoods of Manhattan, it is served by the 1 and 2 trains at all times, and by the 3 train at all times except late nights.

Chambers Street  ​​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Southbound R62 3 train departing
Station statistics
Address	Chambers Street & West Broadway New York, New York
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Financial District, Tribeca
Coordinates	40.715517°N 74.009233°W / 40.715517; -74.009233
Division	A (IRT)[1]
Line	IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services	1  (all times) ​   2  (all times) ​   3  (all except late nights)
Transit	NYCT Bus: M20, M22[2]
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 island platforms cross-platform interchange
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	July 1, 1918; 106 years ago (1918-07-01)
Accessible	ADA-accessible
Opposite- direction transfer	Yes
Traffic
2023	3,782,605[3]  16.1%
Rank	77 out of 423[3]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 14th Street 2  ​3  via 135th Street Express Park Place 2  ​3  via Franklin Avenue–Medgar Evers College Franklin Street 1  ​2  toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street Local WTC Cortlandt 1  toward South Ferry
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to 14th Street to Franklin Street to Park Place to WTC Cortlandt
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops all times Stops late nights only Stops weekdays and weekday late nights Stops weekdays during the day Stops weekends during the day
Chambers Street Subway Station (Dual System IRT)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
MPS	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP reference No.	05000234[4]
Added to NRHP	March 30, 2005

The station was built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as part of the Dual Contracts with New York City, and opened on July 1, 1918. Its platforms were extended in the 1960s, and elevators were installed in the 2000s, making the station compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

History

Construction and opening

Plaque with the first building of Kings College (later Columbia University), which was located around the corner on Park Place

The Dual Contracts, which were signed on March 19, 1913, were contracts for the construction and/or rehabilitation and operation of rapid transit lines in the City of New York. The contracts were "dual" in that they were signed between the City and two separate private companies (the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company), all working together to make the construction of the Dual Contracts possible. The Dual Contracts promised the construction of several lines in Brooklyn. As part of Contract 4, the IRT agreed to build a branch of the original subway line south down Seventh Avenue, Varick Street, and West Broadway to serve the West Side of Manhattan.^[5][6][7]

The construction of this line, in conjunction with the construction of the Lexington Avenue Line, would change the operations of the IRT system. Instead of having trains go via Broadway, turning onto 42nd Street, before finally turning onto Park Avenue, there would be two trunk lines connected by the 42nd Street Shuttle. The system would be changed from looking like a "Z" system on a map to an "H" system. One trunk would run via the new Lexington Avenue Line down Park Avenue, and the other trunk would run via the new Seventh Avenue Line up Broadway. In order for the line to continue down Varick Street and West Broadway, these streets needed to be widened, and two new streets were built, the Seventh Avenue Extension and the Varick Street Extension.^[8] It was predicted that the subway extension would lead to the growth of the Lower West Side, and to neighborhoods such as Chelsea and Greenwich Village.^[9][10]

Chambers Street opened as part of an extension of the line from 34th Street–Penn Station to South Ferry on July 1, 1918.^[11][12] Initially, the station was served by a shuttle running from Times Square to South Ferry.^[11][13] The new "H" system was implemented on August 1, 1918, joining the two halves of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and sending all West Side trains south from Times Square.^[14] An immediate result of the switch was the need to transfer using the 42nd Street Shuttle in order to retrace the original layout. The completion of the "H" system doubled the capacity of the IRT system.^[9]

Later years

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[15][16] On August 9, 1964, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) announced the letting of a $7.6 million contract to lengthen platforms at stations on the Broadway—Seventh Avenue Line from Rector Street to 34th Street–Penn Station, including Chambers Street, and stations from Central Park North–110th Street to 145th Street on the Lenox Avenue Line to allow express trains to be lengthened from nine-car trains to ten-car trains, and to lengthen locals from eight-car trains to ten-car trains. With the completion of this project, the NYCTA project to lengthen IRT stations to accommodate ten-car trains would be complete.^[17]

The station was renovated between 2007 and 2009. Three elevators were installed in the station (two from platform level to the mezzanine and one from fare control to the streets) to make it accessible for people with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.^[18]

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Mezzanine		Fare control, station agent Elevator at northwest corner of Hudson and Chambers Streets
Platform level	Northbound local	← toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street (Franklin Street)
	Island platform
	Northbound express	← toward Wakefield–241st Street (Franklin Street late nights, 14th Street other times) ← toward Harlem–148th Street (14th Street)
	Southbound express	→ toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College (Park Place) → → toward New Lots Avenue (Park Place) →
	Island platform
	Southbound local	→ toward South Ferry (WTC Cortlandt) →

Exit and elevator kiosk at Chambers Street and West Broadway

This underground station has four tracks and two island platforms. The 1 and 2 trains stop here at all times, and the 3 train stops here at all times except late nights.^[19][20][21] The next stop to the north is Franklin Street for local trains and 14th Street for express trains. The next stop to the south is WTC Cortlandt for 1 trains and Park Place for 2 and ​3 trains.^[22] The walls of the station contain mosaics depicting Columbia College's old campus nearby, between Murray, Church, and Barclay Streets and West Broadway.^[23]

South of this station, the 2 and 3 trains curve sharply east and branch off to Park Place, Fulton Street, Wall Street, and then Brooklyn. The 1 train continues in a more direct southerly orientation towards its terminal, South Ferry.^[24] North of the station are diamond crossovers in both directions, allowing the 2 train to run local during late nights, switching over to the express tracks north of Chambers Street and then heading to Brooklyn.^[24]

Exits

The station's only exits are through the mezzanine above the center of the station. Street stairs lead to four of the five corners of the intersection of Chambers Street, Hudson Streets, and West Broadway. The only corner without a street stair is the wedge between Hudson Street and West Broadway on the intersection's northern side, where the James Bogardus Plaza is located. The southwest corner of the intersection has two stairs. There is an elevator located at the northwestern corner of Chambers and Hudson Streets.^[25]

v t e Lower Manhattan transit
Legend
Franklin Street Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall ​ ( ) ​​ Chambers Street Chambers Street ​ ​ ( ) Chambers Street–WTC City Hall ​ ​ Park Place WTC Cortlandt Cortlandt Street ​ (  HOB   NWK ) World Trade Center Fulton Street ​​​​​​​ Rector Street Rector Street ​ ​ Wall Street Wall Street ​ ​ Bowling Green Broad Street ( ​) ( ) South Ferry/Whitehall Street Whitehall Terminal South Ferry loops

Nearby points of interest

• Brookfield Place^[25]
• World Trade Center^[25]
• Borough of Manhattan Community College^[25]
• Stuyvesant High School^[25]
• New York Law School^[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. "Manhattan Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. July 2019. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
3. "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
4. "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
5. New Subways For New York: The Dual System of Rapid Transit. New York State Public Service Commission. March 19, 1913. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
6. The Dual System of Rapid Transit. New York State Public Service Commission. September 1912. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
7. "Most Recent Map of the Dual Subway System Which Shows How Brooklyn Borough Is Favored In New Transit Lines". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. September 9, 1917. p. 37. Retrieved August 23, 2016 – via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com.
8. Engineering News-record. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. 1916. p. 846.
9. Whitney, Travis H. (March 10, 1918). "The Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subways Will Revive Dormant Sections". The New York Times. p. 12. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
10. "Public Service Commission Fixes July 15 For Opening of The New Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subway Lines". The New York Times. May 19, 1918. p. 32. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
11. "7th Avenue Subway System Is Opened To Public To-day: First Train Will Start at 2 O'Clock This Afternoon". New-York Tribune. July 1, 1918. p. 9. ProQuest 575909557.
12. "Open New Subway to Regular Traffic". The New York Times. July 2, 1918. p. 11. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
13. "Times Sq. Grows as Subway Centre: New Seventh Avenue Line, Open Today, Marks Great Transportation Advance". The New York Times. July 1, 1917. p. RE11. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 99994412. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
14. "Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph". The New York Times. August 2, 1918. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
15. "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.
16. "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.
17. "IRT Riders To Get More Train Room; $8.5 Million Is Allocated for Longer Stations and for 3 New Car Washers". The New York Times. August 10, 1964. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
18. "2/3 Chambers Street Elevator Installation". Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center. Archived from the original on June 30, 2009. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
19. "1 Subway Timetable, Effective December 15, 2024". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
20. "2 Subway Timetable, Effective June 26, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
21. "3 Subway Timetable, Effective June 30, 2024". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
22. "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
23. Schneider, Daniel B. (November 29, 1998). "F.Y.I". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
24. Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
25. "Chambers Street Neighborhood Map". mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. April 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2021.

Further reading

• Stokey, Lee (1994). Subway Ceramics: A History and Iconography. ISBN 978-0-9635486-1-0.

External links

• nycsubway.org – IRT West Side Line: Chambers Street
• MTA's Arts For Transit – Chambers Street/Park Place (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)