A typical station of the new subway, showing proposed arrangement and architectural details. Drawn by H. M. Pettit.

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Overview

Opened: 10/27/1904

Transfer here to: IND 8th Avenue/Fulton Street/Rockaway Line

Local station with four tracks and two side platforms. The side walls of the station feature large name tablet mosaics and both mosaic and faience plaques of Christopher Columbus's three ships. A mezzanine underneath provides access to the IND station at Columbus Circle.

The downtown platform areas are much larger than necessary for the interchange with the IND. They are deliberately ample to allow for an expansion of this station into a new express stop. The downtown local and express tracks would, under an early 1950s NYCTA plan, weave out to accommodate a new center express platform. The new downtown local platform would be in the bays. Thus this station would have resembled Pennsylvania Station with three platforms. To ensure the bays remained available, the NY Coliseum was set back from the street. As part of this plan the 72nd Street station would become a local stop by walling off the express tracks. The express run would be from Times Square, then Columbus Circle, then 96th Street.

A renovation project in 2010-2011 restored the original name tablets and mosaics but did not attempt to build the extra platform as described above. Several reproduction name tablet mosaics were installed during this project. Also, the renovation work revealed a section of wall with experimental tile installations installed during the construction of the line 1900-1904.

Diagram of the subway construction underneath the Columbus Monument. Click to enlarge.

Links

Difficult Engineering in the Subway, a discussion of the construction techniques involved in underpinning the Columbus Circle monument.

Photo Gallery

Image 173 (78k, 738x496) Photo by: Wayne Whitehorne Location: 59th Street/Columbus Circle	Image 7557 (33k, 426x320) Photo by: Hank Eisenstein Location: 59th Street/Columbus Circle	Image 17491 (60k, 620x479) Photo by: IRT Company Location: 59th Street/Columbus Circle	Image 17494 (63k, 620x479) Photo by: IRT Company Location: 59th Street/Columbus Circle	Image 32453 (167k, 801x499) Collection of: Ed Levine Location: 59th Street/Columbus Circle
Image 85704 (267k, 1044x788) Photo by: David-Paul Gerber Location: 59th Street/Columbus Circle	Image 85707 (292k, 1044x788) Photo by: David-Paul Gerber Location: 59th Street/Columbus Circle	Image 98548 (171k, 1044x788) Photo by: David M. Location: 59th Street/Columbus Circle	Image 107054 (109k, 1024x779) Photo by: Robbie Rosenfeld Location: 59th Street/Columbus Circle	Image 108867 (98k, 1024x770) Photo by: Robbie Rosenfeld Location: 59th Street/Columbus Circle
Image 110273 (65k, 640x480) Photo by: David Blair Location: 59th Street/Columbus Circle	Image 110943 (51k, 640x480) Photo by: David Blair Location: 59th Street/Columbus Circle	Image 110949 (102k, 640x480) Photo by: David Blair Location: 59th Street/Columbus Circle	Image 112081 (103k, 768x1024) Photo by: Robbie Rosenfeld Location: 59th Street/Columbus Circle	Image 122067 (227k, 1044x658) Photo by: Richard Chase Location: 59th Street/Columbus Circle

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