Station: Canal Street (Broadway Line)
From nycsubway.org
| BMT Broadway Line |
Overview
Opened: 9/6/1915
Transfer here to: IRT East Side Line, BMT Nassau Street-Jamaica Line
There are actually two distinct stations called Canal Street serving the Broadway Line. One is on the main subway line under Broadway and serves the local trains; and the other is on a two track spur subway leading to the Manhattan Bridge under Canal Street, and serves the express trains.
The main line Canal Street station is a typical local station with two side platforms surrounding four tracks. The station has recently been renovated to restore the original look, with new mosaics featuring Chinese lettering to indicate this station's presence in the vibrant Chinatown neighborhood. The Chinese symbols on the red plaques mean "money" and "luck", and the tablet has ideographs that actually read "China" and "Town". One of the station's original mosaic tablets has been preserved at the Transit Museum.
The express line to the Manhattan Bridge stops at a lower level station, which has two tracks and two side platforms. The express tracks visible at the BMT Broadway local station at Canal Street are not actually express tracks and have never been used in regular service. They originate at the unused lower level of City Hall, run past Canal Street, and then dead end, just before the bridge tracks rise in their place. This is a remnant of changes made when the Manhattan Bridge was included in subway service plans in The Dual Contracts era. Originally it was intended for Broadway local service to originate at City Hall upper level and proceed north on the local tracks. The tracks coming from Brooklyn via the Montague Street Tunnel were to run though the lower level of City Hall, and then continue as the express service up Broadway. The tracks from the Manhattan Bridge were to stop at the Canal Street bridge line platform, and then proceed crosstown on Canal Street to the Hudson River.
During much of the Manhattan Bridge reconstruction project, this station was "abandoned", and only used as part of the transfer between the BMT Broadway local station and the BMT Nassau St. station. For a short time in 1997, during one of these periods of closure, an art exhibit known as the Canal Street Canal, by artist Alexander Brodsky, was installed on the northbound trackway. It involved installation of a large waterproof tub filled with water, with Venetian canal boats floating inside. The Bridge Line station has been reopened since July 22, 2001.
Some relative depths of stations in the Canal Street complex are as follows, +/- 10 feet.
- BMT Broadway platforms, 40 feet below street
- BMT bridge line platform, 50 feet
- Lexington Ave. subway platform, 20 feet
- Nassau St. subway platform, 20 feet
Artwork
Empress Voyage 2/27/1784, Bing Lee (1998)
Canal Street Canal, Alexander Brodsky (1997)
Photo Gallery
 Image 1219 (76k, 751x481) Photo by: Wayne Whitehorne Location: Canal Street |
 Image 1221 (90k, 752x482) Photo by: Wayne Whitehorne Location: Canal Street |
 Image 1656 (123k, 640x480) Photo by: Richard Brome Location: Canal Street Bridge Line |
 Image 1657 (58k, 480x640) Photo by: Richard Brome Location: Canal Street Bridge Line |
 Image 2602 (185k, 1024x660) Photo by: Steve Zabel Collection of: Joe Testagrose Location: Canal Street Bridge Line |
 Image 24080 (195k, 1024x661) Photo by: Doug Grotjahn Collection of: Joe Testagrose Location: Canal Street Bridge Line |
 Image 54574 (61k, 794x596) Photo by: Phillip Lee Location: Canal Street Bridge Line |
 Image 63579 (188k, 1044x788) Photo by: Roberto C. Tobar Location: Canal Street Bridge Line |
 Image 63580 (216k, 1044x788) Photo by: Roberto C. Tobar Location: Canal Street Bridge Line |
 Image 73001 (189k, 1044x788) Photo by: Roberto C. Tobar Location: Canal Street |
 Image 73002 (259k, 1044x788) Photo by: Roberto C. Tobar Location: Canal Street |
 Image 73976 (129k, 1044x788) Photo by: Michael Hodurski Location: Canal Street Bridge Line |
 Image 79842 (154k, 820x729) Photo by: Kevin Wong Location: Canal Street |
 Image 81146 (226k, 1044x788) Photo by: Zach Summer Location: Canal Street |
 Image 113855 (151k, 1044x549) Photo by: Lee Winson Location: Canal Street Bridge Line |