City Hall
Subway station · Civic Center ·
Historic government seat with stunning architecture and tours
Information
New York, NY 10007 Get directions
Historic government seat with stunning architecture and tours
New York, NY 10007 Get directions
"City Hall Station, which also houses the City Hall Loop, is the original southern terminal station of the first line of the New York City Subway. Opening in 1904, this station was one of the original IRT stations designed to be more elegant in its architectural style, taking its cues from Romanesque Revival and featuring tile, skylights and brass chandeliers. Despite its stately architecture, City Hall was never a prominent station in the early 1900s. Instead of renovating the station to modernize it, it was closed to the public in 1945 and train service was deferred to other nearby stations. The interior of this "ghost station" can only be seen while making the loop on a downtown 6 train as it becomes an uptown 6 train. The outside of the part of City Hall station that is still in use demonstrates the Romanesque Revival style in the engraved stone typography on the building and signage. Consider it a little typographic treat on your way down to the train." - Paperless Post
"At City Hall (a Tribeca restaurant that closed in 2015 due to rising New York labor costs), Larry and Jeff watch in hungry frustration as their meals sit ready on the pass. This is probably not an uncommon dining experience — hungry diners watching food sit for a minute or two while a server is busy in another part of the dining room. But diners would likely not know for certain that it’s their food or if another table ordered the same dish first. There is an invisible line of protocol and hygiene that separates restaurant guests from the kitchen. Picking up dishes waiting at the pass to be expedited and taking them to the table, as fictional Larry does, crosses that line. “This man is a hero,” Jeff tells their server after Larry helps himself to the food. “He just revolutionized the way restaurants work, my friend.” Larry’s behavior is classic disruptor mentality — circumvent someone’s job, or standards for labor and safety, and call it innovation. Fictional Larry’s actions could reasonably warrant a lifetime ban. Instead, it results in the angry, eavesdropping server snitching on Larry for gabbing during Ricky Gervais’s play. Later in the episode, Larry, having learned nothing, continues to take his own food from the restaurant’s kitchen." - Corey Mintz
"The first New York City subway was built and operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and opened on October 27, 1904, to the joy of New York elevated train and streetcar riders. The City Hall station on the IRT local track was lavished with fine architectural details, including glass tiles and large chandeliers. However, the Gustavino vaulted ceilings and skylights were lost on busy commuters, and the stop was one of the least-used in the system. It was the only station that did not have turnstiles installed by 1923, and the nearby Brooklyn Bridge stop was frequented by the express train and closer to connecting streetcars. Because of the curved platform, cars with center doors could not be used at this station unless they had specially modified door controls which allowed just the end doors to be opened. In 1945, the station was closed when platforms along the line were being lengthened to accommodate longer trains, and the number of passengers using this station dwindled to very few. Another factor leading to the decline of the station’s use was the fact that a person boarding the train at City Hall with a station intended destination below City Hall or in Brooklyn would wind up on the uptown platform at the Brooklyn Bridge station. They would then have to go upstairs and down to the downtown platform to continue their journey. It was much easier to walk the short distance at street level to the Brooklyn Bridge station. Up until the late 1990’s the passengers on the Lexington Avenue Local (today’s 6 train) had to disembark from the train at the Brooklyn Bridge stop. That is no longer the case. The skylights have been reopened, and the station lights turned back on. While passengers can not get out of the train and experience the City Hall Station as they once might have, they can stay on the train as it loops around on those tracks and heads back north. The New York City Transit Museum hosts periodic tours of the abandoned station; however, you must be a member of the museum to attend. Check the website for details." - ATLAS_OBSCURA
"The first New York City subway was built and operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and opened on October 27, 1904, to the joy of New York elevated train and streetcar riders. The City Hall station on the IRT local track was lavished with fine architectural details, including glass tiles and large chandeliers. However, the Gustavino vaulted ceilings and skylights were lost on busy commuters, and the stop was one of the least-used in the system. It was the only station that did not have turnstiles installed by 1923, and the nearby Brooklyn Bridge stop was frequented by the express train and closer to connecting streetcars. Because of the curved platform, cars with center doors could not be used at this station unless they had specially modified door controls which allowed just the end doors to be opened. In 1945, the station was closed when platforms along the line were being lengthened to accommodate longer trains, and the number of passengers using this station dwindled to very few. Another factor leading to the decline of the station’s use was the fact that a person boarding the train at City Hall with a station intended destination below City Hall or in Brooklyn would wind up on the uptown platform at the Brooklyn Bridge station. They would then have to go upstairs and down to the downtown platform to continue their journey. It was much easier to walk the short distance at street level to the Brooklyn Bridge station. Up until the late 1990’s the passengers on the Lexington Avenue Local (today’s 6 train) had to disembark from the train at the Brooklyn Bridge stop. That is no longer the case. The skylights have been reopened, and the station lights turned back on. While passengers can not get out of the train and experience the City Hall Station as they once might have, they can stay on the train as it loops around on those tracks and heads back north. The New York City Transit Museum hosts periodic tours of the abandoned station; however, you must be a member of the museum to attend. Check the website for details." - ATLAS_OBSCURA
"The first New York City subway was built and operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) and opened on October 27, 1904, to the joy of New York elevated train and streetcar riders. The City Hall station on the IRT local track was lavished with fine architectural details, including glass tiles and large chandeliers. However, the Gustavino vaulted ceilings and skylights were lost on busy commuters, and the stop was one of the least-used in the system. It was the only station that did not have turnstiles installed by 1923, and the nearby Brooklyn Bridge stop was frequented by the express train and closer to connecting streetcars. Because of the curved platform, cars with center doors could not be used at this station unless they had specially modified door controls which allowed just the end doors to be opened. In 1945, the station was closed when platforms along the line were being lengthened to accommodate longer trains, and the number of passengers using this station dwindled to very few. Another factor leading to the decline of the station’s use was the fact that a person boarding the train at City Hall with a station intended destination below City Hall or in Brooklyn would wind up on the uptown platform at the Brooklyn Bridge station. They would then have to go upstairs and down to the downtown platform to continue their journey. It was much easier to walk the short distance at street level to the Brooklyn Bridge station. Up until the late 1990’s the passengers on the Lexington Avenue Local (today’s 6 train) had to disembark from the train at the Brooklyn Bridge stop. That is no longer the case. The skylights have been reopened, and the station lights turned back on. While passengers can not get out of the train and experience the City Hall Station as they once might have, they can stay on the train as it loops around on those tracks and heads back north. The New York City Transit Museum hosts periodic tours of the abandoned station; however, you must be a member of the museum to attend. Check the website for details." - ATLAS_OBSCURA
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