Houston Street
 "1" train
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northbound 1 train departing
Station statistics
AddressWest Houston Street & Varick Street
New York, NY 10014
BoroughManhattan
LocaleGreenwich Village, West Village, Hudson Square
Coordinates40°43′43″N 74°00′19″W / 40.728592°N 74.005322°W / 40.728592; -74.005322
DivisionA (IRT)[1]
Line   IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services   1 all times (all times)
​   2 late nights (late nights)
TransitBus transport NYCT Bus: M20, M21
StructureUnderground
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks4
Other information
OpenedJuly 1, 1918 (1918-07-01)
Opposite-
direction
transfer		No
Traffic
20222,374,723[2] Increase 57.4%
Rank129 out of 423[2]
Services
Preceding station New York City Subway New York City Subway Following station
Christopher Street–Sheridan Square
1 all times ​2 late nights
toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street
Local		 Canal Street
1 all times ​2 late nights
toward South Ferry
"3" train does not stop here
Location
Houston Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) is located in New York City Subway
Houston Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
Houston Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) is located in New York City
Houston Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
Houston Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) is located in New York
Houston Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
Track layout

to Christopher Street
to Canal Street
Street map

Station service legend
Symbol Description
Stops all times Stops all times
Stops late nights only Stops late nights only
Stops late nights and weekends Stops late nights and weekends

The Houston Street station is a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at West Houston and Varick Streets in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times and by the 2 train during late nights.

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. The station had its platforms extended in the 1960s, and was renovated in 1994.

History

Construction and opening

Name Tablet and trim line
Directional and trim line tablets

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.[3][4][5]

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.[6] 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.[7][8]

Houston Street opened as part of an extension of the line from 34th Street–Penn Station to South Ferry on July 1, 1918.[9][10] Initially, the station was served by a shuttle running from Times Square to South Ferry.[11][12] 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.[13] 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.[7]

Later years

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.[14][15] 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 Houston 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.[16]

This station was renovated in 1994 by in-house forces.

Station layout

A panel of Platform Diving
Northbound street stair
Ground Street level Exit/entrance
Platform level Side platform
Northbound local ← "1" train toward Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street (Christopher Street–Sheridan Square)
← "2" train toward Wakefield–241st Street late nights (Christopher Street–Sheridan Square)
Northbound express ← "2" train"3" train do not stop here
Southbound express → "2" train"3" train do not stop here →
Southbound local → "1" train toward South Ferry (Canal Street) →
→ "2" train toward Flatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College late nights (Canal Street) →
Side platform

This underground station has two side platforms and four tracks. The station is served by the 1 at all times[17] and by the 2 during late nights;[18] the center express tracks are used by the 2 and 3 trains during daytime hours.[18][19] The station is between Christopher Street–Sheridan Square to the north and Canal Street to the south.[20]

In a fashion similar to the former 91st Street on the same line and 33rd Street on the Lexington Avenue Line, the two center tracks appears to descend within the confines of the station. As a result, the express tracks are at a lower elevation than the local tracks in the northern half of the station.

Both platforms have golden mosaic trim lines with blue and green borders and "H" tablets on a light blue background at regular intervals. The large name tablets read "HOUSTON ST." in gold font on a dark blue background and gold border. There are also directional tablets in the same style. Yellow I-beam columns run along both platforms at regular intervals with alternating ones having the standard black station name plate with white Helvetica lettering.

The station's artwork, installed during a 1994 in-house renovation, is entitled Platform Diving by Deborah Brown. It consists of murals on both platforms depicting sea creatures in an underwater subway system.

Exits

All fare control areas in this station are at platform level and there are no crossovers or crossunders. On both sides, a turnstile bank leads to a two staircases going up to West Houston and Varick Streets, either western corners on the South Ferry-bound side and either eastern corners on the Bronx-bound side. Only the Bronx-bound side has a token booth; the South Ferry-bound side is unstaffed.[21]

Both platforms have an unstaffed secondary fare control area towards their south ends. Two high entry/exit turnstiles and one exit-only turnstile leads to two staircases going up to Varick and King Streets, either western corners on the South Ferry-bound side and either eastern corners on the Bronx-bound side.[21]

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. 1 2 "Annual Subway Ridership (2017–2022)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2022. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Terms and Conditions of Dual System Contracts". nycsubway.org. Public Service Commission. March 19, 1913. Archived from the original on May 13, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  4. ↑ "The Dual System of Rapid Transit (1912)". nycsubway.org. Public Service Commission. September 1912. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2017.
  5. ↑ "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. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016 – via Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Engineering News-record. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. 1916. Archived from the original on 2022-05-04. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  7. 1 2 Whitney, Travis H. (March 10, 1918). "The Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subways Will Revive Dormant Sections" (PDF). The New York Times. p. 12. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Public Service Commission Fixes July 15 For Opening of The New Seventh and Lexington Avenue Subway Lines" (PDF). The New York Times. May 19, 1918. p. 32. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  9. ↑ "7th Avenue Subway System Is Opened To Public To-day: First Train Will Start at 2 O'Clock This Afternoon". New-York Tribune. 1 Jul 1918. p. 9. ProQuest 575909557.
  10. ↑ "Open New Subway to Regular Traffic" (PDF). The New York Times. July 2, 1918. p. 11. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 30, 2020. 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. 1 Jul 1918. p. 9. ProQuest 575909557.
  12. ↑ "Times Sq. Grows as Subway Centre: New Seventh Avenue Line, Open Today, Marks Great Transportation Advance". The New York Times. 1917-07-01. p. RE11. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 99994412. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  13. ↑ "Open New Subway Lines to Traffic; Called a Triumph" (PDF). The New York Times. August 2, 1918. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-02-21. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  14. ↑ "City Transit Unity Is Now a Reality; Title to I.R.T. Lines Passes to Municipality, Ending 19-Year Campaign". The New York Times. 1940-06-13. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
  15. ↑ "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.
  16. ↑ "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. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  17. ↑ "1 Subway Timetable, Effective August 12, 2023". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  18. 1 2 "2 Subway Timetable, Effective June 26, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  19. ↑ "3 Subway Timetable, Effective June 26, 2022". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Subway Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  21. 1 2 "MTA Neighborhood Maps: SoHo / Tribeca" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
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