18th Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

18 Street
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northbound platform
Station statistics
Address	West 18th Street & Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10011
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Chelsea
Coordinates	40°44′28″N 73°59′53″W / 40.741°N 73.998°W / 40.741; -73.998Coordinates: 40°44′28″N 73°59′53″W / 40.741°N 73.998°W / 40.741; -73.998
Division	A (IRT)[1]
Line	IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services	1  (all times) ​   2  (late nights)
Transit	NYCT Bus: M7, M20
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	July 1, 1918; 103 years ago (1918-07-01)
Station code	321[2]
Opposite- direction transfer	No
Traffic
2019	2,649,616[4]  1.3%
Rank	184 out of 424[4]
Station succession
Next north	23rd Street: 1  ​2
Next south	14th Street: 1  ​2
showLocation Show map of New York City SubwayShow map of New York CityShow map of New YorkShow all
showTrack layout Legend to 23 St to 14 St
showStreet map Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
showStation service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekends

18th Street is a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 18th Street and Seventh Avenue in 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 1991-1992.

History[]

Construction and opening[]

Name of the station in mosaics

Frieze mosaics with number "18"

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]

18th Street opened as the line was extended south to South Ferry from 34th Street–Penn Station on July 1, 1918, and was served by a shuttle.^[11] 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.^[12] 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]

Station renovations[]

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 18th 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.^[13]

This station was renovated in 1991—1992.^{[citation needed]}

Station layout[]

Exit-only on the southbound platform

Northeast corner stairs at 18th Street and 7th Avenue

G	Street level	Exit/entrance
P Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward 242nd Street (23rd Street) ← toward 241st Street late nights (23rd Street)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ toward South Ferry (14th Street) → → toward Flatbush Avenue late nights (14th Street) →
	Side platform

This underground station has two side platforms and four tracks. The two express tracks are used by the 2 and 3 trains during daytime hours. The original trim line and name tablet mosaics have been retained. Beige I-beam columns run along the entire length of both platforms with every other one having the standard black station name plate with white lettering.

Exits[]

Each platform has a same-level fare control area that is staffed full-time and contains a turnstile bank, token booth, and two street stairs. The southbound side leads to both western corners of Seventh Avenue and 18th Street while the northbound side leads to the eastern corners.^[14]

Each platform has an exit-only at the north end containing a platform level turnstile and emergency gate and single street staircase leading to 19th Street and Seventh Avenue (the southwest corner for the southbound side and southeast corner for the northbound one).^[14]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 18th Street (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org – IRT West Side Line: 18th Street