Spring Street station (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)

Spring Street  ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
View of northbound platform
Station statistics
Address	Spring Street & Lafayette Street New York, NY 10012
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Little Italy, SoHo
Coordinates	40°43′20″N 73°59′50″W / 40.72222°N 73.99722°W / 40.72222; -73.99722Coordinates: 40°43′20″N 73°59′50″W / 40.72222°N 73.99722°W / 40.72222; -73.99722
Division	A (IRT)[1]
Line	IRT Lexington Avenue Line
Services	4  (late nights) ​   6  (all times) <6>  (weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction)
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904; 116 years ago (October 27, 1904)[2]
Station code	409[3]
Opposite- direction transfer	No
Traffic
2019	3,754,272[5]  2.7%
Rank	132 out of 424[5]
Station succession
Next north	Bleecker Street: 4  ​6  <6>
Next south	Canal Street: 4  ​6  <6>
showLocation Show map of New York City SubwayShow map of New York CityShow map of New YorkShow all
showTrack layout Legend to Bleecker St to Canal St
showStreet map Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
showStation service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops late nights only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only

Spring Street is a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Lafayette Street and Spring Street in SoHo and Little Italy, Manhattan, it is served by 6 trains at all times, <6> trains during weekdays in the peak direction, and 4 trains during late night hours.

The Spring Street station was constructed for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as part of the city's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. Construction of the line segment that includes the Spring Street station started on September 12 of the same year. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. The station's platforms were lengthened in the late 1950s.

The Spring Street station contains two side platforms and four tracks; express trains use the inner two tracks to bypass the station. The station was built with tile and mosaic decorations, which are continued along the platform extensions. The station contains exits to Spring Street at the center of each platform. The platforms are not connected to each other within fare control. The station contains elevators from the street, which make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

History[]

Construction and opening[]

A 1905 photo of the station's original glass ceilings, which let in natural light

Planning for the city's first subway line dates to the Rapid Transit Act, authorized by the New York State Legislature in 1894.^{[6]: 139–140} The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, chief engineer of the Rapid Transit Commission. It called for a subway line from New York City Hall in lower Manhattan to the Upper West Side, where two branches would lead north into the Bronx.^[7]: 3 A plan was formally adopted in 1897, and legal challenges were resolved near the end of 1899.^[6]: 148 The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont Jr., signed Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900,^[8] in which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.^[6]: 182 In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations.^[7]: 4 Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.^[6]: 182

The Spring Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's original line, particularly the section from Chambers Street to Great Jones Street. Construction on this section of the line began on July 10, 1900, and was awarded to Degnon-McLean Contracting Company.^[8] On July 12, 1900, the contract was modified to widen the subway at Spring Street to allow for the construction of 600 feet (183 m) of a fifth track.^{[9]: 82, 249} The Spring Street station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from City Hall to 145th Street on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line.^{[6]: 186 [10]}

Service changes and station renovations[]

View of the transition between the original platform section and the platform extension

After the initial system was completed in 1908,^[11] the station was served by local trains along both the West Side (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street) and East Side (now the Lenox Avenue Line). West Side local trains had their southern terminus at City Hall during rush hours and South Ferry at other times, and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street. East Side local trains ran from City Hall to Lenox Avenue (145th Street).^[12] In 1918, the Lexington Avenue Line opened north of Grand Central–42nd Street, thereby dividing the original line into an "H" system. All local trains were sent via the Lexington Avenue Line, running along the Pelham Line in the Bronx.^[2]

In 1909, to address overcrowding, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[13]: 168 As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts, made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to $41.7 million in 2020) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $13,887,500 in 2020) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.^[14]: 15 Platforms at local stations, such as the Spring Street station, were lengthened by between 20 to 30 feet (6.1 to 9.1 m). The northbound platform was extended to the south.^[14]: 107

In late 1959, contracts were awarded to extend the platforms at Bowling Green, Wall Street, Fulton Street, Canal Street, Spring Street, Bleecker Street, Astor Place, Grand Central–42nd Street, 86th Street, and 125th Street to 525 feet (160 m).^[15] In April 1960, work began on a $3,509,000 project (equivalent to $30.7 million in 2020) to lengthen platforms at seven of these stations to accommodate ten-car trains. The northbound platforms at Canal Street, Spring Street, Bleecker Street, and Astor Place were lengthened from 225 to 525 feet (69 to 160 m); the platform extensions at these stations opened on February 19, 1962.^[16]

Station layout[]

Stairs to downtown platform

View of an entrance to the uptown platform.

G	Street level	Entrances/exits
P Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Pelham Bay Park or Parkchester (Bleecker Street) ← toward Woodlawn late nights (Bleecker Street)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ toward Brooklyn Bridge (Canal Street) → → toward New Lots Avenue late nights (Canal Street) →
	Side platform

Like other local stations, Spring Street has four tracks and two side platforms. The 6 stops here at all times,^[17] rush-hour and midday <6> trains stop here in the peak direction;^[17] and the 4 stops here during late nights.^[18] The two express tracks are used by the 4 and 5 trains during daytime hours.^[19] The platforms were originally 200 feet (61 m) long, as at other local stations on the original IRT,^{[7]: 4 [20]: 8} but as a result of the 1959 platform extensions, became 525 feet (160 m) long.^[15] The platform extensions are at the front ends of the original platforms: the southbound platform was extended southward and the northbound platform was extended northward.^[20]: 33 Both platforms are slightly curved.

Spring Street had a fifth center track at the time of its opening.^[21][22] The track was intended as a storage siding and was 600 feet (183 m) long.^[9]: 82 This track did not last long; it was reportedly disconnected and removed in 1906, only two years after the subway opened. The trackway is now used as the location of a mechanical room.^[22]

Design[]

Original name tablet mosaic, by Heins & LaFarge / Manhattan Glass Tile Company

Additional mosaic on the downtown platform extension

Small "S" cartouches, Atlantic Terra Cotta (1904)

As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the tunnel is covered by a "U"-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The bottom of this trough contains a foundation of concrete no less than 4 inches (100 mm) thick.^[20]: 9 Each platform consists of 3-inch-thick (7.6 cm) concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The original platforms contain circular, cast-iron Doric-style columns spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m), while the platform extensions contain I-beam columns. Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every 5 feet (1.5 m), support the jack-arched concrete station roofs.^{[7]: 4 [20]: 9} There is a 1-inch (25 mm) gap between the trough wall and the platform walls, which are made of 4-inch (100 mm)-thick brick covered over by a tiled finish.^[20]: 9

The original decorative scheme consists of blue tile station-name tablets, light blue tile bands, a white terracotta cornice, and light blue terracotta plaques.^[20]: 33 The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted the installations at each station.^[20]: 31 The decorative work was performed by tile contractor Manhattan Glass Tile Company and terracotta contractor Atlantic Terra Cotta Company.^[20]: 33 The ceilings of the original platforms and fare control areas contain plaster molding.^[20]: 10 The station has small "S" cartouches with two poppies from 1904, made by Atlantic Terra Cotta, and large mosaic tablets by Heins & LaFarge, also from 1904. Other small "S" and "Spring St" mosaics are newer.^[22]

Where the platforms have been extended, the walls have green tiles and a darker green trim line with "SPRING ST" written on it in black sans serif font at regular intervals.

Exits[]

Spring Street has four entrances, two to each platform. The northbound entrances are at either eastern corner of Lafayette and Spring Streets, while the southbound entrances are at either western corner of the same intersection.^[23] The entrance to the southwestern corner is located within the building line at 60 Spring Street, a building built in 1924 for the East River Savings Bank.

In popular culture[]

This station is featured in the 2008 film Cloverfield. The scene was not filmed there, however.^[24] The station is featured in the season 3 episode, "Lo-Fi", in the television show Criminal Minds.

References[]

Further reading[]

• Stookey, Lee (1994). Subway ceramics : a history and iconography of mosaic and bas relief signs and plaques in the New York City subway system. Brattleboro, Vt: L. Stookey. ISBN 978-0-9635486-1-0. OCLC 31901471.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Spring Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org – IRT East Side Line: Spring Street
• Station Reporter — 4 train
• Station Reporter — 6 Train
• Forgotten NY — Original 28 – NYC's First 28 Subway Stations
• Spring Street uptown entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Spring Street downtown entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View