The 96th Street station is an express station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 96th Street and Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, it is served by the 1, 2, and 3 trains at all times.
The 96th 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 96th Street station began on August 22 of that year. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. The platforms were lengthened in 1960 as part of an improvement project along the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. A new head house and elevators were constructed between 2007 and 2010.
The 96th Street station contains two island platforms, two unused side platforms, and four tracks. The outer tracks are used by local trains and the inner tracks by express trains. The station contains two sets of exits: a head house at the northern end, in the median of Broadway at 96th Street, and staircases at Broadway and 94th Street. The head house contains elevators, which make the station compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
History Construction and opening Planning for a subway line in New York City dates to 1864, but development of what became the city's first subway line did not start until 1894, when the New York State Legislature passed the Rapid Transit Act. The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led by William Barclay Parsons, the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer. 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. A plan was formally adopted in 1897, and all legal conflicts over the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899.
The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont Jr., signed the initial Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900, under which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line. In 1901, the firm of Heins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations. Belmont incorporated the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.
The 96th Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's West Side Line (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line) from 82nd Street to 104th Street, on which work began on August 22, 1900. Work for that section had been awarded to William Bradley. By late 1903, the subway was nearly complete, but the IRT Powerhouse and the system's electrical substations were still under construction, delaying the system's opening. The 96th 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 West Side Branch.
Early 20th century East Side local trains and West Side express trains crossed over at an at-grade junction north of 96th Street, creating heavy congestion during rush hours. In April 1907, the IRT submitted a report to the RTC, proposing to alleviate the congestion by building extra tracks. On June 27, 1907, a modification called the 96th Street Improvement was made to Contract 1 to add additional tracks at 96th Street in order to remove the at-grade junction north of the 96th Street station. Here, trains from Lenox Avenue and Broadway would switch to get to the express or local tracks and would delay service. The new tracks would have been constructed with the necessary fly-under tracks and switches. The estimated cost of the work was $850,000. Neighboring property owners objected to the plan since the work required tearing up the street above the tunnel. Accordingly, in December 1908, city officials announced they would introduce speed-control signals, making the 96th Street Improvement unnecessary. Some ramps had already been completed, so provisions were left to allow the work to be completed later. The signals were put into place at 96th Street on April 23, 1909. They allowed trains approaching a station to run more closely to the stopped train, eliminating the need to be separated by hundreds of feet.
When the station opened, the station served as the terminus of local trains; express trains ran as locals north to 145th Street. The first subway line was extended several times, reaching its full length in 1908, when the northernmost section to the Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street station opened. The station was served by local and express 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). Express trains had their southern terminus at South Ferry or Atlantic Avenue and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street, Lenox Avenue (145th Street), or West Farms (180th Street). Express trains to 145th Street were later eliminated, and West Farms express trains and rush-hour Broadway express trains operated through to Brooklyn.
The platforms were originally long, as at other express stations, and wide. To address overcrowding, in 1909, the New York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway. 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 $ million in ) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $ million in ) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent. At the 96th Street station, the northbound island platform was extended south, while the southbound island platform was extended south, necessitating the replacement of some structural steel girders. Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910. On January 23, 1911, ten-car express trains began running on the Lenox Avenue Line, and the next day, ten-car express trains were inaugurated on the West Side Line.
In 1915, the IRT considered constructing a new mezzanine and entrance at the southern end of the station leading to the central mall of Broadway at 94th Street, at an estimated cost of $60,000. The additional entrance would have reduced congestion at the station and reduced travel times for people south of 94th Street. In addition, two additional staircases would have been constructed to each island platform. Plans were prepared in 1923. The IRT sent a proposed agreement for the construction of the entrance to the New York City Board of Estimate, but the Board of Estimate suggested that staircases be constructed on the sidewalk. The IRT decided not to pursue this option since it would cost twice as much, or $100,000, and decided not to construct a new entrance at the southern end of the station at the time. In 1918, the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line opened south of Times Square–42nd Street, and the original line was divided into an H-shaped system. The original subway north of Times Square thus became part of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. Local trains (Broadway and Lenox Avenue) were sent to South Ferry, while express trains (Broadway and West Farms) used the new Clark Street Tunnel to Brooklyn.
Mid- and late 20th century
The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940. The IRT routes were given numbered designations in 1948 with the introduction of "R-type" rolling stock, which contained rollsigns with numbered designations for each service. The Broadway route to 242nd Street became known as the 1, the White Plains Road (formerly West Farms) route as the 2, and the Lenox Avenue route as the 3. There was still a bottleneck at 96th Street. By 1955, the bottleneck forced some southbound express trains from the 242nd Street branch to remain on the local track at 96th Street, skipping local stops before switching to the express track at 72nd Street.
On June 14, 1956, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) announced a $100 million (equivalent to $ billion) project to modernize the IRT Broadway—Seventh Avenue Line and improve service. It was estimated that the project would be completed in 2.5 years. In 1957, work began to lengthen station platforms between Times Square and 96th Street, with the exception of 91st Street, to to accommodate ten-car trains. Originally, stations north of Times Squares could barely fit local trains of five or six cars depending on the configuration of the trains. In 1960, work was completed on improvements at the 96th Street station, including the installation of fluorescent lighting, as well as platform extensions. To make room for the extensions, the local tracks and the outside walls had to be moved. A new mezzanine with stairways to the street, and direct access to both express platforms, was built between 93rd and 94th Streets.
Once most of the work on the project was completed on February 6, 1959, all 1 trains became local, running at an increased frequency with eight-car trains, and all 2 and 3 trains became express. Due to the lengthening of the platforms at 86th Street and 96th Street, the intermediate 91st Street station was closed on February 2, 1959, because it was too close to the other two stations. In November 1959, the Warshaw Construction Company received a contract to remove 15 entrance/exit kiosks on IRT lines, including four at the 96th Street station. This was part of a citywide initiative to remove the kiosks, which obstructed motorists' views of pedestrians.
On August 9, 1964, the NYCTA announced the letting of a $7.6 million (equivalent to $ million) contract to lengthen platforms at stations from Rector Street to 34th Street–Penn Station on the line, and stations from to 145th Street on the Lenox Avenue Line. This would allow express trains to be lengthened from nine cars to ten, and to lengthen locals from eight cars to ten. In 1977, a special committee of the NYCTA Board issued a report advising the MTA to halt plans to reduce the hours of 21 token booths, including that at the 96th Street station. A member of the special committee said that the savings from reducing the hours at token booths often was not significant enough to outweigh inconveniences to riders. By 1981, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority had listed the station among the 69 most deteriorated stations in the subway system. In 1983, the MTA added funding for a renovation of the 96th Street station to its 1980–1984 capital plan.
The 96th Street station was the location of a chase scene in the 1979 cult film The Warriors, but the scenes were actually filmed at the unused outer tracks of the Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets station on the IND Fulton Street Line in Brooklyn. The exterior shots were filmed at the 72nd Street station.
21st century
In July 2006, Manhattan Community Board 7 approved an $80 million renovation of the station. Construction started in 2007 on a new head house in the median of Broadway between 95th and 96th Streets, with elevators to the platforms to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Broadway was reconfigured for four blocks to accommodate this. By 2008, renovation of the station was nearly finished below budget (only $65 million was used to complete the renovation) and on schedule. Urbahn Architects also restored the platform level to its original design. By 2009, the opening of the new head house was set to be 20 months early and $26 million cheaper due to budget cuts.