181st Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)
181st Street is a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of St. Nicholas Avenue and 181st Street in Washington Heights, Manhattan, it is served by the 1 train at all times.
Built by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, the station opened on May 30, 1906, as part of the first subway, although the line had opened two months earlier and trains were skipping the station. Due to the station's depth, the tunnel was blasted through the hillside; during the station's construction, a 300-ton boulder had killed 10 miners. The only access from the street to the platforms is via a set of four elevators, though the station is not ADA-accessible. This station will be closed between March 2021 and February 2022 for elevator repair.
History
The West Side Branch of the first subway, which was constructed by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, was extended northward from 157th Street to a temporary terminus at 221st Street and Broadway on March 12, 1906, with the station at 181st Street not yet open. This extension was served by shuttle trains operating between 157th Street and 221st Street until May 30, 1906 when express trains began running through to 221st Street. The 181st Street station opened on May 30, 1906.On June 25, 1909, the New York City Board of Estimate approved an appropriation of $160,000 for the installation of four additional elevators at the station.
In 1948, platforms on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line from 103rd Street to 238th Street were lengthened to to allow full ten-car express trains to stop at this station. Previously, the station could only hold six-car local trains. The platform extensions were opened in stages. On April 6, 1948, the platform extension opened for stations from 103rd Street to Dyckman Street, with the exception of 125th Street.
On December 28, 1950, the New York City Board of Transportation issued a report concerning the construction of bomb shelters in the subway system. Five deep stations in Washington Heights, including the 181st Street station, were considered to be ideal for being used as bomb-proof shelters. The program was expected to cost $104 million. These shelters were expected to provide limited protection against conventional bombs, while providing protection against shock waves and air blast, as well as from the heat and radiation from an atomic bomb. To become suitable as shelters, the stations would require water-supply facilities, first-aid rooms, and additional bathrooms. However, the program, which required federal funding, was never completed.
Elevators
The station was closed for the installation of new elevators in the late 1990s and reopened on November 22, 1990, upon the completion of elevator installation. The entrance at the southeast corner of 181st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue remained closed until early 2000.In 2004, the number of elevator attendants at the station and four others in Washington Heights was reduced to one per station as a result of budget cuts by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The agency had intended to remove all the attendants, but kept one in each station after many riders protested. The change saved $1.2 million a year. In November 2007, the MTA proposed savings cuts to help reduce the agency's deficit. As part of the plan, all elevator operators at 181st Street, along with those in four other stations in Washington Heights, would have been cut. On December 7, 2007, the MTA announced that it would not remove the remaining elevator operators at these stations. The move was intended to save $1.7 million a year, but was not implemented due to pushback from elected officials and residents from the area. In October 2018, the MTA again proposed removing the elevator operators at the five stations, but this decision was reversed after dissent from the Transport Workers' Union.
The elevator attendants serve as a way to reassure passengers as the elevators are the only entrance to the platforms, and passengers often wait for the elevators with an attendant. The attendants at the five stations are primarily maintenance and cleaning workers who suffered injuries that made it hard for them to continue doing their original jobs. In October 2018, the MTA again proposed removing the elevator operators at the five stations, but this decision was reversed after dissent from the Transport Workers' Union.
This station will be closed between March 2021 and February 2022 for elevator repair. It is unclear whether the elevator operators will keep their jobs after their replacement.
Ceiling collapses
During construction
During the station's construction in the mid-1900s, the Fort George Mine Tunnel was being built to take the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line through upper Manhattan. Due to the steep terrain, the tunnel had to be mined using explosives. During construction on October 24, 1903, a 300-ton boulder, weakened by such an explosive, gave way, killing 10 miners. Of these, six were killed instantly and four died later of their injuries; in addition, eight miners were injured. The dead miners consisted of eight Italian immigrants, the foreman from Italy, and an electrician from Germany.2009 collapse
On August 16, 2009, at around 10:30 pm, a 25-foot section of the bricks lining the 35-foot high curved ceiling of the station collapsed onto both uptown and downtown tracks and platforms. Nobody was injured in the incident. This caused suspension of 1 service between 168th Street and Dyckman Street stations in both directions for eight days with free shuttle buses providing replacement. End-to-end service on the 1 was restored on August 24, except trains skipped 181st Street. The station reopened to passengers on August 31, 2009. The repairs to the station cost $30 million and did not start until the end of 2012.There was also a partial ceiling collapse at the same station in 2007.
Station layout
This underground station has two tracks and two side platforms, and is below the surface. As a result, it has four elevators that lead from the fare control level to one level above the platforms. On this level, a footbridge near the northern end of the station connects the side platforms. When the station opened on May 30, 1906, there had only been two elevators to the platforms, but in 1909, two more elevators were added.All elevators are capable of traveling one level further down to the uptown platform, but this area has been closed and walled off.
There is also a second footbridge near the south end of the station. However, it is used only as an emergency exit, and contains a staircase, so all riders must take an elevator to enter or exit the station except in emergencies.
The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. As part of the Multiple Property Submission of the Historic Resources of the New York City Subway System, the 181st Street Station is significant in the areas of transportation, community planning, engineering, and architectural design.
Exits
There are two exits to this station at either eastern corner of St. Nicholas Avenue and 181st Street. The northeast-corner entrance is inside a building and the southeast-corner entrance is on the street. The fare control area contains a shopping arcade that includes a deli and a clothing store.The station serves Yeshiva University and the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal.