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, 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.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. 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. 28th 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. 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. An immediate result of the switch was the need to transfer using the 42nd Street Shuttle. The completion of the "H" system doubled the capacity of the IRT system. The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 2005.
Station layout
This underground station has four tracks and two side platforms. The two express tracks are used by the 2 and 3 trains during daytime hours. Both platforms have their original mosaic trim line, name tablets, and directional signs. Vent chambers are present and there is a closed newsstand on the northbound platform as evidenced by sealed windows on the walls. Blue i-beam columns run along both platforms at regular intervals with black "28" plate signs in white numbering on every other one.
Exits
All fare control areas are on platform level and there are no crossovers or crossunders. The main ones are at the centers of the platforms, at 28th Street. On the Bronx-bound platform, a turnstile bank leads to a mezzanine with a token booth and two staircases going up to either eastern corners of 28th Street and Seventh Avenue. On the southbound platform, a turnstile bank leads to an unstaffed mezzanine and two staircases going up to either western corners of 28th Street and Seventh Avenue. Both platforms have an exit-only at their extreme south ends, at 27th Street. A single exit-only turnstile from each platform leads to one staircase each going up to either northern corner of Seventh Avenue and 27th Street. The northwest-corner exit, from the southbound platform, is outside Fashion Institute of Technology. The northeast-corner exit is from the northbound platform.
