Myrtle Avenue (BMT Fourth Avenue Line)

Myrtle Avenue New York City Subway rapid transit station
Station statistics
Address	Flatbush Avenue Extension & Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn, NY
Borough	Brooklyn
Coordinates	40°41′37″N 73°59′00″W / 40.6937°N 73.9833°W / 40.6937; -73.9833Coordinates: 40°41′37″N 73°59′00″W / 40.6937°N 73.9833°W / 40.6937; -73.9833
Line	BMT Fourth Avenue Line
Services	None
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	1915
Closed	1956
Station succession
Next north	Manhattan Bridge
Next south	DeKalb Avenue

Myrtle Avenue is an abandoned local station on the Manhattan Bridge subway tracks (B D N Q trains) south of the bridge in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. The station was opened in 1915, and closed in 1956 for the reconstruction of the flying junction north of DeKalb Avenue to increase capacity for the entire BMT subway line.^[1] The Brooklyn-bound platform was removed completely, but the Manhattan-bound platform still exists.^[2] In 1980 the Masstransiscope zoetrope artwork by Bill Brand was installed. In 2008 the graffiti was removed and the artwork restored.^[3] This artwork and the station can be seen by looking out the right window of Manhattan-bound B Q trains (and D trains during late nights when they stop at DeKalb Avenue) right before the bridge.^[4]

There was a plan to build a loop just north of this station to turn back Fourth Avenue local trains from 95th Street. The bellmouths for the un-built loop can be seen just north of this station where the bypass tracks join the bridge tracks that stop at Dekalb Avenue.

This station was a casualty of the rebuild. A new track had to be added on the west side to allow for a grade-separated crossing. The original southbound "local" track at the platform had to be depressed to a lower grade to cross under, and the new track wiped out the southbound platform. The northbound platform was left in place but no longer operated for passenger service.

Myrtle Avenue station was sometimes called Gold Street in some early planning documents.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Joseph Brennan (2002). "Abandoned Stations : Myrtle Avenue". http://www.columbia.edu/~brennan/abandoned/myrtle.html. Retrieved 2010-09-09. 
2. ^ "BMT Fourth Avenue Line - Myrtle Avenue". nycsubway.org. http://nycsubway.org/perl/stations?193:3357. Retrieved 2010-09-09. 
3. ^ Bill Brand. "Masstransiscope". http://bboptics.com/masstransiscope.html. Retrieved 2010-09-09. 
4. ^ "Brooklyn Heights Subway track map". nycsubway.org. http://images.nycsubway.org/trackmap/bigbklynhts.png. Retrieved 2010-09-09.