- 59th Street
-
59th Street – Columbus Circle
New York City Subway rapid transit station complex 
Station entrance north of Columbus CircleStation statistics Address Intersection of West 59th Street, Eighth Avenue & Broadway
New York, NY 10023Borough Manhattan Locale Columbus Circle, Midtown Manhattan Coordinates 40°46′05″N 73°58′55″W / 40.767997°N 73.981934°WCoordinates: 40°46′05″N 73°58′55″W / 40.767997°N 73.981934°W Division A (IRT), B (IND) Line IND Eighth Avenue Line
IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue LineServices 1 
(all times)
2
(late nights)
A (all times)
B
(weekdays until 11:00 p.m.)
C
(all except late nights)
D (all times)Connection - New York City Bus: M5, M7, M10, M20, M104
Levels 2 Other information Opened July 1, 1948[1] Accessible 
Traffic Passengers (2010) 20,711,058[2] 
1.4%Rank 7 out of 422 Station service legend Symbol Description 
Stops in station at all times 
Stops all times except late nights 
Stops late nights only 
Stops late nights and weekends only 
Stops weekdays only 
Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except weekdays 
Stops rush hours only 
Stops rush hours in the peak direction only 
Station is closed (Details about time periods) 59th Street – Columbus Circle is a New York City Subway station complex shared by the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line and the IND Eighth Avenue Line. It is located at Columbus Circle in Midtown Manhattan where 59th Street, Broadway and Eighth Avenue intersect, and is served by:
- 1, A, and D trains at all times
- C train at all times except late nights
- B train during weekdays
- 2 train during late nights
As of 2009, 59th Street – Columbus Circle is the seventh-busiest station in the system with 20,711,058 annual riders.[2]
Contents
Entrances/Exits
This station complex has many entrances/exits from the streets. The one at the north end of Columbus Circle leads to the Trump International Hotel and Tower. It has a double wide staircase going down to an intermediate level before another double-wide staircase goes down to fare control, where a now unused token booth and turnstile bank lead to the IND mezzanine as well as the north end of the northbound IRT platform. There is also one elevator from the back of the staircase that goes down to fare control.
Two staircases from the northwest corner of Broadway and West 60th Street go down to an unstaffed fare control area, where three full height turnstiles and a short staircase provide direct access to the north end of the southbound IRT platform. Another staircase at the southern island of the aforementioned intersection go down to a bank of turnstiles leading to the center of the same platform.
The Time Warner Center at the northwest corner of West 58th Street and Broadway has a set of elevators, escalators, and staircases going down to fare control, where a token booth and turnstile bank provide entrance/exit to the station. A single staircase goes down to each IND platform at their extreme south end while a passageway leads to the southbound IRT platform. The mezzanine also has a staircase going up to the northeast corner of West 58th Street and Broadway. There is a passageway leading to another staircase that goes up to the southeast corner of West 59th Street and Eighth Avenue. This staircase is built within the Hearst Tower.
The south end of the northbound IRT platform has a same-level unstaffed fare control area containing full height turnstiles and two staircases going up to the south corners of West 59th Street and Broadway.
IND Eighth Avenue Line platforms
59th Street – Columbus Circle
New York City Subway rapid transit station 
Station statistics Division B (IND) Line IND Eighth Avenue Line Services A (all times)
B (weekdays until 11:00 p.m.)
C (all except late nights)
D (all times)Structure Underground Platforms 3 island platforms (2 in revenue service)
cross-platform interchangeTracks 4 Other information Opened September 10, 1932[3] Accessible Station succession Next north 72nd Street (local): A B C
125th Street (express): A D Next south 50th Street (8th local): A C
42nd Street – Port Authority Bus Terminal (8th express): A
Seventh Avenue (6th): B D Next north125th Street: A B C D Next south50th Street (via 8th local): A C (in southbound direction only)
42nd Street – Port Authority Bus Terminal (via 8th express): A C
47th–50th Streets – Rockefeller Center (via 6th): B D Station service legend Symbol Description Stops in station at all times Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekends only Stops weekdays only Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except weekdays Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Station is closed (Details about time periods) 59th Street – Columbus Circle on the IND Eighth Avenue Line, opened on September 10, 1932, is a large express station. There are four tracks and three island platforms with the outer two in revenue service. B and C trains run on the local tracks, while the D and daytime A trains run on the express tracks.
The center platform was first used in passenger service in 1959, but was originally built along with the other (active) platforms. It served the purpose of a Spanish solution, allowing passengers to exit both sides of subway cars. The express trains would open the doors on both sides. Due to the design of newer subway cars, this solution is now impractical and the platform was closed on November 8, 1973. In 2007–2010, the platform was converted as a crossunder between the IRT side platforms. Large metal fences have been erected to keep people away from the platform edge.
At the middle of each open platform, there are two staircases and one elevator that connect with the northbound platform of IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line. There are also one staircase from each platform at the north end leading to the same area. A single staircase at the extreme south end connect to the southbound IRT platform. There are two newsstands which are the center of both platforms.
This station formerly had a 1992 artwork called Hello Columbus, made by various New York City artists and public school students. Sol LeWitt created tile work on the stairway from the platforms to the Uptown 1 train entitled "Whirls and Twirls". Currently, large white "59"s to be placed over the blue stripes - similar to the "42"s at 42nd Street – Port Authority.
South of the station, there are switches to allow trains to diverge east to the Seventh Avenue station and the IND Sixth Avenue Line or continue south on Eighth Avenue.
The unused center platform during renovation
IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line platforms
59th Street – Columbus Circle
New York City Subway rapid transit station 
Uptown platformStation statistics Division A (IRT) Line IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line Services 1 (all times)
2 (late nights)Structure Underground Platforms 2 side platforms Tracks 4 Other information Opened October 27, 1904[4] Accessible Station succession Next north 66th Street – Lincoln Center: 1 2 Next south 50th Street: 1 2 Next north66th Street – Lincoln Center: 1 2 Next south59th Street – Columbus Circle (IRT)MPS: New York City Subway System MPS NRHP Reference#: 04001015[5] Added to NRHP: September 17, 2004 Station service legend Symbol Description Stops in station at all times Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops late nights and weekends only Stops weekdays only Stops all times except rush hours in the peak direction Stops all times except weekdays Stops rush hours only Stops rush hours in the peak direction only Station is closed (Details about time periods) 59th Street – Columbus Circle on the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line, opened on October 27, 1904, has four tracks and two side platforms. The two center express tracks are used by the 2 train during daytime hours and the 3 at all times.
Despite being a major transfer point to the IND Eighth Avenue Line, the station was constructed as a local stop prior to the IND's construction in 1932. At one point, the New York City Transit Authority considered converting the station to an express stop by rerouting the local tracks to the outside of the platforms. This would have coincided with 72nd Street becoming a local stop by fencing off or walling up the express side of the island platforms there.
When the station opened, there was an underpass between the downtown and uptown platforms. In the 1970s, it was closed and the staircase entrances covered over. Today, passengers use the IND mezzanine and platforms to transfer between directions. Both platforms have two fare controls which are on the same level, one of which connects to the mezzanine leading to the IND platforms.
Image gallery
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Name in mosaics
-
Original cartouche featuring Columbus's ship the Santa Maria
-
Detailed view of the ceiling
-
The uptown platform in 1978
Nearby Points of Interest
- Church of St. Paul the Apostle
- Museum of Arts & Design
- New York Institute of Technology
- Professional Children's School
- John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Further reading
- Lee Stokey. Subway Ceramics : A History and Iconography. 1994. ISBN 978-0-9635486-1-0
References
- ^ New York Times, Transfer Points Under Higher Fare, June 30, 1948, page 19
- ^ a b "Facts and Figures: 2010 Annual Subway Ridership". New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority. http://mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_sub_annual.htm. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
- ^ New York Times, List of the 28 Stations on the New 8th Av. Line, September 10, 1932, page 6
- ^ New York Times, Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It, October 28, 1904
- ^ "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
External links
- nycsubway.org — IRT West Side Line: 59th Street/Columbus Circle
- nycsubway.org — IND 8th Avenue: 59th Street/Columbus Circle
- nycsubway.org — Whirls and Twirls Artwork by Sol Lewitt (2007)
- nycsubway.org — Hello Columbus Artwork by the NYC Artists & Public School Students (1992)
- Station Reporter — Columbus Circle/59th Street Complex
- TheSubwayNut - 59th Street IND station
- TheSubwayNut - 59th Street IRT station
- Forgotten NY — Original 28 - NYC's First 28 Subway Stations
- MTA's Arts For Transit — 59th Street – Columbus Circle
- Entrance to Trump International Hotel & Tower at 60th Street from Google Maps Street View
- Columbus Circle & Central Park South entrance to Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line from Google Maps Street View
- Eighth Avenue & 58th Street entrance to Eighth Avenue Line from Google Maps Street View
- Time Warner Center entrance from Google Maps Street View
- Eighth Avenue & 57th Street entrance to Eighth Avenue Line from Google Maps Street View
- Broadway & 60th Street entrance to Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line from Google Maps Street View
- Abandoned Stations - 59 St platform
Categories:- IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line stations
- IND Eighth Avenue Line stations
- Columbus Circle
- Railway and subway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan
- New York City Subway stations in Manhattan
- Railway stations opened in 1904
- Railway stations opened in 1932
- New York City Subway transfer stations
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