18th Street station (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)

18th Street was a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located at the intersection of Park Avenue South and 18th Street in Gramercy, Manhattan.

18th Street
Former New York City Subway station
18th Street station shortly after construction
Station statistics
Address	East 18th Street & Park Avenue South New York, NY
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Gramercy
Coordinates	40.737°N 73.989°W / 40.737; -73.989
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Lexington Avenue Line
Services	None (abandoned)
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904 (1904-10-27)[1]
Closed	November 8, 1948 (1948-11-08)[2]
Station succession
Next north	23rd Street
Next south	14th Street–Union Square
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Street map

History

Track layout
to 23 St to 14 St–Union Sq

Operation of the first subway began on October 27, 1904, with the opening of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway from City Hall to 145th Street on the West Side Branch including the 18th Street station.[3]^:162–191[1]

The closing of this station was proposed as early as 1928.[4]

The station closed on November 8, 1948, when it was closed because of platform lengthening at 23rd Street, the opening of an entrance at 22nd Street, and due to its proximity to the 14th Street–Union Square station.[2]

Station layout

Entrance area with ticket booth and control

G	Street level
P Platform level	Side platform, not in service
	Northbound local	← do not stop here (23rd Street)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ do not stop here (14th Street–Union Square) →
	Side platform, not in service

This underground station has four tracks and two side platforms. The two platforms are as built and are only 5 cars in length.

The station's ceiling was originally fitted with glass in order to let natural light in. It has green faience plaques and mosaic name tablets by Heins & LaFarge / Grueby Faience Company from 1904. The ceiling was also decorated with ornamental motifs.

The station is no longer accessible from the street, but its graffiti-covered walls can be seen through the windows of any Lexington Avenue local train, as well as from express trains if no local train blocks the view.

See also

• Worth Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
• 91st Street (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

References

1. "Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It; Mayor McClellan Runs the First Official Train". The New York Times. October 28, 1904. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
2. "IRT Station To Be Closed; East Side Subway Trains to End Stops at 18th Street". The New York Times. November 6, 1948. p. 29. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 17, 2010.
3. Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917. New York, N.Y.: Law Printing. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
4. Proceedings of the Board of Transportation of the City of New York. New York Board of Transportation. 1928.

External links

• nycsubway.org – IRT East Side Line: 18th Street
• Abandoned Stations – 18 Street
• Forgotten NY – Original 28 – NYC's First 28 Subway Stations
• Forgotten NY: Subways and Trains – Dead at 18