91st Street station (IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line)

91st Street was a local station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located at 91st Street and Broadway on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The station opened on October 27, 1904 as part of the first IRT line. It closed on February 2, 1959 due to its proximity to the 96th Street station, whose platforms had been lengthened southward toward the 91st Street station.

91st Street
Former New York City Subway station
Station statistics
Address	West 91st Street & Broadway New York, NY 10025
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Upper West Side
Coordinates	40.7914°N 73.9741°W / 40.7914; -73.9741
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services	None (abandoned)
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904 (1904-10-27)[1]
Closed	February 2, 1959 (1959-02-02)
Station succession
Next north	96th Street
Next south	86th Street
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 96 St to 86 St

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 91st Street station.[2]^:162–191[3]

The station's decline commenced in the late 1940s when platforms on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line from 103rd Street to 238th Street were lengthened to 514 feet (157 m) to allow trains of ten 51.4-foot-long (15.7 m) cars to stop at these stations; previously, platforms could only accommodate six-car local trains. The platform extensions were opened in stages through 1948.[4][5] Furthermore, a new service pattern was implemented on the line during peak hours in the late 1950s, removing a rush-hour service bottleneck north of 96th Street by rerouting local trains up the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street and express trains to the Bronx and 145th Street via the IRT Lenox Avenue Line. On February 6, 1959, all Broadway trains became locals and all Lenox Avenue trains were expresses, eliminating the need to switch tracks.[6][7][8]

The rush-hour service could not be implemented until the platform extensions at stations on the line were completed. The original IRT stations north of Times Square could only fit five- or six-car trains. By 1958, the platform extensions at the local stations were nearly completed, but there were more problems with the platform extensions at the two express stations, 72nd Street and 96th Street. At 72nd Street, the track layout was simply changed, but at 96th Street, the local tracks and the outside walls had to be moved. A new mezzanine with stairways to the street was built between West 93rd Street and West 94th Street. The 86th Street and 96th Street stations had their platforms extended in order to accommodate 10-car trains. The 91st Street station could not have its platforms extended, because they would already be too close to the other two stations. It was closed on February 2, 1959.[9][10][11] Advertisements from 1959 persisted for several years before the station walls were graffitied over.[11]

Station layout

G	Street level
P Platform Level	Side platform, not in service
	Northbound local	← does not stop here (96th Street)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ does not stop here (86th Street) →
	Side platform, not in service

The station's two abandoned side platforms are still visible from passing trains. The 91st Street station is fairly well preserved, with the exception of some litter and graffiti.

See also

• Worth Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
• 18th Street (IRT Lexington 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. Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917. New York, N.Y.: Law Printing. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
3. "Subway Opening To-day With Simple Ceremony – Exercises at One O'Clock – Public to be Admitted at Seven – John Hay May Be Present – Expected to Represent the Federal Government – President Roosevelt Sends Letter of Regret" (PDF). The New York Times. October 27, 1904. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
4. Report for the three and one-half years ending June 30, 1949. New York City Board of Transportation. 1949. hdl:2027/mdp.39015023094926.
5. "More Long Platforms; Five Subway Stations on IRT to Accommodate 10-Car Trains". The New York Times. July 10, 1948. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 27, 2016.
6. "New Hi-Speed Locals 1959 New York City Transit Authority". Flickr. New York City Transit Authority. 1959. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
7. "Wagner Praises Modernized IRT; Mayor and Transit Authority Are Hailed as West Side Changes Take Effect" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
8. "Modernized IRT To Bow On Feb. 6; West Side Line to Eliminate Bottleneck at 96th Street" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
9. Aciman, Andre (January 8, 1999). "My Manhattan; Next Stop: Subway's Past". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
10. "High-Speed Broadway Local Service Began in 1959". The Bulletin. New York Division, Electric Railroaders' Association. 52 (2). February 2009. Retrieved August 26, 2016 – via Issu.
11. Raanan Geberer. "The Ghost Subway Station on 91st". StrausMedia. Archived from the original on December 24, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2016.

External links

• Abandoned Stations – 91 St
• nycsubway.org – IRT West Side Line: 91st Street
• A site with a historic 91st Street photo
• The Subway Station, a short story by Chananya Weissman, set at this station.
• Forgotten NY – Original 28 Subway Stations (small statement only)