Jackson Avenue station (IRT White Plains Road Line)

Jackson Avenue is a local station on the IRT White Plains Road Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Jackson and Westchester Avenues in Melrose, Bronx, it is served by the 2 train at all times, and the 5 train at all times except late nights and rush hours in the peak direction.

 Jackson Avenue
 ​
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
Northbound platform
Station statistics
AddressJackson Avenue & Westchester Avenue
Bronx, NY 10455[1]
BoroughThe Bronx
LocaleMelrose
Coordinates40°48′59″N 73°54′29″W
DivisionA (IRT)
LineIRT White Plains Road Line
Services      2  (all times)
​      5  (all times except rush hours in the peak direction and late nights)
Transit connections NYCT Bus: Bx4, Bx4A[2]
StructureElevated
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks3
Other information
OpenedNovember 26, 1904 (1904-11-26) (3rd Ave. Line; Bergen Avenue bypass)
July 10, 1905 (1905-07-10) (White Plains Rd. Line)
Station code433[3]
Opposite-direction transfer availableNo
Traffic
Passengers (2019)1,584,727[4]  0.8%
Rank283 out of 424[4]
Station succession
Next northProspect Avenue: 2  ​5 
Next southThird Avenue–149th Street: 2  ​5 
143rd Street (Third Ave elevated; demolished)
Jackson Avenue Subway Station (IRT)
HABS image of the northbound station house and staircase at 152nd Street
MPSNew York City Subway System MPS
NRHP reference No.04001025[5]
Added to NRHPSeptember 17, 2004

The Jackson Avenue station opened on November 26, 1904, as part of the initial segment of the IRT White Plains Road Line. The station was first served by elevated trains from the IRT Second Avenue Line and the IRT Third Avenue Line, and direct service from the IRT Lenox Avenue Line started in 1905. The Bergen Avenue cutoff, which carried trains between Jackson Avenue and the Third Avenue Line's express tracks, was in operation from 1917 to 1946. The platforms were extended in 1949, and the northbound fare control area was replaced after a 1977 fire. The station has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2004.

History
Track layout
to Prospect Av
to 3 Av–149 St

The first contract for the construction of a subway in New York, Contract 1, was executed on February 21, 1900, between the Board of Rapid Transit Railroad Commissioners and the Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized by John B. McDonald and funded by August Belmont, for the construction of the subway and a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line. Contract 1 called for the construction of a line from City Hall north to Kingsbridge and a branch under Lenox Avenue and to Bronx Park.[6]

The initial segment of the IRT White Plains Road Line opened on November 26, 1904, between East 180th Street and this station. Initially, trains on the line were served by elevated trains from the IRT Second Avenue Line and the IRT Third Avenue Line, with a connection running from the Third Avenue local tracks at Third Avenue and 149th Street to Westchester Avenue and Eagle Avenue. Once the connection to the IRT Lenox Avenue Line opened on July 10, 1905, trains from the newly opened IRT subway ran via the line.[7][8][9] Elevated service via this connection was resumed on October 1, 1907, when Second Avenue local trains were extended to Freeman Street during rush hours.[8]

On July 1, 1917, a new connection between the White Plains Road Line and the Third Avenue elevated express tracks was opened as part of the Dual Contracts expansion of the Third Avenue Line, and since it ran via Bergen Avenue and bypassed the 149th Street station, it was called the Bergen Avenue cutoff or bypass. The Bergen Avenue cutoff was abandoned on November 5, 1946, as part of the gradual curtailment of elevated service on the IRT Third Avenue Line.[8]

On June 13, 1949, the platform extensions at this station, as well as those on White Plains Road Line stations north to 177th Street, opened. The platforms were lengthened to 514 feet (157 m) to allow full ten-car express trains to open their doors. Previously the stations could only accommodate six-car local trains.[10]

In March 1976, the token booth and a portion of the waiting area on the northbound platform were destroyed in a fire. In 1977, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) decided that it was not justified to fund the rebuild of the token booth and the cost of manning it due to the low number of entries at the platform. The NYCTA estimated that rebuilding the booth would cost $260,000 in 1980, and that $15,000 to $20,000 could be spent to install a temporary token booth, with $80,000 more to man the boot; this plan was subsequently abandoned, as it would require an estimated 570 entries per day for the booth to break-even.[11] The NYCTA then installed a high-entry turnstile on this platform. At the time, there were at least a dozen more stations that had no token booth on one side of the tracks.[11] While the northbound-platform station house was closed, riders were funneled directly to the exit stairs.[12]:5

Station layout
P
Platform level		 Side platform
Northbound local ← toward 241st Street (Prospect Avenue)
← toward Dyre Avenue (Prospect Avenue)
Peak-direction express ← PM rush does not stop here →
← AM rush does not stop here →
Southbound local ← toward Flatbush Avenue via Seventh (Third Avenue–149th Street) →
← toward Flatbush Avenue via Lexington weekdays, Bowling Green evenings/weekends (Third Avenue–149th Street) →
Side platform
G Street level Exit/entrance

This station, located in Melrose,[13] has three tracks and two side platforms.[14] The center express track is used by the 5 train during rush hours in the peak direction.[15] West of this station, the elevated structure widens with room for two more tracks, where the connection to the Third Avenue Line was located. These tracks diverged, with the connection to the Third Avenue local tracks going via Westchester Avenue, and the connection to the Third Avenue express tracks, the Bergen Avenue bypass going south via Bergen Avenue. Beyond the vestiges of the old connections, the line curves west and enters the tunnel into Third Avenue–149th Street. Because this station is near the tunnel portal, it is closer to the ground than the other elevated stations further north on the line.[8][16]

Both platforms have beige windscreens with green outlines and red canopies with green support frames and columns in the center and lime green, waist-high, steel fences at either ends.[12]:3 The station signs are in the standard black with white lettering.[17]

As with other original IRT elevated viaducts, the elevated structure at Jackson Avenue is carried on two column bents, one on each side of the road, at places where the tracks are no more than 29 feet (8.8 m) above the ground level. There is zigzag lateral bracing at intervals of every four panels.[18]

This station has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since September 17, 2004, because of its importance as one of the first stations built as part of the IRT subway.[12]:7–8 The 2009 artwork at the station is called Latin American Stories by George Crespo. It consists of four stained glass panels on the windscreens of each platform and two sets of window niches on each station house. They depict images from six Latin American stories, including How Fire Came to the Rain Forest and The King That Tried to Touch the Moon from the Lesser Antilles.[19]

Exits

Both platforms have an elevated Queen Anne style station house near their rears, and there are no crossovers or crossunders between the platforms.[12]:3 The station houses are staggered by about 200 feet (61 m).[12]:5 Designed by Heins & LaFarge, the station houses consist of steel framing topped by hip roofs. The center bay of each station house includes projecting dormers used for ventilation. The top of the center bay includes a decorated gable that is supported by corbels. The red metal roof overhangs the station house and contains fleur-de-lis ridge cresting. The interiors of each station house include a small wooden-floored waiting area, as well as a niche where there was formerly a radiator. There were also restrooms inside the station houses, but these were later converted to storage areas. "C"-shaped brackets support signage.[12]:4 The staircases from each station house to street level are covered by canopies and have elaborate handrails.[12]:5–6

On the Manhattan-bound side, doors from the platform lead to a small waiting area, where a turnstile bank provides entrance/exit from the station.[12]:6 Outside of fare control, there is a token booth and two sets of doors leading to two staircases facing in opposite directions that go down to the west side of Westchester Avenue. The platform has two exit-only turnstiles, each of which leads to either street staircase, to allow passengers to exit the station without having to go through the station house.[12]:6[13]

The station house on the northbound platform is unstaffed. Four doors lead to a waiting area where two High Entry/Exit Turnstiles and one exit-only turnstile provide access to/from the station.[12]:5 Outside fare control, a set of doors lead to balcony where two double-flight, twisting staircases go down to the northeast corner of Westchester and Jackson Avenues. The platform has one exit-only turnstile leading to the staircase balcony.[12]:5[13]

References
  1. "Borough of The Bronx, New York City". Government of New York City. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  2. "Bronx Bus Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. September 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  3. "Station Developers' Information". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  4. "Facts and Figures: Annual Subway Ridership 2014–2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  5. "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
  6. Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit, 1864-1917. New York City: The Law Printing Company. pp. 139–161. OCLC 03638541.
  7. "Discuss Subway Signs in 18th St. Station" (PDF). The New York Times. November 27, 1904. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2020.
  8. Kahn, Alan Paul (January 1, 1973). Tracks of New York /. New York : Electric Railroaders' Association.
  9. "Subway Trains Running From Bronx to Battery" (PDF). The New York Times. July 10, 1905. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  10. Report for the three and one-half years ending June 30, 1949. New York City Board of Transportation. 1949. hdl:2027/mdp.39015023094926.
  11. Monheim, Charles (June 25, 1981). "Memorandum Re: Jackson Avenue Subway Station" (PDF). New York City Office of the Mayor. p. 32. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  12. "Historic Structures Report: Jackson Avenue Subway Station (IRT)" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service. July 6, 2005. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  13. "Jackson Avenue Neighborhood Map" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. April 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  14. Dougherty, Peter (2006) [2002]. Tracks of the New York City Subway 2006 (3rd ed.). Dougherty. OCLC 49777633 – via Google Books.
  15. "5 Subway Timetable, Effective November 17, 2019". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  16. "Map & Profile of Rapid Transit Railroad New York City 1904". nycsubway.org. Rapid Transit Subway Construction Company. September 23, 1904. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  17. Cox, Jeremiah. "Jackson Avenue (4)-The SubwayNut". www.subwaynut.com. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  18. Transit Journal. 1904. p. 470. Retrieved April 16, 2020. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  19. "Jackson Avenue George Crespo Latin American Stories, 2009". web.mta.info. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
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