72nd Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line)

72 Street   ​
New York City Subway rapid transit station
Uptown platform on the upper level
Station statistics
Address	West 72nd Street & Central Park West New York, NY 10023
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Upper West Side
Coordinates	40°46′34″N 73°58′34″W / 40.776154°N 73.976011°W / 40.776154; -73.976011Coordinates: 40°46′34″N 73°58′34″W / 40.776154°N 73.976011°W / 40.776154; -73.976011
Division	B (IND)
Line	IND Eighth Avenue Line
Services	A  (late nights) ​      B  (weekdays until 11:00 p.m.) ​      C  (all except late nights)
Transit connections	NYCT Bus: M10, M72 MTA Bus: BxM2
Structure	Underground
Levels	2
Platforms	2 side platforms (1 on each level)
Tracks	4 (2 on each level)
Other information
Opened	September 10, 1932 (1932-09-10)[1]
Closed	May 7, 2018 (2018-05-07) (reconstruction)
Rebuilt	October 4, 2018 (2018-10-04)
Station code	160[2]
Wireless service	[3]
Traffic
Passengers (2017)	2,799,974[4]  4.2%
Rank	183 out of 425
Station succession
Next north	81st Street–Museum of Natural History: A  ​B  ​C
Next south	59th Street–Columbus Circle: A  ​B  ​C
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York Show map of the US
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times except late nights Stops late nights only Stops weekdays only

72nd Street is a local station on the IND Eighth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. It is located at 72nd Street and Central Park West on the Upper West Side. It is served by the B on weekdays, the C train at all times except nights, and the A train during late nights only.

History

This station opened with a majority of the Eighth Avenue Line, from Chambers Street north to 207th Street, on September 10, 1932.^[1][5]

Under the 2015–2019 MTA Capital Plan, the station, along with thirty other New York City Subway stations, underwent a complete overhaul as part of the Enhanced Station Initiative and was entirely closed for up to 6 months. Updates include cellular service, Wi-Fi, USB charging stations, interactive service advisories and maps.^[6][7] A request for proposals for the 72nd Street, 86th Street, Cathedral Parkway–110th Street, and 163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue stations was issued on June 1, 2017,^[8] and the New York City Transit and Bus Committee officially recommended that the MTA Board award the $111 million contract to ECCO III Enterprises in October 2017.^[9] As part of the renovations, the station was closed from May 7, 2018,^[10] to October 4, 2018.^[11]

The renovated station features a new ceramic mosaic artwork, "Sky", by Yoko Ono^[12]. 72nd Street is the closest station to both the Dakota and Strawberry Fields.

Station layout

G	Street level	Exit/entrance
B1	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Northbound local	← toward 145th Street weekdays, Bedford Park Boulevard rush hours (81st Street–Museum of Natural History) ← toward 168th Street ( toward Inwood–207th Street nights) (81st Street–Museum of Natural History)
	Side platform, doors will open on the left
	Mezzanine	Fare control, station agent, MetroCard machines
B2	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ toward Brighton Beach weekdays (59th Street–Columbus Circle) → → toward Euclid Avenue ( toward Far Rockaway nights) (59th Street–Columbus Circle) →
	Side platform, doors will open on the right

Track layout
Upper level
to 81 St–AMNH
Lower level
to 59 St–Columbus Cir

This underground station has two levels, each of which has from west to east, one side platform, one local track and one express track. Northbound trains stop on the upper level while southbound trains stop on the lower level.^[13]

Both platforms have name tablets reading "72ND ST." in white sans serif lettering on a blue background and black border and small "72" signs in white numbering on a black background at regular intervals.^[14] Directional signs in white lettering on a black background are below the name tablets.^[15] Mosaic signs in white lettering on a blue background on the upper level direct passengers to the staircases going down to the lower level.^[16]

Exits

Name tablets

R68 B train at the station

Both fare control areas are on the upper level platform and two staircases, one adjacent to each area, go down to the lower level. The full-time one at 72nd Street is at the north end of the platform.^[17] A staircase of four steps go down to a bank of three turnstiles that lead to a token booth. The other fare control area at 70th Street, at the station's south end, is unstaffed, containing High Entry/Exit Turnstiles.

Two staircases connect the two platforms. There are currently three exits to the following locations:

• Both western corners (one staircase each) of West 72nd Street and Central Park West.^[17] The northwest staircase, outside the Dakota apartment building, is made of stone.^[18]
• Southwest corner of West 70th Street and Central Park West.^[17] This entrance had previously been closed,^[19] but has since reopened.

Blue plywood walls and new tiling with a door on the upper level indicate there was a third exit that led to West 71st Street.^[20][21] Prior to the renovation of the station, further exit of this exit's existence included directional signs with "71" that were covered or replaced with newer tiling and a fenced off staircase on the lower level.^[22][23] During the renovation of the station, the exit and its accompanying staircase between the two platform levels was temporarily uncovered and used as an area to haul out construction debris.

In film

The station entrance is seen in the Blue's Clues episode "Shape Searchers" during mail time as kids looks for shapes.^[24]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 72nd Street (IND Eighth Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org – IND Eighth Avenue Line: 72nd Street
• Station Reporter — B Train
• Station Reporter — C Train
• 72nd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 70th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Upper platform from Google Maps Street View