Worth Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)

Worth Street
Former New York City Subway station
Platform of the Worth Street station
Station statistics
Address	Lafayette Street & Worth Street New York, NY
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Civic Center
Coordinates	40°42′56″N 74°00′11″W / 40.7155°N 74.003°W / 40.7155; -74.003Coordinates: 40°42′56″N 74°00′11″W / 40.7155°N 74.003°W / 40.7155; -74.003
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 (October 27, 1904)[1]
Closed	September 1, 1962 (September 1, 1962)[2]
Station succession
Next north	Canal Street
Next south	Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall
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

Worth Street was a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. It is located at Lafayette Street and Worth Street, in Civic Center, Manhattan, and has four tracks and two side platforms. The station opened on October 27, 1904 and closed on September 1, 1962 due to its proximity to the Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall station.

History

Track layout
to Canal Street Worth Street Brooklyn Bridge City Hall Loop storage tracks Fulton Street to Wall Street

Worth Street was one of the 28 original stations of the first subway line in Manhattan, opening on October 27, 1904.^[3] At that time, Worth Street served local trains that ran between the now-abandoned City Hall station and the 145th Street station at Broadway.

The station was lengthened twice. Like all the local stops, it was originally about 200 feet (61 m) long to accommodate five-car trains. The first door of the first car and last door of the last car were left past the platform ends and were not opened. Because of overcrowding, the Public Service Commission ordered the local platforms extended a few yards into the "manholes" at the ends, that is, the space left for access to equipment closets. Completed in 1910, this gave just enough room for six-car local trains with only a door of the first and last cars at the platform. The downtown platform was lengthened in 1948 by the Board of Transportation, providing for the full length of a ten-car, 514-foot-long (157 m) train.^[4]:1585 The work was done only on the downtown side to save costs, and that platform was chosen for lengthening since it was the main unloading side in the business district.

On January 3, 1957, the New York City Transit Authority announced that this station would be closed within two years as part of a plan to improve the Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall station. As part of the project, the platforms at Brooklyn Bridge would be lengthened to accommodate ten-car trains, and the curved platform at Brooklyn Bridge would be eliminated. In order to achieve both of these goals, the platforms would be extended 250 feet (76 m) to the north. The Worth Street station would be closed as it would only be 600 feet (180 m) feet away from the platforms at Brooklyn Bridge. If the station were retained, service on the line would be slowed down, and there was no suitable signal system that could operate with such a short distance. The project would cost $4,400,000 and was projected to take two years.^[5] The station was closed on September 1, 1962 once the work at Brooklyn Bridge was completed.^[2] After the Worth Street station's closure, Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall was named Brooklyn Bridge–Worth Street on platform signs until 1995.

Station layout

G	-	Street level
P Platform level	Side platform, not in service
	Northbound local	← do not stop here (Canal Street)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ do not stop here (Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall) →
	Side platform, not in service

This station lies beneath the sidewalk on the west side of Foley Square. When the Federal Plaza Building was in the planning stages, it was found that, because of the existence of the station, the building could not extend out to Foley Square. As a result, that structure is set far back from the street, well beyond the station. The building's plaza and fountain lie directly above the station. The station's platforms are visible from the side windows of trains between Canal Street and Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall.

See also

• 18th Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
• 91st Street (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Worth Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org – IRT East Side Line: Worth Street
• Abandoned Stations — Worth Street
• Forgotten NY — Original 28 - NYC's First 28 Subway Stations