145th Street station (IRT Lenox Avenue Line)

Original terra cotta cartouche

The 145th Street station opened just after midnight on November 23, 1904, as part of the IRT's original system. It served as the northern terminal for the IRT Lenox Avenue Line, then known as the East Side Subway or East Side Branch.[7] The original plan envisioned a station on the Lenox Avenue Line at 141st Street, just south of the 142nd Street Junction, where a spur of the Lenox Avenue Line diverges to the Bronx via the IRT White Plains Road Line. This was ultimately not built, and instead, the 145th Street station became the last stop on the Lenox Avenue Line before it entered the Lenox Yard, a train maintenance yard immediately to the north.[6]^:7

With the construction of the Harlem–148th Street station inside the Lenox Yard in the 1960s, the 145th Street station was planned to be closed, since the 148th Street station was intended as a direct replacement for the 145th Street station.[8] However, the proposal was shelved due to protests from the local community over the long walk of up to seven blocks to either the new station or 135th Street one stop south, and due to possible congestion issues at 135th Street.[8] The 148th Street station opened on May 13, 1968;[9] despite its name, the new terminal was located at 149th Street.[10]

From 1995 to 2008, this station lacked full-time service, as 3 trains did not operate during late nights. Full-time service was restored on July 27, 2008. During late nights, riders could take the M7, the M102, or a shuttle bus to 135th Street.[11][12] The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 2005, due to its importance as one of the first IRT stations to be built.[13]

Starting on March 2, 1998, the tunnel was reconstructed along with the cracked tunnel floor. This was done to correct a major water problem that had existed for many years due to the presence of the Harlem Creek and other underground streams, which caused extensive flooding, water damage, and seepage problems that occasionally contributed to severe service disruptions.[14][15] The project cost $82 million and was finished on October 12, 1998.[14][16] During the reconstruction, 3 trains were rerouted to the 137th Street–City College station on the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. Supplemental shuttle bus service connecting to other lines in the area were provided for much of this time.[17][18]

Under the 2015–2019 Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Plan, the station underwent a complete overhaul as part of the Enhanced Station Initiative and was entirely closed for several months. Updates included cellular service, Wi-Fi, USB charging stations, interactive service advisories and maps.[19][20] In January 2018, the New York City Transit and Bus Committee recommended that Citnalta-Forte receives the $125 million contract for the renovations of 167th and 174th–175th Streets on the IND Concourse Line and 145th Street on the IRT Lenox Avenue Line.[21] However, the MTA Board temporarily deferred the vote for these packages after city representatives refused to vote to award the contracts.[22][23] The contract was put back for a vote in February, where it was ultimately approved.[24] The subway station was closed for renovations from July 23 to November 28, 2018.[25][26] Due to the closure, 2018 ridership dropped 41.9% compared to the previous year, from 1,093,045 riders in 2017 to 635,413 riders in 2018.[5]

G	Street level	Exit and southbound entrance
P Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound	← toward 148th Street (Terminus)
	Southbound	→ toward New Lots Avenue (Times Square late nights) (135th Street) →
	Side platform

This is one of two exit-only staircases on the east side of Lenox Avenue.

There are two tracks with two short side platforms.[6]^:5[27] The station is 348 feet (106 m) long and can fit six-and-a-half 51-foot (16 m) IRT subway cars.[6]^:6 Only the first five cars of a train open here because the R62 subway cars used on the 3 service are configured in five-car sets and each must have their doors opened at the same time (selective door operation is used).[8] Before trains on the 3 service were lengthened from nine to ten cars in 2001, only four cars opened their doors at the station.[28] The station is slightly offset under Lenox Avenue, being located closer to the avenue's western curb line.[6]^:16

The fare control is at platform level, and there is no crossover or crossunder between the platforms. The station agent's booth is located on the southbound platform.[29] The station has mosaic name tablets, some old "145" terra cotta cartouches, and a mosaic replica of a cartouche.[6]^:6[30][31][32] There were formerly women's and men's restrooms on the southbound platform, evidenced by stone lintels reading "women" and "men".[6]^:7 The central section of the southbound platform widens near the turnstiles.[6]^:7[33]

The tunnel is covered by a "U"-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The bottom of this trough contains a foundation of concrete no less than 4 inches (100 mm) thick. The lowest sections of the trough's outer walls are composed of transverse arches 5 feet (1.5 m) wide, atop which are the columns between the tracks.[6]^:5 Unlike in most original IRT stations, the majority of these columns are not built-up I-beams.[6]^:6 Along the northern end of the platforms there are dense clusters of I-beam columns,[34] while the remainder of the platform contains circular, cast-iron Doric-style columns spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m). The ceiling is about 15 feet (4.6 m) above platform level; the section of the ceiling north of the fare control area is smooth, and the section south of fare control is composed of segmental vaults supported by the center columns. There is a 1-inch (25 mm) gap between the trough wall and the platform walls, which are made of 4-inch (100 mm)-thick brick covered over by a tiled finish.[6]^:6

The 2018 artwork at this station is Parade, a ceramic and glass artwork by Derek Fordjour. It consists of images depicting the African-American parade tradition of Harlem.[35]

Track layout

Track layout
to Harlem–148 St to Lenox Yard to 149 St–Grand Concourse to 135 St

Like the other stations on the original IRT subway, it was initially built for trains shorter in length than the standard eight to ten cars used by the subway. In the 1950s and 1960s, all of the other IRT stations were either lengthened to 10 cars or closed.[36][37] The 145th Street station was also lengthened slightly to the north: there are no columns between the tracks there, since the site formerly accommodated a track crossover.[38] When 145th Street was planned to be closed in the 1960s, it was deemed unnecessary to further lengthen the platforms. Because it remained open, 145th Street is the only original IRT station besides the 42nd Street Shuttle stations that still cannot accommodate ten-car trains.[39] Approximately 200 feet (61 m) north of the station is a diamond crossover for the approach to the northern terminal of the 3 train at Harlem–148th Street. Approximately 300 feet (91 m) south of the station is the 142nd Street Junction with the IRT White Plains Road Line.[39] A track crossover formerly existed immediately south of the station, and another switch existed immediately north of the original platforms, within the space occupied by the current platform extension.[38]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 145th Street (IRT Lenox Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org – IRT White Plains Road Line: 145th Street
• Station Reporter — 3 Train
• The Subway Nut — 145th Street Pictures
• 145th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View