Borough Hall/Court Street station

The station opened on April 15, 1919 when the branch of the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line to Wall Street was extended to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. Through service between the Brooklyn Line and the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line was inaugurated with this extension.[10]

In 1976, with funding from the Exxon Corporation, this station, as well as three others citywide, received new "artfully humorous graffiti" murals and artwork.[11] Local designer Samuel Lebowitz received $5,000 to "improve the level of lighting in an exciting and light hearted way." Some "multicolored animated neon signs" were placed underneath transparent plastic screens; such signs included "an abstract eye that winks every five seconds" and another that looked to be "blow[ing] smoke rings."[11]

The fare control for this section of the station complex is at the west (railroad north) end of the platforms. A staircase from the lower level goes up to the upper level before another staircase goes up to the mezzanine. The lower level also has an up-only escalator that bypasses the upper level, leading directly to the mezzanine. A single elevator stopping at all three levels makes this part of the complex ADA-accessible. The mezzanine has a passageway leading to the BMT platform and two public restrooms inside fare control. Outside the turnstile bank that provides entrance/exit from the station, there is a token booth, two staircases going up to the southeast corner of Court and Montague Streets, and a staircase and elevator going up to Columbus Park, the entrance plaza of Borough Hall, on the east side of Court Street.[12]

This was the first underground subway station in Brooklyn, opened on January 9, 1908, as the terminal for the extension of the IRT Lexington Avenue Line from Lower Manhattan.[21][22] It provided easy access to the BRT elevated Fulton Street Line and Myrtle Avenue Line, although a separate fare had to be paid.

The platforms were extended to the east in 1911 and in 1964, allowing the station to accommodate 10-car trains.[23]

The Borough Hall IRT Eastern Parkway Line station has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since September 17, 2004.[24]

In June 2018, part of the Borough Hall ceiling collapsed, injuring a bystander.[25] The collapse necessitated expensive emergency repairs that would set the MTA back $8.3 million. A report found that the staff sent to inspect the station verified the defect existed in 2017, but underestimated its severity due to a lack of expertise in terracotta ceilings, nor was the issue escalated to engineers who were familiar with terracotta. The ceiling was over 100 years old, and the station has an unusual and old-fashioned design. The MTA report suggested that special care be taken in the inspection of the 13 stations of the NYC subway system that have terracotta ceilings due to the different properties when compared to concrete or steel.[25]

The main fare control area is at the center of the platforms and tracks. Two overpasses connect the two platforms with two staircases to each of them. On the Manhattan-bound side, the overpasses have full height turnstiles leading to an unstaffed mezzanine and two staircases going up to the northeast corner of Court and Joralemon Streets. On the southbound side, the overpasses have small turnstile banks leading to a mezzanine that has a token booth and two staircases going up to the southeast corner of Court and Joralemon Streets. The banisters on these staircases are made of concrete since they are outside the Brooklyn Municipal Building. The mezzanine has a large set of doors leading into the building (this entrance was closed in February 1996 due to security concerns), a plaque commemorating the subway's arrival in Brooklyn, and a now defunct bank teller window. An overpass between the two platforms connects the two mezzanine areas.[12]

This section of the station complex has an unstaffed fare control area at the extreme north (geographical west) end. A single staircase from each platform goes up to a crossover, where a turnstile bank and two exit-only turnstiles provide entrance/exit from the station. Outside fare control, two staircases go up to either western corners of Livingston and Court Streets.[12]

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  Station entrance at Columbus Park with view of Brooklyn Borough Hall, before the M train was rerouted.
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  The street elevator only connects with the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line and the northbound platform of the IRT Eastern Parkway Line.
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  Another view of the elevator from the side
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  Entrance in front of Brooklyn Borough Hall
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  Former entrance to the Brooklyn Municipal Building
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  An R142A train at Borough Hall, bound for Crown Heights–Utica Avenue.

Service running from the BMT Broadway Line through to the BMT Fourth Avenue Line via the Montague Tunnel began on August 1, 1920, along with the opening of the Court Street station.[30][31]

On weekdays between August 2, 2013 and September 15, 2014,[32][33] this station served as the northern terminal of the Brooklyn half of the divided R. Service ran in two sections: one section between Forest Hills and Whitehall Street–South Ferry, and the other between Court Street-Borough Hall and Bay Ridge–95th Street. This change was necessary to repair damage on the Montague Street Tunnel resulting from Hurricane Sandy.[34][35][36]

At the east (railroad south) end of the platform, two staircases go up a landing, where two staircases and two escalators go up to a passageway that leads to the fare control area of the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. At the west (railroad north) of the platform, a single staircase goes up to a landing where two elevators and an emergency staircase that is commonly opened for public use go up to a mezzanine. The elevator banks here have two pairs of doors to each elevator car. The mezzanine has a part-time turnstile bank and customer assistance booth (full height turnstiles provide entrance/exit from the station at all times) and two staircases going up to either western corners of Montague and Clinton Streets. The northwest staircase has an antique "SUBWAY" white and green globe sign since it is in the front yard of St. Ann's and Holy Trinity Church (the mezzanine has a mosaic sign with the church's name on it).[37] However, the southwest staircase is next to the basement entrance of a Kiddie Korner daycare.[12][38]

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  Mosaics on the track wall
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  An train arrives at the station
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  An elevator to the Clinton Street mezzanine